Smart Luxury Takes on the Vanguards of Prestige

A billboard near this Hudson Valley enclave urges people to "drive prestige." It is an unabashed pitch to egos in pursuit of sales of expensive European and Japanese automobiles -- BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche and Lexus.
But it is a sign of a time past, or certainly of an era that is passing, even in this community of elegant homes and rolling lawns.
Times are tough. Prestige no longer gets an automatic nod. Prestige without value, or encumbered by suspect worth, nowadays gets the boot.
Into that environment comes Hyundai Motor America with its most expensive automobile to date, the rear-wheel-drive 2009 Hyundai Genesis sedan. It's aimed at what the car industry calls the "near-luxury segment" -- that part of the market priced from about $30,000 to $50,000.
Conventional wisdom suggests that Hyundai is making a mistake. It is a Korean-owned company that made its mark in America, a poorly formed scratch that eventually became a strong product signature, selling economy automobiles and wagons. What is Hyundai doing trying to sell cars priced from $33,000 to $42,000?
The short answer is that Hyundai, like its competitors, is going for the gold. If successful, Hyundai could reshape popular notions of prestige. In the process, it could elevate the meaning of "value."
The Genesis, for example, does not have the traditional panache of rivals such as the BMW 528i, Cadillac CTS, Infiniti M35, Lexus ES 350 or GS 350, or the Mercedes-Benz E 350. But it runs and handles as well as any of those automobiles -- and better than a few of them. The Genesis also offers every technical advantage provided by its rivals and serves up more standard safety features -- eight air bags, electronically enabled head restraints in the front seats, and electronic stability and traction control -- than those usually offered by competitors.
Its styling is attractive inside and out. And the car is loaded with amenities, including thoughtful touches such as a power rear sunshade.
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What the Genesis lacks is an astronomically high price. Depending on the model chosen -- the eight-cylinder Genesis 4.6 or the six-cylinder Genesis 3.8 -- and whether that model comes with the "premium," "premium plus," or the "technology" package, the Genesis can cost from $200 to $22,000 less than competitive European and Asian automobiles.
In that regard, the Genesis is a celebration of luxury without hyperbole, luxury with a deal, including one of the best automobile warranties in the business -- five years/60,000 miles bumper-to-bumper protection and a 10-year/100,000 mile limited warranty on engine and transmission.
The pity is that early marketing chatter indicates that Hyundai executives do not understand the nature of the winner their company has produced. They are like young boys in a schoolyard bragging about who is best, who is toughest, talking about "targeting premium consumers and a broader audience to elevate the Hyundai brand."
They would be better served -- and they would better serve the Genesis -- to emulate the smart kid buried in a book in study hall while her classmates are in the schoolyard making noise. She might never become the most popular student. But she is likely to graduate with honors and go on to other educational and career achievements that will make a difference in the world and put money in the bank.
Put another way, instead of following traditional automobile marketing and shouting, "I'm better than you!," Hyundai executives should emphasize that the Genesis represents luxury with a difference. It wraps luxury -- indisputable, meaningful luxury -- with common sense