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Comments
I hope so!
I believe that the car is pretty good, but with a little more effort, could be great.
My favorites were Toscana and Geneva. My least fav's were Echelon and Meridian. Equus was not an option.
Having a multi- year life span for a body design, '07 should build on positive reviews and press to get more buyers for the Azera. Hopefully the car will hit its stride in '07 or '08, keeping values up for those of us that were willing to take the chance and buy in the '06 model year.
Hyundai has in the past have had poor resale values.
Their failure to market and advertise the 06 Azera has definitely hurt sales.
They have been very slow in introducing the 07 Azera and have yet to update a large segment of their dealer network with technical and parts information of this product.
Their failure to deal with some of the technical deficiencieswill undoubtedly hurt consumer confidence.
If they desire to compete with the big boys, they must step it up a notch.
Used 06 models are now available at prices under $20k.
According to the forum postings, the available 07's are being discounted heavily.
Golly, what with owner complaints on this and probably other Hyundai forums about de-laminating wood or faux-wood steering wheels, start-up timing chain noise, and the dreaded front suspension clunk, whatever could be the reason? Hyundai distributes slick, four-color brochures extolling the virtues and extensive standard equipment compliment of their product lines, but news, good or bad, travels over the internet at light speed to a very broad demographic. I'm not taking sides - merely pointing out what should be obvious to Hyundai America. Before consumers will take Hyundai seriously, Hyundai needs to take existing owner complaints seriously.
If Hyundai "suits" are not reading these and other forums, they have no sense of marketing. Hyundai is the largest manufacturer in South Korea, selling many consumer products to a worldwide market. I'm certain that they retain marketing and advertising companies in each country where their products are sold.
If they are not interested in owner feed back, they will not succeed in gaining share in the upper end market. Customer loyalty is very important in the higher end.
As far as I am concerned that is one of the only reasons that is keeping me from purchasing this vehicle. That would be a great move and probably would almost pay for itself with the government rebates still in effect for Hybrid technology.
Toyota: Extend hybrid tax credit
From the article: "Even though Toyota reached the limit, buyers of its hybrids still get a credit, but it's far smaller and will disappear entirely later this year. Before hitting the limit, Toyota's Prius received the biggest tax break of $3,150. The tax incentive for buying a Prius or other Toyota hybrid fell by half last October and will be cut in half again on April 1."...
And an included chart indicated the tax credits end after October of this year.
Here's a site dedicated to keeping tabs on hybrid news:
hybridcars.com
Now if the price of gas skyrockets again then more of these hybrids will be built and sold and the 60k limikt will be reached sooner for these companies.
Congress may change this limit if they rewrite the Energy legislation they passed a several years ago but I think Hyundai still has time to get a hybrid marketed for some type of consumer tax break. I just hope it's the Azera.
By the way, buying the Azera, I moved up from my old 1990 Honda Accord LX (which I still have) and it's like dropping into a confining pit when I take the old car out and drive to charge up the battery every week or so...
Head room (in., front/rear) 40.2 / 38.2
Leg room (in., front/rear) 43.7 / 38.2
Shoulder room (in., front/rear) 57.9 / 57.1
Hip room (in., front/rear) 55.5 / 55.1
Where did they mount the display?
More info to follow...
link title
Sounds good to me.
Hopefully they will have a US engineering department that can respond quicker to buyer concerns.
The "in-house code" for the Azera/Grandeur is "TG" and the article mentions an "HG" code... :confuse:
Also in the pipeline, there is the "VI" (Equus replacement) which is more luxurious than the BH (Dynasty replacement), so I am told. And HG as the next-gen Azera/Grandeur.
[insanely shrieking icon]...
Who in their right mind would buy our beloved Azera produced in the US? :lemon:
" Best Buy "
You must be kidding.
The "foreign" cars built in the US are in every way as good as those produced in the home country of the manufacturer.
The technology employed in these new US plants is world class.
The current wages paid to workers of these US based foreign manufacturers is similar to that of the US based companies, but the companies are not saddled with the old union contracts that drove them into the ground.
Check Toyota, Lexus, BMW, Honda as well as Hyundai for the quality at their US facilities and you might be pleasantly surprised.
Don't shortchange the US workers.
" Best Buy " means built in the USA is good. U.S. is the center of the universe only to Americans. Fair trade agreement means car companies have to build plants here, given a choice they wouldn't.
But foreign name-plate manufacturers who have built plants in America have been wildly successful, both in quality and in sales. Claiming that "the cars built here [in America] are not as good," without separating the old "Detroit" iron companies from the newer companies is demonstrably incorrect.
Also, "...the cars made in Korea, Sonata, Azera (Grandeur), include options such as Bluetooth, navigation, folding mirrors standard on just about every car for the last decade..." is an indicator not of superior foreign-made quality, but of marketing decisions BY those off-shore companies as to what they believe the American consumer wants and is willing to pay for, whether the car is made here or there. Clearly, some of their decisions can be wrong!
And as to the " :lemon: ?!" [disparaging snort icon]...
Back to what this forum is about the Azera, love the vehicle. I got the 2007 limited with ultimate package in silver and grey interior.
Since this is an American forum and probably used primarily by Americans I understand the referral always going back to ratings coming from the U.S. Those ratings are only important to American consumers and foreign car companies will ensure their vehicles get on that list. Have you ever noticed how every car commercial says we were voted #1 in something? Best side impact, best front impact, best braking, etc... Seems every car can lay claim to being the best at something. I think the Azera was voted the most wanted luxury sedan or something like that, what a joke. Consumers are passionate about their choices and just want to see their choice make some kind of "best of list" to feel better about their choice. I purchased the Azera without reading anything on it to take back with me to Korea. I test drove just about every car from Hyundai, Kia, Toyota, Honda, Acura, etc... And just felt good about the Azera for price and availability of parts when I go back to Korea.
That said, the US built Sonatas and Santa Fes are top quality, which has played a big part in the company's achievement in the top 10 plant in North America, something not easy to achieve, especially in its first year of operation. There are a lot of reasons Hyundai has decided to open up plants outside of its home market, such as the Alab. plant, among other reasons, the growth spur to keep up with the demand, and more importantly, to combat the increased value in its local currency, which has played in many of the recent decisions, to move and/or add additional operations worldwide.
The other issue plaguing the SK plants are and have been labor issues, which have greatly reduced production - last year was the perfect example. I am indifferent about unions in general, but plants such as in the US have performed well without the union part, and workers have been very happy working there, as far as I can tell. Plus HMMA being one of the most sophisticated and advanced plants in North America, which is a good thing, as robots never call in sick
I understand where you are coming from, but I respectfully disagree with you statement regarding vehicles built outside of S. Korea are bad decisions. Even if that being the case, there would not be enough capacity to fulfill the demand of Hyundai and Kia vehicles.
By the way, you might have already answered this but may I ask why you are taking the Azera back to SK? Can't you just get the Grandeur there, I know it's more expensive with the exchange rates factored but going through the hassle... :confuse:
The Azera IS built in South Korea. The features that are built into the car are determined by marketing and have nothing to do with the location of the manufacturing facility. If a foreign car manufacturer chooses to build a manufacturing plant in the US, They can determine the features and ultimate quality of the cars that they are producing. If as you state, the US market is unwilling to pay for the improved quality or more elaborate features, again that is a marketing and sales decision. The new factory production machinery is sophisticated and "dumb" and can produce whatever is programed into it. The quality can be as good or bad as the decision makers desire.
So to clear the air about building in the U.S. It’s not the facility that is the problem, it is the way that management and employees work, which may still result in a good vehicle, but over time will bring degradation to the vehicle during its lifecycle. Working for Hyundai in Korea is an honor to South Korean Employees not just a job to feed their families, an honor they take very seriously.
We need to get back to the topic here.
Thanks.
I love my Azera. I purchased the sunroof wind deflector the other day, what a pain for me to get it installed. You have to push on the edges to get the hooks to snap in place.
The mud guards were easy to install in front, just turned the wheel to get to the screws but had to remove the rear tires to get the back mud guards on. Looks good with the mud guards and sunroof wind deflector.
The CEO of Hyundai Automobile in South Korea was removed from the company for corruption, and there were as many as 14 labor strikes which affected production within the last 24 months.
That does not sound as if the labor and management are working in perfect harmony.
Kindly get your facts straight.
Back to the Azera:
A shortcut to the history of the Azera...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyundai_Grandeur
The labor strikes that have stopped production on many occasions sure does not signal happy and loyal employees.
The $100 million dollars that Chairman Chung Mong-koo embezzled is no better than the US CEO's that were convicted for stealing money from the pockets of stockholders.
Strikes for higher wages and better working conditions have gone on for the past few years. It seems to me that the S Korean auto workers are following the same path that US workers followed years ago, which helped destroy the US auto industry.