Hyundai Equus/Lexus LS Photocopy

LarqueFausse wrote:Also, I’m just playing devil’s advocate when I say this, Toyota pretty much copied what the European marques where doing (specifically Mercedes-Benz and their S-Class) back in the late ’80s. The LS eventually became just as good, if not better than the competition, but the key that made the LS a success not just a solid product, but one that was delivered at a price point that undercut everybody else by tens of thousands of dollars. The end result was a great car that was cheap in relation. Fast forward 20 years and the newest iteration of the LS now costs as much as competition that it originally set out to beat. There is no more price difference, so Lexus can’t throw down the “bang-for-buck” ideology like they used to. And now that Lexus has moved further up-market with the other premium brands, they left an opening for Hyundai. First was the Genesis and now they follow-up with Equus.

Although it's an appealing comparison, Hyundai is pretty far off what Lexus accomplished twenty years ago -- styling aside, the first-gen LS was a revolution in the luxury car market. The level of craftsmanship & reliability, the value, the dealership customer service, the dedicated brand -- these were all huge improvements over the existing brands. So far, all Hyundai's really done is built a LS copy and equipped with an iPad -- though I am curious how their attempts to distance the Equus from the rest of the lineup will work out (salespeople visit you, car is picked up for service). (As for the LS costing as much as the competition -- the base LS costs around $66k USD. The base S-Class is around $91k. Still a fairly large difference.)

Back in the late 80's, Lexus used the S-class as the benchmark, and made it better. Now, Hyundai is doing the same thing, using the LS as the benchmark instead of the S-class or the 7-series. In a way, it's a recognition for Lexus. I've never driven the Equus and I know a lot of people here haven't driven one. So, I can not make fair comments on their performance and ride. But I have sat in the Equus at the recent LA auto show, and if I hadn't known it was from Hyundai, I would have given extra kudos. I was surprise on the amenities and how luxurious it is, better than the 750 and S500 I sat in. The front console is beautifully design. It still no better than the LS, but a great effort for Hyundai's first attempt. If the Equus is to be successful, it needs to dis-associate itself from the Hyundai brand and come up with a luxury brand. I can see the Germans say it again, loud and clear, "But it's a Hyundai". At the end, it will be good for the consumers.

I buy first 2005 Tucson V6 from Hyundai and this crap of factory made bad automatic 4 speed gear after just 4 months broken. They change with new one and the same mistake. Hyundai never never publish this factory mistakes to world. After few months all Tucson with V6 engine was problematic with automatic transmission. I kick this bad car and buy Volvo Xc90. Hyundai and this copy of LS is nothing to done with Lexus. Why? Lexus is Lexus and Hyundai can make crap and copies but will never last like original Lexus quality. Why you people even think that Korean cars can be cars? Japanese culture and way of working is totally different from Korean. They cant copy nothing. Proudly owner of Volvo and Lexus original made in Sweden and Japan. Duck Korean copies.

lexus ls was coping mercedes s class? you must be jocking lexus was more luxurious had  more tecnology,the engine was very silence , the engine was smuff than any european luxury car and mercedes did not had a s class back in 1989 

How about this? 2013 Accord copying 2009 Genesis

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