Topic: Test Drive: 2010 Ford Taurus SHO

[Erik]

The Genesis has NOT been a sales success.

It depends what you determine to be a "sales success".  Hyundai in general is low volume in North America.  So I don't think it will be a success on numbers alone.  90 percent of Genesis purchase are first time customers.  That's a success IMO.  And 40 percent of those come from Lexus, MB, BMW and Porsches.  That's a HUGE success IMO to even get 10 percent of those buyers into a Hyundai....

Very good point. To bring customers from any of the German brands into a Hyundai showroom is a big success that becomes a huge one if a Genesis is purchased.

Unless you figured on a certain level of sales, and you end up getting about 40% of what you planned and budgeted for. Makes for a VERY expensive way to run a business.

[rrocket]

The Genesis has NOT been a sales success.

It depends what you determine to be a "sales success".  Hyundai in general is low volume in North America.  So I don't think it will be a success on numbers alone.  90 percent of Genesis purchase are first time customers.  That's a success IMO.  And 40 percent of those come from Lexus, MB, BMW and Porsches.  That's a HUGE success IMO to even get 10 percent of those buyers into a Hyundai....

Very good point. To bring customers from any of the German brands into a Hyundai showroom is a big success that becomes a huge one if a Genesis is purchased.

Unless you figured on a certain level of sales, and you end up getting about 40% of what you planned and budgeted for. Makes for a VERY expensive way to run a business.

Well what was their projected sales for the Genesis??

[Erik]

The Genesis has NOT been a sales success.

It depends what you determine to be a "sales success".  Hyundai in general is low volume in North America.  So I don't think it will be a success on numbers alone.  90 percent of Genesis purchase are first time customers.  That's a success IMO.  And 40 percent of those come from Lexus, MB, BMW and Porsches.  That's a HUGE success IMO to even get 10 percent of those buyers into a Hyundai....

Very good point. To bring customers from any of the German brands into a Hyundai showroom is a big success that becomes a huge one if a Genesis is purchased.

Unless you figured on a certain level of sales, and you end up getting about 40% of what you planned and budgeted for. Makes for a VERY expensive way to run a business.

Well what was their projected sales for the Genesis??

If you would have read my earlier post.....

"Anyhow, apparently Hyundai was expecting sales of 50,000 units per year of the Genesis brand. That was to be a split of 20000 sedans and 30000 coupes. It ain't nowhere close to that, as Hyundai is running around 22,000 for the year, with the majority being the sedan."

[rrocket]

Is that US sales or worldwide?

Ok..I just found "Hyundai hopes to initially sell 8,000 Genesis sedans this year, then ultimately 20,000 per year"  USA Market.

In Canada, they think they will sell "fewer than 2,000" coupes per year. Initial sedan projections are 800 for first year, then "about 1000" should be within reach.  Wonder how close the Canadian numbers are???

Ok..so I guess we can debate what "ultimately" means as far as a timeline.  One year?  Tw0 years?  5 years?

[John MacDonald]

Glad all the Ford haters showed up!
Why can't people compare the taurus to cars within it's class?
Taurus vs Legacy ? WTF?  are you kidding.  I think the legacy fits
in the Taurus's trunk.  God help you if u get t-boned in that little legacy
I would not put my kids in the back seat of any vehicle that weighs less
than 4000lbs.  It's not worth it.   If I remember correctly the 5 series BMW's failed the side impact tests.

This is a big car, probably more in line with a 7 series.   

Seeing lot's of these around, a few SHO models and they look great and
most of the online resources like them too. 

It took people a long time to change their opinion on Hynudai and Kia, I suspect the Ford haters will come around too, but it will take a long time as well.  Hyundai and Ford have two of the hottest lineups around these days.

How 'bout Toyota !!!   Venza, corolla, camry, wow that's an exciting line up!! or Honda's new Craptour, underpowered CRV, ugly civic and fit !!  yikes, that's a lineup of great vehicles...doh! 

So back to the original posts - apples to apples please.   

Jimbo, if you knew anything about vehicle safety you'd now all Subaru products won top of their category this year for safety.  Oh and the little Subaru was redesigned recently for 2010 and is a much bigger vehicle, maybe not as big as the Taurus, as previously stated, but it's still big enough to fit four 6-foot people in the vehicle.  I'm not a ford hater, I just think the SHO is not something I would ever choose because there are better vehicles that are cheaper that I would buy first.  I actually think the base Taurus is a very good value not to mention other vehicles in the ford lineup.

[Benhaze]

The actual volume used to calculated the financial business case is a closely kept secret and can be quite different than what is shared with the press. It doesn't change any negative impression if it is not meeting the wish list of the Marketing department but it is not necessarily a reflection of the profitability of a vehicle.

That said, in the automotive world, 20,000 copies doesn't translate into major revenues unless the margins are exceptional. Not the case here when the vehicle is sold $10,000-20,000 less than the competition.

Translation: Hyundai is not bringing the Genesis to the market to make a fortune.

[Ice]

Is that US sales or worldwide?

Ok..I just found "Hyundai hopes to initially sell 8,000 Genesis sedans this year, then ultimately 20,000 per year"  USA Market.

In Canada, they think they will sell "fewer than 2,000" coupes per year. Initial sedan projections are 800 for first year, then "about 1000" should be within reach.  Wonder how close the Canadian numbers are???

Ok..so I guess we can debate what "ultimately" means as far as a timeline.  One year?  Tw0 years?  5 years?

Hyundai seems to be in the game for the long term so I wouldn't be surprised if it was a 5 year plan.  I have only seen a few Genesis Sedans but the coupes are starting to show up a fair bit.  I was surprised to see three on a recent 25 minute drive.

[Weels]

Same around here... i've seen a few coupes around the last few weeks (no blue ones with a photographer behind the wheel though..) but I only recall seeing a sedan once

[nick]

For those comparing the Taurus SHO with the the Subaru, it would make more sense to compare the Subaru with the Taurus  SEL and you would find that real world pricing would give the advantage to the Taurus SEL.

[goonboy]

As for the Taurus outselling the Genesis, I would like to see the actual numbers as I have yet to see a Taurus on the road.  The bottom line is, the Genesis has won awards and the Taurus HAS NOT.  The Taurus looks cheap and will never sell because Ford has the Fusion positioned against the like of Camry, Altima, Sonata and the Accord.  That leaves no segment for the Taurus to compete in other than say the Maxima.

The Genesis and SHO are different cars, but for $50,000 a loaded G37 will eat the SHO for lunch in every category, especially reliability. 

Even better, wait for the Sonata turbo which will handily take on the SHO for $10k less.  That is going to be my next car.

[Mitlov]

As for the Taurus outselling the Genesis, I would like to see the actual numbers as I have yet to see a Taurus on the road. 

There are about the same number of Tauri as Genesi in Medford (about a half-dozen of each).  Not bad considering that the Genesis sedan has been on the market twice as long as the new Taurus has.

The bottom line is, the Genesis has won awards and the Taurus HAS NOT.

The 2010 Taurus won "international car of the year" at the Los Angeles Auto Show.

The Taurus looks cheap and will never sell because Ford has the Fusion positioned against the like of Camry, Altima, Sonata and the Accord.  That leaves no segment for the Taurus to compete in other than say the Maxima.

Why is that a problem?  The Fusion competes against the Camry and the Altima; the non-SHO Taurus competes against the Avalon and the Maxima (while the SHO goes head-hunting for bigger prey).  I'm not seeing a problem here. 

The Genesis and SHO are different cars, but for $50,000 a loaded G37 will eat the SHO for lunch in every category, especially reliability. 

What sort of reliability data do you have on a 2010 Taurus SHO?

The SHO is also far, far larger than the G37.  Particularly if you care about back-seat passengers.  If you don't want extra space, a larger car always seems "overpriced" and "heavy" and "slow."  But not everyone wants a G37-sized car.  After all, that's why Infiniti also offers the M.  They wouldn't sell the M if everyone was happy with a G37-sized car.

Even better, wait for the Sonata turbo which will handily take on the SHO for $10k less.  That is going to be my next car.

The Sonata Turbo doesn't have AWD, and its rear seat and trunk are both going to be a lot smaller.  The Sonata Turbo may be the better choice for you, but that doesn't make it better for everyone else too.

[Erik]

As for the Taurus outselling the Genesis, I would like to see the actual numbers as I have yet to see a Taurus on the road.  . 

Well, in the US through March of this year, Hyundai has sold just over 5000 Genesis nameplate vehicles (lets call it half and half coupes and sedans), vs more than 17,000 Tauruses (Tauri?) in the same period. So, there are actually 7 Tauruses on the road for each Genesis Sedan.

[MKII]

•Ford Taurus sales jumped 403% for April 2010 versus April 2009.
SirA posts  Canadian Auto Sales thread in the Car News topic section, when he does you can see the actual unit numbers sold.

[Jaeger]

The Genesis has NOT been a sales success.

It depends what you determine to be a "sales success".  Hyundai in general is low volume in North America.  So I don't think it will be a success on numbers alone.  90 percent of Genesis purchase are first time customers.  That's a success IMO.  And 40 percent of those come from Lexus, MB, BMW and Porsches.  That's a HUGE success IMO to even get 10 percent of those buyers into a Hyundai....

Very good point. To bring customers from any of the German brands into a Hyundai showroom is a big success that becomes a huge one if a Genesis is purchased.

Agreed completely.  And I'll take the Genesis over the Taurus any day of the week.

Jaeger

[TopGun]

Every Taurus I see is an SHO for heaven's sake...good profit margin in those puppies!

[Mitlov]

The Genesis has NOT been a sales success.

It depends what you determine to be a "sales success".  Hyundai in general is low volume in North America.  So I don't think it will be a success on numbers alone.  90 percent of Genesis purchase are first time customers.  That's a success IMO.  And 40 percent of those come from Lexus, MB, BMW and Porsches.  That's a HUGE success IMO to even get 10 percent of those buyers into a Hyundai....

Very good point. To bring customers from any of the German brands into a Hyundai showroom is a big success that becomes a huge one if a Genesis is purchased.

Agreed completely.  And I'll take the Genesis over the Taurus any day of the week.

Jaeger

If I wanted a big sedan without a BMW/Audi price tag, I would have taken a G8 GT over either...shame it didn't last.  Here's to hoping that the Caprice Police Cruiser becomes the next civilian-market Impala SS, but I haven't heard any plans to that effect

[Dante]

If I wanted a big sedan without a BMW/Audi price tag, I would have taken a G8 GT over either...shame it didn't last. 
 

+1.

[Jaeger]

The Genesis has NOT been a sales success.

It depends what you determine to be a "sales success".  Hyundai in general is low volume in North America.  So I don't think it will be a success on numbers alone.  90 percent of Genesis purchase are first time customers.  That's a success IMO.  And 40 percent of those come from Lexus, MB, BMW and Porsches.  That's a HUGE success IMO to even get 10 percent of those buyers into a Hyundai....

Very good point. To bring customers from any of the German brands into a Hyundai showroom is a big success that becomes a huge one if a Genesis is purchased.

Agreed completely.  And I'll take the Genesis over the Taurus any day of the week.

Jaeger

If I wanted a big sedan without a BMW/Audi price tag, I would have taken a G8 GT over either...shame it didn't last.  Here's to hoping that the Caprice Police Cruiser becomes the next civilian-market Impala SS, but I haven't heard any plans to that effect

Amen to that.

Jaeger

[Mitlov]

Jake: Car's got a lot of pickup.

Elwood: It's got a cop motor, a 440 cubic inch plant, it's got cop tires, cop suspensions, cop shocks. It's a model made before catalytic converters so it'll run good on regular gas. What do you say, is it the new Bluesmobile or what?

[Weels]

Jake: Car's got a lot of pickup.

Elwood: It's got a cop motor, a 440 cubic inch plant, it's got cop tires, cop suspensions, cop shocks. It's a model made before catalytic converters so it'll run good on regular gas. What do you say, is it the new Bluesmobile or what?

Needs more Bush Bar.