Not to feed the fire of insecurity, but I notice that Hyundai is now showing ads with the Sonata Turbo so I guess it's now available.
i haven't seen anything of the like, but it raises an interesting point.
you don't HAVE to lead with your best (top of the line) product first...however, at least make your "new" product competitive and attractive (make people want to buy it).
in the case of the Sonata, while they didn't launch the Turbo first, their "standard" model still offers class leading power (4 cylinder), class leading fuel economy, class leading safety features and class leading space and exceptional value...so, while they didn't start with the "Halo" model, the "regular" version is already a great product, very competitive (if not one of the segment's best) and well priced...that's the key difference...the Sonata is a great car on its own merits, and the Turbo model simply raises the stakes...the Regal, while a nice car, doesn't really offer anything "over and above" to help it really stand out...yes, it has a nice interior, but so do most cars now...yes, it has a decent ride, but again, so do many others (especially in the mid-size class)...there just isn't really anything there that stands out and says "Hey, you should seriously buy me over XYZ", and that is the problem.