Sonata Hyundai: Sonata has better paint quality than MB CLS

[Wolfgang]

I wouldn't laugh too much about Hyundai. They are very good manufacturers.

For the Sonata paint they likely use the Dürr RoDIP system:

http://www.durr.com/fileadmin/user_upload/fas/02_psa/pdf_e/RoDip_e.pdf

PS. Mercedes uses RoDIP e.g. on the Sprinter in Ludwigsfelde and truck cabins.



Dürr RoDIP

 

[hoffmeister_fan]

It's obvious that a CLS buyer is not the same market that the Sonata is in. It's done simply to show that Hyundai has come a long way from its Excel days. So current and future CLS owners, no need to fret.

For a family sedan, I really don't think it's shabby at all...the interior is quite hospitable. I'd still get a Subie Legacy if I was shopping in that category, but I'd be willing to check it out now. Hyundai will be a force to be reckoned with. They are a quick learn, and from what I've read, their 10-year warranty is a thorn on their financials. It makes more sense to make something quality in order to do away with the 10-year warranties and strengthen brand equity. Need it be reminded that the Japanese were mocked when they entered the US market, and barring Toyota's and Honda's recent debacles, they have been pretty well-respected.

 

[Wolfgang]

powder coating in smartville

smart seems to prefer non-liquid powder coating in smartville? Possibly to ensure the safety of the Tridion cell.

source: thesmart.ca

 

[Merc1]

Yeah better paint quality than a CLS550, but too bad the dumb arse braggarts didn't apply the same "quality" to the door latches. What a classic case of "foot in mouth". Mercedes shouldn't stoop to Hyundai's level and answer back, but if I were in charge I'd be sorely tempted.



SEOUL, South Korea — Hyundai Motor said Wednesday that it will recall about 46,000 of its new 2011 Sonata sedans in Korea and about 1,300 in the U.S. to replace defective front door locks. The redesigned Sonata went on sale last fall in Korea and just two weeks ago in the U.S.

Hyundai's Alabama plant has built about 5,000 new Sonatas, but only 1,300 have been delivered to customers. Most of the rest are at dealerships.

In a statement issued here, Hyundai said it had "discovered a mechanical problem with front door latches which, in very rare instances, will not close properly." The automaker plans to begin sending replacement parts to U.S. dealers immediately.

The company said it planned this week to notify customers and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), as well as Korea's Ministry of Land Transport and Maritime Affairs. As of Wednesday afternoon, NHTSA had not initiated a defect investigation and had no notice of a recall campaign.

Hyundai said it had received only a handful of customer complaints, and none involved an accident or injury.

Inside Line says: Considering Toyota's recent woes on the safety front, Hyundai is probably right to err on the side of caution. — Anita Lienert, Correspondent

2011 Hyundai Sonata To Be Recalled

M

 

[MBFanToDeath]

I can just picture a Sonata guy and a CLS guy talking:

CLS: I bought my CLS because it is the pioneer of the four door coupe, has an incredible interior, and turns heads.

Sonata: I bought my Sonata because it has better paint than your Merc.

 

[coolraoul]

Is it proved that the paint quality is better, and if yes, why and in which proportions?

 

[Wolfgang]

Is it proved that the paint quality is better, and if yes, why and in which proportions?

It's not proved. The ad was apparently shot in Alabama (where MB builds the ML, GL, R and future C):

With video: Ads feature Hyundai's Alabama-built Sonata, factory, workers | Business News from The Birmingham News - al.com

 

[Kowalski]

Oh look!

Recall: 2011 Hyundai Sonata

The 2011 Hyundai Sonata will be the subject of a voluntary recall beginning next week, regarding a potentially faulty front-door latch mechanism. The 2011 Sonata has only been on sale in the U.S. for two weeks, and thus the recall will only affect between 1,300 vehicles in America.

Once Hyundai identified the problem, they put a stop-order in place in U.S. dealers, and also contacted the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in order to reach the customers as quickly as possible. In addition to the roughly 1,300 2011 Sonata sedans produced through February 16, 2010, Hyundai also produced another 46,000 YF Sonata sedans in South Korea.

Hyundai announced that it has not received any reports of accidents or injuries as a result of the defect, but it has received complaints from its customers.

The replacement parts have already begun shipping to dealers and the official recall will begin next week.

Source: Recall: 2011 Hyundai Sonata

 

[HighestOfHigh]

Why is Hyundai constantly trying to battle everyone on the market?

 

[cawimmer430]

According to Hyundai the new Sonata is a work of art comparable to Mozart's and Schubert's compositions.

What an insult that is to these great composers!

 

[Beemer B773ER]

Why is Hyundai constantly trying to battle everyone on the market?

Probably because they want to be perceived as being large and good enough to play with the big boys in the auto-industry such as Toyota, VW, and of course the German luxury brands.
If you favorably compare yourself enough to them (even if it means your marketing department has to slightly twist some facts or focus on a trivial issue like paint quality) then eventually people will start to take you seriously and attach your brand name with those other car makers.

Not for one second do I think Hyundai are close to MB (though they have definitely improved leaps and bounds since 10 years ago)...but the average Joe isn't as informed as we are...and even if the average Joe also doesn't think Hyundai is on par with MB, they at least think Hyundai must be pretty good to even be compared to them. If you're Hyundai, why compare yourself to Toyota, Honda and so on...bypass them and go after the highly regarded brands.

Just a couple of years ago I wouldn't have considered Hyundai as an option...but with their latest generation of cars (starting with the Genesis sedan and Coupe) I would definitely at least consider them. Only downside might be their resale value.

 

[bmer]

I watched the video again and there is a small text which I think says (hard to be 100 % sure since the video is not in HQ):

AMCI-Certified Testing: 2011 Sonata Limited vs. 2010 Mercedes-Benz CLS550 Coupe

 

[Wolfgang]

AMCI

Great memories. AMCI organized the M-Class PowerTrip. They claimed to have tested all kinds of SUVs, and using their criteria, the ML "won". It included an hillclimb demo, on which the RX300 failed etc. etc. Found a old blurb from that event. Participants were videotaped while doing 100 MPH hot laps, with ESP switched off. It was fun.




Mercedes-Benz USA Offers Clients a Unique Driving Experience; Ten-City Tour of Ride and Drive Events

MONTVALE, N.J., March 20 Mercedes-Benz USA kicked off its ten city-tour of ride and drive events for the model year 2000 M-Class in Los Angeles March 3, welcoming over 1,000 enthusiastic participants who experienced a multitude of driving "thrills." The M-Class power trip provides a hands-on setting for current and prospective clients to put a Mercedes-Benz M-Class through its paces in a casual, yet interactive and entertaining way. Following Los Angeles, the M-Class Power Trip continues throughout the spring in markets across the country and concludes in May (see schedule attached). Each event, which takes place Friday through Sunday, consists ofthree sessions per day, for a total of 1,000 - 2,000 participants per event. "Providing a spine-tingling, hands-on, fully interactive event givesparticipants the opportunity to experience for themselves the superb performance and handling of the M-Class line -- the ML320, ML430 and highperformance ML55 AMG," said Ken Enders, vice president of marketing, MBUSA. "Not only will participants be able to test these vehicles on-and-offroad, but they'll be able to compare them to current competitor models."

Participant response has been overwhelmingly enthusiastic. "The event was very impressive. It's far beyond a test drive, and it really shows thecapabilities of the vehicle. I'm sold, and I don't even need to test driveanother [M-Class] after this," said Sherri Green, of Marina Del Rey, Calif. Larry Davis, a model Mercedes-Benz coupe owner from Los Angeles had this to say, "It was awesome. This was like FAO Schwarz for adults!" A multi-faceted direct mail campaign has been utilized to attract andinvite attendees. Most participants receive traditional mailed invitations,while some will be invited electronically via e-mail. Mercedes Benz retailers have also been given the opportunity to invite current and prospective clients. All invitees are encouraged to register online at an MBUSA password protected microsite.

Driving Excitement

The driving portion of the program has three specially-designed driving courses, which give participants nearly two hours of drive time. Course #1, the Learn & Drive Course, allows participants to take a demonstration drive achoice of either a ML320, ML430 or ML55 AMG on a track that consists of steep curves, falling rocks, a winding mountain road, slalom, pop-up obstacles,sweeping curves and avoidance maneuvers.

The Learn & Drive course also allowsparticipants to test the ABS braking system and acceleration. On course #2, the Offroad course, participants drive any/all Mercedes-BenzM-Class vehicles on a track that consists of sweeping curves, avoidancemaneuvers, 4WD soft sand maneuverability, tight curves, whoop-de-doos, a riverrock road, an expansion joint washboard road, a landslide mountain, speedbumps, and a mountain climb.

The most thrilling course consists of a Hot-Lap Course, which involvespartnering participants with a pro-driver in a high-performance ML55 AMG. To capture the thrill, participants are video taped by three "lipstick" cameras, small-scale video cameras, which are strategically placed inside the tocapture the participants and the driving environment inside the vehicle and onthe course. Each tape, which also contains information on the ML55 AMG, willbe given as a "take away" to participants.

Technical information onthe M-Class is provided, as well as hors d'oeuvres and refreshments. Also on display, the full 2000 Mercedes-Benz product lineup; an ML320 Starmark vehicle (the Mercedes-Benz pre-owned program); and a FedEx Series Championship race.

Product Demonstrations

Running concurrently with the test drives are product demonstrations suchas the Frame Twister, Mercedes Mountain and One Wheel Traction Demonstrations which show the M-Class's 4WD control over its competitors.

All demonstrations illustrate the M-Class competitive advantage over such models as the BMW X5, Lexus RX300 and Toyota Land Cruiser.

According to the attendees, the Hare & Hound demonstration, a slalom competition between the ML55 AMG and PorscheBoxter, has been one of the most popular events. Mercedes-Benz partnered with AMCI, a full-service automotive marketing consulting firm and provider of driving events since 1981, to design andadminister the M-Class Power Trip. AMCI has offices in Los Angeles, SanDiego, New Jersey, Detroit and Rome, Italy.

 

[Centurion]

Why is Hyundai constantly trying to battle everyone on the market?

As a marketing student I've learnt that the successful wizards in the industry does the following.

-Take something arbitrary and turn it into a benefit.

OR

-Fabricate a solution and then sell the problem.

Apple followed this two principles when the develop the iPod shuffle and succeeded, Huyndai are trying but lack the neccessary brand power to pull it off.

 

[Merc1]

Probably because they want to be perceived as being large and good enough to play with the big boys in the auto-industry such as Toyota, VW, and of course the German luxury brands.
If you favorably compare yourself enough to them (even if it means your marketing department has to slightly twist some facts or focus on a trivial issue like paint quality) then eventually people will start to take you seriously and attach your brand name with those other car makers.

Not for one second do I think Hyundai are close to MB (though they have definitely improved leaps and bounds since 10 years ago)...but the average Joe isn't as informed as we are...and even if the average Joe also doesn't think Hyundai is on par with MB, they at least think Hyundai must be pretty good to even be compared to them. If you're Hyundai, why compare yourself to Toyota, Honda and so on...bypass them and go after the highly regarded brands.

Just a couple of years ago I wouldn't have considered Hyundai as an option...but with their latest generation of cars (starting with the Genesis sedan and Coupe) I would definitely at least consider them. Only downside might be their resale value.

Bingo, that is exactly it folks. Hyundai is the Korean Toyota. What Toyota did/tried to do GM and the Germans, Hyundai is trying to do to everyone. Especially now Toyota, which is as vunerable as it has ever been.


M

 

[Beemer B773ER]

Yep, it sure does seem like they have grand ambitions of being the 'new' Toyota. One thing that is in their favor is that they don't have a stigma associated with them like Toyota does. Toyota is instantly known for their reliability, quality, dependability and uncontroversial styling (overlooking the current recall debacle). Hyundai on the other hand are producing some great looking vehicles, from the splendid Genesis, to the upcoming iX, the edgy Sonata (may not be your cup of tea, but you can't deny the fact that the Sonata has more adventurous styling than the play-it-safe Camry). Of course Hyundai has to shake-off the negative stigma of their past reputation, but they've just about achieved that (disregarding those consumers/car enthusiasts who have a blind biased against them).
If Hyundai continue on their aggressive strategy and keep at it with stylish cars mated with good equipment levels at a very competitive price, then Toyota (and especially Honda) is going to have to react in some shape or form. Just look at the double-digit sales growth that Hyundai is experiencing currently in the US market while other manufacturers are only now finally breathing a sigh of relief because they're back in the black.

Eventhough Hyundai was forced to buy-out Kia, what they've done with the brand and its products is very impressive. Again, before I wouldn't entertain the thought of owning a Kia ...and I remember the constant jokes we all used to make about Kia ... but nowadays their cars are very good thanks to being under Hyundai's umbrella.

Also, it may well be marketing spin, or focusing on a trivial matter such as paint quality...but if you try to think of it from another perspective, it shows what benchmark Hyundai are at least studying and trying to emulate when it comes to their production practices. Paint quality might be trivial, but it's an improvement nonetheless, and it shows that they're actually focused on continually bettering their products rather than producing the poor quality stuff that they did a decade ago.

 

[Merc1]

^ Yet again, all true.


M

 

[hermanski22]

i have never seen so many ignorant people.. except a couple

first of all, the sonata is obviously not a direct competitor to mercedes as hyundai is now the company that is making one of the biggest showups in auto history. You have to consder the fact hyundais main competition is the affordable companies such as toyota, honda, nissan, chevrolet(just their cars not trucks or suvs), ford, etc. By comparing itself to the mercedes paint class, it is not degrading mercedes paint class and trying to compete with luxury cars. It is generally to make themselves stand out compared to their competitors by basically saying it has something that can actually compete with one of the world's most astounding car companies, while the others honestly cant. Obviously cars from Mercedes and BMW are gonna be better in everything than any Hyundai, Toyota, or Honda but it is a key to competition. By comparing yourself to the best even in one way it will obviously boost the effect the car will have.

Take the NBA for instance. Kevin Durant is obviously a really good player winning rookie of the year and contending for MVP and everything but he is not considered a "PRO" such as Dwayne Wade or Kobe Bryant. But because he can consistently score better than them, he is given good credit and is just as a major influence on the NBA as them. And that is exactly what Hyundai did. They took one thing and kinda ran with it. Yes it is not the most important thing in the world, it is still something it can compare with them.

second. Mozarts and Schuberts Sonatas were revolutionary things for these two musicians. as the sonatas they are most famously known for were written more early in their careers. It is obviously relevant because the Sonata is the most radical thing for hyundai and currently the auto industry.

third. hyundai is not the 'cheap ass cars'. these days they are becoming reliable vehicles as almost all of their vehicles have the 5 star safety guarantees and awards and junk. They are basically the new trend of cars as more customers are looking for hyundai and their rising standards of their cars. they are probably the best cars for their price... even consider the upcoming hyundai equus. this is a car that when itt was compared in korea by international proffesionals from different countries many have found it to better in value and quality than SOME BMW or Mercedes. and one of the main factors is the label.
MERCEDES is basically comparable to ABERCROMBIE AND FITCH while Hyundai is basically like GAP or Old Navy or even American Eagle. While A&F is very stylish, it is completely overpriced. A&F no matter how good you think it looks and how popular it is, they are made of very cheap materials but are considered good mainly because it is a popular trend and people, always wanting to conform to society, will buy it so they are smart and began to increase their prices because in the beginning, A&F were just like LEVIS where it started small but the brand label grew.

So dont think for a minute that Hyundai is not a good auto maker. They are probably the best in its class. Their cars are superior in many ways compared to its competition.
Compare the Elantra; Corolla; Cobalt; Focus... the civic is still probably the strongest leader of the compact cars however from Honda the Fit would now be a better choice.
Compare the Sonata; Camry; Accord; Fusiion; Malibu... in most cases the Sonata easily dominates its competitors.

AND you must also consider the massive growth that Hyundai is now having where some places have increased Hyundai sales in Triple Digits. Hyundai will become the new affordable standard and its the other companies jobs to make sure to stay ahead.

There are mainly ignorant people in the first page i read sorry about that statement.

 

[hermanski22]

Probably because they want to be perceived as being large and good enough to play with the big boys in the auto-industry such as Toyota, VW, and of course the German luxury brands.
If you favorably compare yourself enough to them (even if it means your marketing department has to slightly twist some facts or focus on a trivial issue like paint quality) then eventually people will start to take you seriously and attach your brand name with those other car makers.

Not for one second do I think Hyundai are close to MB (though they have definitely improved leaps and bounds since 10 years ago)...but the average Joe isn't as informed as we are...and even if the average Joe also doesn't think Hyundai is on par with MB, they at least think Hyundai must be pretty good to even be compared to them. If you're Hyundai, why compare yourself to Toyota, Honda and so on...bypass them and go after the highly regarded brands.

Just a couple of years ago I wouldn't have considered Hyundai as an option...but with their latest generation of cars (starting with the Genesis sedan and Coupe) I would definitely at least consider them. Only downside might be their resale value.

THis is probably the most valid argument.

 

[Gullwing]

I think this is a first. Someone joining to call us ignorant. But I could be wrong.

Why don't you go back to your Excel.