"One word -- Plastics"

The new Plastics Manufacturers:

Google
Adobe
Apple

The new Plastics:

1. SaaS
2. WYSIWYG Web 2.0 developers
3. Hyundai

The Hyundai "Excel" - minus the 10 circus clowns inside...

Do you remember when Hyundai made those toy cars back in '86? It's a brave new world. Their new SUV has more curves and pizazz than anything we Americans can muster these days. Their new lines offer great mileage, a great warantee; overall, just an  incredible value for price... but how extensible is the Hyundai name? Will it ever really appeal to Middle Class professionals? If history teaches us anything, we should expect to see a new marque in the luxury car fray. It's a business model that works for Toyota (Lexus), Nissan (Infinity) and Honda (Acura). I think we'll see them on our shores within two years.

can only go so far with its name. A Datsun will always be just a Datsun. While they have definitely changed their image 180 degrees, I think that Hyundai will eventually try to reach the entry-level luxury market.

That's a what?




To be continued...

(update on 1-6-09)

I just learned that Hyundai released its first luxury model a few days ago; you have to admit that my timing was impeccable... but my prediction was a bit off. I did not anticipate that they would do so using the same brand that has been associated with entry-level models. The sales figures should be interesting. I think that a rebrand will be needed to compete with the likes of Mercedes.