Photoshopped 2011 Hyundai Sonata shows up in dealer ad as 2010 classified
One of our eagle-eyed readers noticed something unusual this weekend while perusing the car ads in his local paper. Long Island, New York dealer Atlantic Hyundai was promoting a low-ball deal on the 2010 Sonata. Problem is, the car in the photo is clearly NOT a 2010 Sonata. In fact, it appears to be a rendering of the next-generation Sonata which is now expected to debut in January at the Detroit Auto Show.
So what gives? Most likely the ad was laid out by an underpaid editor at the newspaper who, in the absence of a photo of the 2010 Sonata, did a quick Google image search for that term. Several photochopped renderings including the same one in the ad, turn up on the first page of results. Since most people don't have an encyclopedic knowledge of such things and the image looked pretty realistic (and a lot like a production Genesis), it was a reasonable error. However, when the new Sonata does drop, it will almost certainly be a 2011 model. Thanks to AMBLOOM for the tip!
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Ray 9:42AM (8/31/2009)
I've worked for both a newspaper and an ad agency (that did auto ads). This always happens when someone who knows nothing about cars does the ad.
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Smegley 9:44AM (8/31/2009)
If that is an accurate rendering, the massive props to Hyundai! That car looks great for this segment.
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John 9:47AM (8/31/2009)
That looks fantastic, so I hope it is accurate!
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Bart 9:57AM (8/31/2009)
People just need to do their research better. I've seen so many posts about renders and photoshops as if they were the real deal. That, and they need to respect copyright laws. Even when people know it's a photoshop they'll happily use the image as their own.
The person who made that add made the mistake on both accounts. Didn't do his research and then took a copyrighted picture to the press.
I've seen several of my photoshops and renders appear on websites, flyers and such. Sometimes they even go as far as cutting off my signature. How about some increased awareness about this stuff.
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Cam 10:05AM (8/31/2009)
Please, god, don't let that be the new grill. We don't need any more Toyota's on the road.
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click.kas 2:26PM (8/31/2009)
it looks like a camry!
http://www.indianautotalk.com
Mike 10:05AM (8/31/2009)
Sorry, but in this instance, regardless of the state of economic state of newsprint media I'm going to go with overpaid editor.
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rygar 11:23AM (8/31/2009)
Editors don't build car ads. Editorial departments and Advertising departments are 2 totally different worlds, which hardly talk to each other. And as a graphic designer who currently works at a newspaper and has to build car ads from time to time, I can (sadly) say that we are very much underpaid.
And Ray is right, this is what happens when someone who doesn't know anything about cars builds car ads. Google images is not a legitimate clip art source!
homunculus 10:18AM (8/31/2009)
that's a very good photoshop. you can clearly see a family resemblance to the genesis. but i really doubt that it's going to look like that.
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UH2L 10:19AM (8/31/2009)
Looks 10 times better than the Camry or the Accord, even with the Camry style grill. The proportions look good, but we can't be sure that the wheel and tire diameters aren't exaggerated. Saab and other brands do this in the brochures and it is annoying. Even though it's subtle, it's a misrepresentation of the actual product.
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hypermiler 10:29AM (8/31/2009)
YF Sonata is already in production and Hyundai dealers are accepting preorders for launch next month. Hyundai jacked up the KDM price quite a bit, the US price too will match Accord pricing level but the car itself is a near luxury car.
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James 10:30AM (8/31/2009)
Uh... guys.. This was just on this website about a week ago. Have we already forgotten what the new Sonata really looks like?
http://www.autoblog.com/2009/08/21/spy-shots-are-you-the-2011-hyundai-sonata?icid=sphere_blogsmith_inpage_autoblog
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Yao Ming 11:26AM (8/31/2009)
You're right.. somehow I missed that post.
The car in that picture reminds of a Subaru/Toyota
apflydragon 11:37AM (8/31/2009)
the photoshop looks decent but the actual looks much better imo
Taglane 5:21PM (8/31/2009)
Oh, and...
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_XEEIzU0UA1M/SpwXfhZNEsI/AAAAAAAAPKc/s9XNLrKxXRY/s1600-h/Picture+1.png
koreancavedog 12:36AM (9/01/2009)
and this:
http://photo.media.daum.net/photogallery/economic/0803_car/view.html?photoid=2793&newsid=20090901110925003&cp=mk
evilspoons 11:23AM (8/31/2009)
My local newspaper ran a bunch of ads for Nissan dealerships promoting the Cube, only instead of being the current-gen North American Cube it was the previous-generation (fairly different looking) Japanese cube - the more astute dealerships mirrored the image so the driver was on the correct side, but this rendered the text 'cube' on the license plate backwards.
Is it really that hard to get a press photo, dealers?
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Ghox 12:27PM (8/31/2009)
Yeah, but most press photos are released under a license that says that they're only for editorial purposes, so using them in an ad would be a no-go.
But then again, something tells me that they wouldn't really care anyway.
Jon (Aussie) 11:41AM (8/31/2009)
That photoshop is so Toyota Camry...
Anyway, what the heck is Active Military Rebate? I guess it's that you gotta be in the military to be eligible... and the whatever else rebates that's on there... seems like the average Joe can't get all of them... I dunno how advertising is in the US but I think this one is a bit outrageous (or is this the typical car ad?).
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Taglane 11:57AM (8/31/2009)
You guys posted an article last year showing this photoshop. As well as a rear view.
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