http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/...ars-usat_x.htm

"At Honda, 'We take them very seriously,' says spokesman Andy Boyd about the South Koreans. 'They're coming up the ladder, no question.' "

I've been thinking, my $35K '04 TL should have a better overall warranty package. I've been outdone by Hyundai/Kia. This is embarrassing.

 

Good read. I went from a 2000 Hyundai Elantra to my current 05 TL.
They still have a long way to go, but its good to see them improving so quickly.
The new sonata seems very very promising. Go Korea...

 

Hyundai especially is entering into the near luxury segment of the market, and with that type of warranty, they are going to be a contender in no time, Hyundai badge or not. They announced today that XM Radio will now be standard in all of their vehicles. I don't feel as unique as I used to in my newer TL.

 

honda has one of the worst warranties in the business their competitor Infiniti is 70,000 miles. Acura tries to sell you a 50,000 mile warranty for as much as 1700 more than the cost of car. Between that and the insurance cost of the acura, they are getting more and more expensive. Most people do not buy or need to buy an extended warranty when they are covered for at least 70,000 miles. This way you can drive the car 4 years and still get it certified when you trade it in at 60,000.

Acura drops the trade in value once you go over 50,000. So another reason acura needs to step up.

 

hyundai sonata voted the most reliable car by J.D. Powers...

beat out all japanse cars...

http://www.fool.com/News/mft/2005/mft05030807.htm

~mark

 

Damn they are getting better.

 

maybe it's only me. I will never buy their cars...



I said the similar thing to myself a long time ago... but I'm using the LCD made over there...

 

http://www.theautochannel.com/F/news...23/019379.html

 

IMHO, this copy cat still has a long way to go... The exterior looks sharp and new, but the interior is soso...

 

We used to laugh at the Japanese cars. Look at where they are now. With the long warrantee and their new commitment to quality, they are in deed moving up. Wake up call for the rest. The design to me is a mix match from different cars (euro and jap cars), not very original but not bad looking (at least the newer models.).

 

Acura/Honda, Lexus/Toyota, and Infiniti/Nissan (Renault) should not make the mistakes SONY had done in the past decade... but I do hope the new competitors (if they really are) would be the good wakeup calls to them...

 

.

 

^ agree with you on the interior... looks pretty tacky

but then again, we're a spoiled bunch!

 

"Underselling made sense: The companies had a cost advantage by building cars with cheaper Korean labor. But the advantage is starting to disappear as Korean labor rates rise and as Hyundai is opening its first U.S. plant."

It's easy to get numbers when you

1. Stop making crap
2. Give it away
3. Warranty it forever

The real challenge comes from here on out. Maintain the quality and grow from some real sales numbers. We have all seen what happens when a new model is launched. How about a new model from a new plant in a new country? How do you think that initial quality will be?

I'm not betting aganist them long term but I don't want one right now. I think their buyer is still someone else. I test drove a couple prior to the TL; not my cup of tea at any price.

 

I tell my dad how good Japanese cars are and Korean are crappy....he tells me Japanese cars were also in the same position once.

But I have to say that lot of the Korean car designs look copied.

 

So did the Japanese cars back in the late sixties and early seventies. Take a look at the first gen Celica or Toyota Corolla or Mazda or Datsun. They were cheap, ugly and got good mileage and ran forever. The rest is history and current events.