SpeedyV6

There are also a lot of Euro snobs who still believe that German and Swedish cars are the best built, most reliable cars on the road.

zamo

Saab, unfortunately is far down the list in the IQS, just a tad before the worst which is Land Rover. These people are still in the 80s.

YeuEmMaiMai

I'm not suprised by this considering that

1. They just built a new plant here
2. approximately 80% of the car is assembled by robot.

Pure Adrenaline

iTrader: (2)

Yeah, well, the Honda Accord also costs about 6-7 grand more. To a lot of buyers, that's reason enough to buy the Sonata. I've been driving one for the past few weeks on the company's dime. It's actually a damn decent car.

zamo

Can't go wrong with real 5 year/60,000 miles bumper-to-bumper warranty on top of the 10/100 powertrain warranty.

So you can basically drive it for 60k miles with absolutely no worries.

corey415

Toyota Corolla MY 2006 Fleet Sales: 12.8%
Nissan Altima MY 2006 Fleet Sales: 14.3%
Hyundai Sonata MY 2006 Fleet Sales: 50.2%

http://www.fleet-central.com/af/stats2006/cars_web.pdf

zamo

I wont argue the chart, but it makes sense. With such a warranty / quality, who wont like it in their fleet.

chungkopi

high fleet sales will help hyundai in a long run. hyundai doesn't care about the resale right now. all they want is an exposure for next 5-10 years.

and i think it's working. many people bought sonata after they rented them. i've rented sonata more than 7 times, and i find myself "this is so much better than my GF's civic, and it's cheaper". it's big, good looking and pretty fast. i know interior is pretty boring, but it's only 18.5k with a leather so can't complain.

i still can't believe sonata lx v6(leather without roof) is actually a grand cheaper than civic lx.

also, i rented azera from hertz a month ago and it was a very nice ride. there were like 30 azeras!(metro airport) 3 middle aged man behind me were lined up for azeras.

and go test drive santa fe. it's awesome. my mom is buying one next year. i would love to trade my CL for it.

Mokos23

You guys think that Hyundai and Kia are at the same level in terms of quality like Honda was in 1991-1995?

chungkopi

i think hyundai's quality is almost as good as honda already. i think all of their models are bullet proof like 91-95 hondas. all except the outgoing tiburon which has some clutch issues.

my only beef is that hyundai is still playing too safe on design department and their interior design is not there yet. but quality is a sure thing.

also, i live in ann arbor, and i have at least 15+ korean buddies who drives sonatas and elantras. they buy it because it's cheap and hyundai gives a good deal on korean international students. also couple of my friend just bought a santa fe, and it's a great vehicle.

anyway none of their cars have any kinds of problem and it's an excellent ride. it's as reliable as any cars out there, and i find the build quality A+.

zamo

Hyundai models is to Nissan models as 2006 is to 2001.

Just look at the new Santa Fe. It is what Nissan made with the 02 Altima. A complete redesign.

Lets wait a little.

Pure Adrenaline

iTrader: (2)

I just drove a company Santa Fe on a 250-mile trip today and I liked it. The interior is very good. It was the first time I've driven the new Santa Fe and I liked it a lot. And it wasn't even the top of the line model.

Pure Adrenaline

iTrader: (2)

No, more like late 90's, or the beginning of the millennium. Hyundai is only about a generation or less behind Honda/Toyota in terms of quality and design. In some aspects, actually on par. Now they just need to work on driving dynamics, i.e. sports cars. But that's just my personal thing, because I would like to see dedicated sports cars from Hyundai, like Honda's S2000. Yeah, I want to see a Hyundai build a competitor model to the S2000.

Even though Hyundai is a bit behind Honda, you have to realize that Honda has been in the U.S. for 50 years now, and Hyundai is only now celebrating its 20th anniversary in the U.S. Hyundai sold its first car in the U.S. in 1986. Honda sold their first car 30+ years before that, which is the gap Hyundai has made up in the process.

So when you look at their current status, you would say Hyundai is behind Honda. But in the big picture, there's more to it than that.

Hyundai has already surpassed the domestic companies, so they are not exactly behind.

F900

Interesting

Yumcha

Roh-oh!

http://www.reuters.com/article/ousiv...24382620070205

chungkopi

a huge blow to my last name!

Pure Adrenaline

iTrader: (2)

This is just how it's done over there. Just a different process of getting political lobby funds.

He did it for the good of the empire. It does not bother me that he did this.

He will be pardoned soon and things will carry on as normal. Many people believe that Samsung may be next.

It's a political thing, and Hyundai just happened to be the target. Do you think that when you get that close to a global corporation on a micro level, you wouldn't find any dirt?

Besides, what's tens of millions of dollars? My department alone requested close to 5 million dollars of budget for 2007.

This is also a good indicator of how quickly and big Hyundai Motor Company has risen in the last several years. If this had happened before MK Chung took over in '99, it would've maybe gotten a short article on page 9. Now it's all over the front page of major newspapers because it is big news, big company.

JediMindTricks

pure adrenaline, do you work for hyundai? what do you do?

Yumcha

Your last name is Hyundai...?

chungkopi

chung



hyundai's founder was chung ju young and these losers are his offsprings

Pure Adrenaline

iTrader: (2)

I wouldn't be so quick to call MK Chung a loser. He's the one responsible for the vast quality improvement that has taken place in the last few short years. I cannot recall any other companies being able to improve quality so much in such a short period of time.

Pure Adrenaline

iTrader: (2)

Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama is expanding, even though it has not even been two years since the plant went into full production.



From the Channel 8 News :



BREAKING NEWS FROM CBS 8 NEWS:
HYUNDAI TO ADD 522 JOBS TO MONTGOMERY PLANT

This is Breaking News from CBS 8 News -- Hyundai Motor Company has announced plans to build a second engine plant at its auto assembly plant in Montgomery, which will add 522 jobs to the Montgomery economy. CBS 8 News was the only station to carry this announcement Live Monday afternoon.

The new engine plant will provide motors for Montgomery's Hyundai plant and the Kia plant that is being built just across the state line in West Point, Georgia. Gov. Bob Riley says that the Kia plant has already created 1,600 new jobs in Alabama.

The engine plant represents a $270 million investment by Hyundai. The engine plant will be 349,000 square feet.

Montgomery's Hyundai plant opened in May 2005 and produces Sonata and Santa Fe models.

Pure Adrenaline

iTrader: (2)

Better article with more info.

http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/mld/l...r/16889039.htm

agranado

hooray for more jobs

TSX69

Hyundai to Launch Luxury Brand in 2010
Posted on: March 17th, 2008
Filed under: Industry News, Hyundai
Hyundai to launch luxury brand in 2010 'along the lines of Toyota's Lexus'

Hyundai is enjoying booming success in China. The Korean automaker sold 24,000 vehicles in China so far in 2007, an increase of 11 percent over 2006. Hyundai was also the number 2 auto brand in the first half of 2008, falling behind its Japanese rival Toyota.

Currently Hyundai imports five models to China including the Elantra and Sonata. Later this year Hyundai will add two more model to its China lineup with the new Santa Fe and the Azera. That will be followed by a new sports car in October called the BK which will be based on the Hyundai Genesis Coupe. In the first half of 2009, Hyundai will bring its most expensive luxury sedan, the Genesis, with a 4.8 liter engine. A crossover is also in the works.

“Then we will keep the pace of introducing one or two new luxury models every year to reinforce our premium brand image. We have the same strategy as our Japanese rivals,” Young-Key Koo, chief representative of Hyundai Motor China for sales and marketing, told Gasgoo.

“In 2010, we will officially launch our luxury brand name and logo along the lines of Toyota’s Lexus, Nissan’s Infiniti and Honda’s Acura. All of our luxury models will have the new badge.”

That’s right baby. Go Hyundai! The same move is likely to follow in other markets including the U.S. after Hyundai studies the impact of the Genesis brand in China.

AsianRage

Wow, now it's a fight. Japan vs Korea.

dom

Bad idea.

msl82

yea bad for Japan...

Moog-Type-S

TLyoung'un

good.

charliemike

Has anyone actually looked at a Hyundai Accent lately? It's actually a pretty nice looking car on the outside for the segment it's in.

I think we have misconceptions about the current quality of their cars. I'm not saying they're Lexuses but are they as good as any American car? Definitely. As any Japanese? In some ways but overall not quite yet.

Edward'TLS

I can predict that the Hyundai luxury brand will be much more successful than Acura given the highly published V8 and RWD in the Korean line-up.

amv12

This is great news. Hyundai is hungry! Competition is always great. This will force Acura and the other guys to up their game.

yohan81718

I'm trying to be not so biased... but hyundai has definitely been on the right track for past 5 years or so... i'd like to see where they (or their premium brand) stand 5 years later

is300eater

this is kinda like Samsung going after Sony... or, should I say... "went" after Sony?

Dan Martin

I want Hyundai stock...

neuronbob

I'm thinking about buying some Hyundai stock before it shoots to the moon.

chill_dog

It was only a matter of time.

titan

Me too.

stright-(paint)balling

this will probably piss y'all off but i'm gonna say it due to it's what i believe with the 2009 RL and TSX:
2010 About the time Acura goes under due to shitty designs.