5 posts tagged “hyundai”

We watched this (thanks again to Tanya) at the office a few days ago:

   Hyundai, which made one of the cars that got squashed by the 62-year-old woman in the BMW X5 (she has since been arrested), saw a publicity opportunity, and presented the owner with a brand-new i30 Wagon (Elantra Touring in Canada). I know, it’s an opportunity made for bloggers to blog about worldwide, but you know, I really don’t mind being a sucker on this and post this video knowing its purpose. It is a happy ending, as the company says, but it’s also a great brand equity-builder on a global level. It shows that Hyundai is responsive to web culture, and has given its concessionaires and subsidiaries the clout to pull these things off for the good of its customers. It ties in to a promise at the start of the recession that the company would help with customers’ car payments if they lost their jobs.
   One big mistake is that the Toyota Avanza (the car behind the lucky recipient) is in shot for a lot longer than the Hyundai that the owner, Todd Jamison, was presented with.

A few interesting things to note about cars in India.
   The Hindustan Ambassador is still plentiful in number. Though outwardly identical to the Morris Oxford of the 1950s, it is regarded as India’s first national car, rather than the Tata Indica. Cab drivers and government types prefer Ambis, and the big shots have white Ambis with a light on the top of the leading edge of the roof.
   A few of my hosts and friends knew of the Premier Padmini when I brought up the topic, but young people did not. I only saw two in my time there, one in Indore and one in New Delhi. They tell me they are more plentiful in Bombay—the majority of Indians I met referred to their southern city by this name, not Mumbai.
   The Hindustan Contessa, Premier 118 NE and the Standard 2000 were flops, so there was no surprise that they were totally unseen during my time there.
   Maruti is the market leader, and there are 800s everywhere. Maruti is expanding its line-up: the Swift DZire (four-door Swift) and SX4 sedan being newer entrants, appealing to Indians who like the size. DZire is doing well, despite a silly name; in Indore, SX4 taxicabs regularly ferried me twice. The regular Swift hatchback is also sold there, but it’s still the 800 that pushes the Maruti–Suzuki name. I was saddened to see the demise of the Maruti symbol, however, on the latest models, in favour of the Suzuki S.
   From my brief time there, it’s fairly safe to say that very, very few Sipanis and Standard Heralds and Gazels have survived. I saw none.
   I saw only two Tata Indica Vistas, or V3s.
   It took till my second day to see a Tata Indigo Marina. The Tata cars are popular but regarded by the locals more as a car produced by a truck manufacturer and not as refined as Japanese brands—although many of the Japanese and Korean brands are actually made by Indians and have quality equal to, if not better than, what emerges from Japan and Korea.
   There are a lot of Tata Indicas and Indigos.
   There are numerous Mahindra Scorpios and Tata Safaris, as some Indians go for SUVs. Let’s hope this trend doesn’t last. We should be copying them with their subcompact cars, not the other way around.
   Hyundai is growing like crazy and the i20 is a big deal, though it was too soon after the launch to spot any on the roads. However, there are plenty of i10s, which are made in India for the world market.
   Honda is considered a premium make, and the City (Fit Aria) is a big seller. The latest model is advertised on billboards around Gurgaon, and I managed to see one of these. Civics are considered quite upscale, especially considering India receives the fancy Thai-made sedan. The Accord is very flash.
   Both Hyundai and Honda are arguably in a better position than Honda, which began its market assault on India with the Innova, a utility vehicle that some taxi drivers adopted. It has been harder for Toyota to establish a name for itself as a manufacturer of passenger cars. The Corolla Altis (E120) is gaining ground, but not as successfully as one might think.
   GM is very thin on the ground. Daewoos are rebadged as Chevrolets, and there are a few Matizes, Kaloses and Lacettis around, with other model names. Of earlier efforts, there are some four-door (booted) Opel Corsas about, but not many. Fiat also failed: I saw one Uno, and a handful of Palios. One expected better from this master of small cars.
   Of American brands, Ford is doing an incredible job and its Ikon and Fiesta models seem to have done very well, certainly better than Toyota. The Fiesta is more advanced than any compact that Ford sells in the US.
   As in Roma, there is a sense of rhythm to driving in India. Appearing chaotic at first glance, the road rules make some sense if you drive, or are driven, for long enough. I am actually game to give it a shot.

While I was sick, I did some no-brainer things—like add models to Autocade. See if you can remember these four.

Autobianchi A111. 1969–72 (prod. 56,984). 4-door saloon. F/F, 1438 cm³ (4 cyl. OHV). Largest Autobianchi ever made, a development of the front-drive, transverse-engine Primula, a range which included the first hatchback. Developed under Dante Giacosa, and resembling a cross between the Fiat 128 and 124 models, which it was positioned between.

Dodge Monaco. 1990–2 (prod. 139,051 incl. Renault Premier and Eagle Premier). 4-door sedan. F/F, 2975 cm³ (V6 OHC). Rebadged version of Eagle Premier, inherited from Renault’s ownership of AMC, which Chrysler bought in 1987. Under the contract, Chrysler had to buy 260,000 units of the PRV V6 engine, and since Eagle Premiers were not flying out of showrooms, the Dodge Monaco was concocted as a rebadged range-topper, even though Dodge already had the Dynasty in the segment. Monaco was a better car thanks to the more advanced Renault engineering, though it was never pushed that strongly and it wound up mostly forgotten. Generous equipment levels, roomy, very good handling for its class, better drag coefficient than Ford Taurus Mk I. Anti-lock brakes as option from 1991 as with Eagle; no airbag in any model years. Some of its ideas carried on in successor, Dodge Intrepid (1993–7). Differs from Eagle only in trim, badging and grille.

Holden Sunbird (UC). 1978–80 (prod. 55,000 approx. incl. Torana). 4-door sedan, 3-door coupé. F/R, 1892 cm³ (4 cyl. OHV). Facelifted Sunbird, with rectangular headlamps. Locally developed Starfire engine, a four-cylinder version of Holden’s ageing 2·8-litre six, was a selling point in brochures, considered less fondly in reality due to poor performance. Cramped, certainly by late 1970s’ standards. Three-door Hatchback deleted 1979. Replaced in Holden range by Commodore Four.

Hyundai Marcia. 1995–8 (prod. unknown). 4-door sedan. F/F, 1997 cm³ (4 cyl. DOHC), 2497 cm³ (V6 DOHC). Y3 Sonata-based mid-sized sedan for Hyundai’s home market, but always overshadowed by Sonata. Competent but as with sister car, dull.

This Autocade article brought back memories of the World Trade Fair at the Wellington Show Buildings in 1979, which I attended with my mother. Škoda, Hyundai and Volvo showed off their cars at the Fair, which in my opinion was never equalled with subsequent school holidays. I picked up the Hyundai Pony brochure and believe it had this photograph in it.
   What happened to those great, open-to-the-public trade fairs in New Zealand?

Hyundai Pony. 1975–85 (prod. unknown). 3-, 4- and 5-door sedan, 5-door wagon, 2-door pick-up. F/R, 1238, 1439, 1597 cm³ (4 cyl. SOHC). ItalDesign body—Giugiaro also did the original Volkswagen Golf—was smart and crisp for Pony’s 1975 launch, but it hid a structure that essentially followed those of the Morris Marina, mated to Mitsubishi running gear. The brainchild of George Turnbull, formerly of British Leyland, who believed that a simple platform such as the Marina’s was far more adaptable than BL believed. Engines aside, pretty dated technology even when new, but sold on simplicity and cheapness, and took Hyundai into many export markets in the 1970s and early 1980s. Usually takes the credit as the first all-Korean car, despite the foreign input. Pick-up added 1976 after original hatchback, wagon in 1977, three-door in 1980. Replacement Pony II began coming on stream in 1982, after which original range rationalized and replaced by 1985.

On my main blog, I have talked about the Holden Epica (née Daewoo Tosca). This is probably, uniformly, the worst mid-sized car on the market in New Zealand. I also happen to think it’s the ugliest.
   Last year, Holden began selling the new Barina. What it neglected to tell you was that the new model scored two stars in various safety tests. The model it replaced scored four.
   The new model is actually the Daewoo Kalos, which was withdrawn from the New Zealand market about three years ago for being, well, crap.
   Now, we have the Tosca. The Tosca is actually derived from the old Daewoo Leganza of the mid-1990s. In fact, the platform is older than the Vectra C’s, the car the Tosca replaces in New Zealand.
   The Leganza, too, was not the safest car in its day. The Australian testers, who gave it two and a half stars, noted, ‘The Leganza did not perform well in the offset crash test (0.9pts out of 16). The passenger compartment was substantially deformed. The driver's contact with the airbag was unstable. The passenger hit the dash, with a moderate risk of life threatening head injury. Protection from serious leg injury was poor for the driver.’
   To be fair, the Tosca, or Epica, is a lot safer than the old Leganza. But it doesn’t mean it isn’t junk.
   Many of the driving impressions that Australian journalists have done indicate that this car is the bottom of the heap. If you must buy a Korean-built car, go over to Hyundai or Kia. Both the Hyundai Sonata and the Kia Magentis fared better in at least one test.
   If you are buying a Holden Vectra—a superior car to the Epica—ask the dealer when the car left the factory. I have nothing to base this on other than an educated opinion, but I believe the New Zealand-market 2007 Vectras left the factory some time in 2005. There should be a way for a buyer to check the chassis and production numbers. My belief is no Vectras have left the German factory with the 2003-model grille for some time.
   I have been on Holden’s back about these cars for over a year, because I think Kiwis are getting a raw deal. Meanwhile, Ford, Toyota and Hyundai will be bracing themselves for extra buyers.