Hyundai - 30 years in Canada

[addyguy]

Hyundai Canada is hyping that it is celebrating 30 years in Canada this year.

They have come a long way from the 1984 Pony they first offered, and even its follow-up, the Excel.

When I was looking for my first car in 1994, I looked at a 1987 Pony on a lot. Claimed it had only 35,000km, and they only wanted $1700 for it. Already had large patches of painted-over rust on it, and had such a tinny, 'tractor-ish' sound to it, it was unbelievable.

Started at $1700; but as I got less interested, it went to $1400, then $1200, then $1000 if I would just take it, safetied. Mind you, I'm not sure I did much better with the $1200 Skyhawk I bought...the Pony might have been cheaper to keep on the road!

The mom of a friend of mine in junior school had 2 cars, a newer Stellar, and a much older Volvo wagon, and she had to get rid of one car. We tried to talk her into keeping the Stellar, as it was newer and nicer, but she 'just trusted' the Volvo more...too bad the floor rusted completely out of it shortly after that!

I remember I really liked the Accent when it came out, it was a real step in the right direction. I've always liked them, especially the GT one offered for a bit.

When I was looking for my current truck, I wanted to get a Tuscon V-6, but they were too new to be in my price range, they hold their value well.

How times have changed for this brand!

 

[The_Jeff]

Hyundai took 30 years what it took Detroit 90 to do. China's going to have to pull it off in 10.

I remember seeing a Canadian plated Pony in Vermont; what an oddity to US eyes.

 

[dishdude]

If I remember correctly from being a kid, Hyundai came in to the US in 1987 with the Excel, and then followed it up with the Excel based Scoupe a few years later.

Everyone was a little skeptical since it was just after the Yugo was launched, but I remember seeing a few high mileage Excels running around during the 90's. In the mid-late 90's, I thought they would pull out of the market since their sales were so bad. They pretty much only sold cars by offering financing to people with credit scores in the 500s.

There was a period there where VW was thinking of pulling out of the US market - boy how times change!

 

[KrisZ]

Meh, Elantra GT is the only model from Hyundai that even remotely interests me.

 

[DemoFly]

I've noticed that Hyundai and Kia's prices are rising but the cars are staying the same.

 

[The_Jeff]

Originally Posted By: DemoFly
I've noticed that Hyundai and Kia's prices are rising but the cars are staying the same.


The secret's out. They've done what every business wishes, make a quality product and hope you can jack the price up.

 

[SteveSRT8]

They still have a ways to go. But they do have a great focus on content. They are sorely lacking in chassis development. They handle poorly and have had some issues with delivering both advertised mileage and horsepower.

If they continue to improve at the rate they have to date I expect them to be one of the better cars available in less than ten years.

 

[artificialist]

Originally Posted By: eljefino
Originally Posted By: DemoFly
I've noticed that Hyundai and Kia's prices are rising but the cars are staying the same.


The secret's out. They've done what every business wishes, make a quality product and hope you can jack the price up.


Yes, much like what happened in the late 90s, early 00s for Honda and Toyota.

Anyway, my dad owned a 1987 Excel. That car was so horrible, that I thought Hyundai would NEVER build a good car. I was wrong.

 

[Propflux01]

I owned an '87 excel. Car never gave me an issue at all, however was grossly underpowered. Lasted until wrecked with 117K.

 

[artificialist]

Originally Posted By: Propflux01
I owned an '87 excel. Car never gave me an issue at all, however was grossly underpowered. Lasted until wrecked with 117K.

My dad did have 1 major problem with his.
The badly designed carb failed, and took out some other parts in the process. He said that the most expensive part was the O2S, and it was destroyed by excessive unburnt fuel.

 

[Errtt]

Recently bought a my 1st Hyundai (2010 Tuscon/39k) and I hope it last me at least 3 years with no major issues.
Just got it past Memorial holiday weekend, and have put almost 6k on the clock. Hour 1-way to work.
Have done one OC myself (Pennzoil Platinum 5w30 & OEM filter).
Seems to do okay gas mileage for a 4 cylinder, 6-speed auto, SUV.
Cross my fingers hoping it does okay for awhile.

 

[whip]

Originally Posted By: eljefino
Originally Posted By: DemoFly
I've noticed that Hyundai and Kia's prices are rising but the cars are staying the same.


The secret's out. They've done what every business wishes, make a quality product and hope you can jack the price up.

Do they make quality cars? The ones I've seen owned by friends and co workers are pretty poor. Rust, body and interior parts failing, transmission issues, and CV joints failing way to early. They might make good looking cars, but I still don't see the quality.

 

[Azeem]

I think Hyundai/KIA is a good vehicle for the money no less than Chrysler and no better than Ford.I see more and more of them on the roads, this must tell you something.

 

[zloveraz]

Lets read the news:

1. Hyundai is maxed out at all NA plants, in fact it's hurting sales because they can't build enough cars to meet current demands.

http://driverpulse.com/hyundai-us-ceo-we-cant-build-cars-fast-enough-2/

2. Hyundai NA CEO named automotive executive of the year.

http://www.berkshireeagle.com/auto/news/ci_23521627

3. Hyundai HCD-14 wins Concept of the Year

http://www.autonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20130711/OEM03/130719976#


Several past articles of VW fears Hyundai greater than Toyota, Toyota fears Hyundai more than GM, etc, etc.

Whether you have your head in the sand or not this company is really kicking arse and hitting it on all cylinders, not just this year but for the past several years with sales and just a plethora of new designs, models, etc.

 

[SteveSRT8]

Originally Posted By: whip
Originally Posted By: eljefino
Originally Posted By: DemoFly
I've noticed that Hyundai and Kia's prices are rising but the cars are staying the same.


The secret's out. They've done what every business wishes, make a quality product and hope you can jack the price up.

Do they make quality cars? The ones I've seen owned by friends and co workers are pretty poor. Rust, body and interior parts failing, transmission issues, and CV joints failing way to early. They might make good looking cars, but I still don't see the quality.


My wife is currently considering a new car and will not even look at Hyundai/Kia. They are simply not built well enough to handle her driving style or the roads she drives on.

I have now seen two moderately high mileage examples that both had terrible wear and tear issues at around 100k miles, they are failing everywhere and trim pieces are falling off, etc. Their cars are simply cheap with a ton of toys to play with.

Around here we expect a lot more than 100k miles from our vehicles without repairs.

 

[Silk]

Probably about the same time frame in NZ too - we had the Stella in the early '80's...it was a MkIII/IV Cortina chassis with a Mitsubishi engine, so pretty familiar for us mechanics. I thought it was a lot of car for the money.

 

[whip]

Originally Posted By: Azeem
I think Hyundai/KIA is a good vehicle for the money no less than Chrysler and no better than Ford.I see more and more of them on the roads, this must tell you something.

It tells me they build good looking cars, and the majority of consumers don't do research.

 

[Hootbro]

Originally Posted By: eljefino
Hyundai took 30 years what it took Detroit 90 to do. China's going to have to pull it off in 10.

I remember seeing a Canadian plated Pony in Vermont; what an oddity to US eyes.


To put your analogy in context, what took Detroit 90 years was learning from their own mistakes as the were the pioneers in car manufacturing.

Hyundai may have only took 30 years but they were able to learn from Detroit's mistake.

Chinese may only take 10 years because they can double down and can learn from both the Koreans and Detroit.

So it is not a linear learning scale where the Koreans or Chinese get to the same point in quality quicker because they figured it out on their own to do it better.

 

[Silverado12]

Originally Posted By: Azeem
I think Hyundai/KIA is a good vehicle for the money no less than Chrysler and no better than Ford.I see more and more of them on the roads, this must tell you something.


IMO Chrysler is leaps and bounds better than Hyundai/Kia. Not even close. The cars I have seen w/most mileage were all Chrysler products.

 

[SteveSRT8]

Originally Posted By: whip
Originally Posted By: Azeem
I think Hyundai/KIA is a good vehicle for the money no less than Chrysler and no better than Ford.I see more and more of them on the roads, this must tell you something.

It tells me they build good looking cars, and the majority of consumers don't do research.


Precisely what I have seen. Some truly beautiful styling with the most full featured interiors you may have seen anywhere, coupled with a flexi-flyer chassis, bad NVH, and the only car I have ever felt the floorboards flutter over RR tracks in the last 30 years!

Not yet.