Korean Cars

[ffracer]

I have to laugh, as Samsung and LG still to me is not as good as the Japanese brands that are good (Panasonic, Pioneer, Sony, JVC, etc.) for reliability, but the performance and style are sometimes on par. LG = Lucky Goldstar as OVERKILL pointed out.

Both Samsung and LG are brands that when I was in high school were knock-offs of the big guys. It has been 30 years and I still don't see them as equals and for objective reasons - I've seen their insides.

Having said that, they are far better than the [censored] from China.

 

[Cutehumor]

Perceptions have changed for sure. I grew up in the 90's. so Samsung/LG have been upcoming/respectable brands.

 

[Cardinal49]

In LCD HD, Samsung is consistently ranked at the top. Panasonic is considered the best plasma (that is where they decided to focus). Sony, JVC, etc are all lower tier brands now. I don't even think Pioneer makes TVs anymore.

FYI - Even many of the Korean and Japanese brands are now made in China.

I recently read that Samsung is the fastest growing electronics company in the world. They make washing machines, cell phones, cameras, TV, PCs, cameras, air conditioners, etc. Most are very highly rated in their segment.

I agree that it is interesting how they got so big so fast.

 

[grampi]

Originally Posted By: Vikas
Korean did this very systematically. They started with consumer electronics and durable appliances. Think of Samsung and LG. LG skipped the slow climb altogether and just made itself appear on the top.

Many many papers would be written on LG and its phenomenally successful brand management in US.

I am still amazed how they managed to pull it off.

- Vikas



I'm not. People are far more gullable today than they've ever been. Look at the hoards of people paying way too much for Harleys because their massive marketing machine has brainwashed people into believing they're getting a superior product when they're actually getting an inferior one...

 

[Vikas]

Quote:

Look at the hoards of people paying way too much for Harleys because their massive marketing machine has brainwashed people into believing they're getting a superior product when they're actually getting an inferior one...


Now not only you are going to get this topic locked, but whole bunch of tattooed guys are going to come and break your kneecaps

- Vikas

 

[grampi]

Originally Posted By: Vikas
Quote:

Look at the hoards of people paying way too much for Harleys because their massive marketing machine has brainwashed people into believing they're getting a superior product when they're actually getting an inferior one...


Now not only you are going to get this topic locked, but whole bunch of tattooed guys are going to come and break your kneecaps

- Vikas



What, I'm not allowed to tell the truth?

 

[jim302]

Korean electronics companies improved their reputation by making a better product. It takes a lot less time to build a good reputation in this kind of industry (TVs, Computer products, mobile phones, etc).

Then they got into appliances after they had created a name for themselves in other areas.

Korean car companies (basically Hyundai since they also own Kia) improved their reputation with better quality and a long warranty. This gave people more confidence to give these cars a try... and it worked. The basic 5 year / 60,000 mile bumper to bumper warranty is good by itself, and the 10 year / 100,000 mile power train warranty is a good deal for the first owner.

I know there are complaints about the powertrain warranty, but these can be found for any manufacturer. Over all, powertrain components are quite reliable in most brands at this point. Many issues are owner abuse, neglect, or lack of knowledge (driving with no oil, overheated, etc). This applies to any brand... but with a longer warranty, these events are a little more likely.

 

[SteveSRT8]

Jim302 you are so right. I was just at dinner on Tuesday with a service writer for a Chevrolet Dealer, and he said they are harder than ever on warranty claims.

I'm sure others have done this, but did you know that Chrysler is 'locking' its new PCM's? They developed a fancy security algorithm
to prevent people from tampering with their stock tune.

And Grampi is spot on about the Harley crowd. Doesn't matter what it is, its just gotta say Harley on it or it's not cool!

 

[KrisZ]

I have a 46 inch Samsung LCD TV. It's a basic model with no frills, 60Hz, 1080p, that's about it. It's over 2 years old now and I have no complaints.

My wife was researching appliances and Samsung again was scoring very high reviews, so that's what we got. We have Samsung fridge, stove, microwave, dishwasher, washer and dryer

It may look crazy, but these items were bought at different times and each was researched by my wife an me before making a decision, so no I'm not a Samsung fan boy, but in this case they got our business through reasonable prices and good quality products. Reliability is still unknown to me, but time will tell. Oh, I got a freaking Samsung smartphone as well

, oh boy...

Korean cars, on the other hand, do not impress me yet, but I'm not ruling them out, and when the time comes to purchase another car, I will definitely look at ALL offerings.

 

[ffracer]

Don't confuse style and performance (TVs) with reliability and durability. The Korean two (Samsung and LG are only leading/competitive in certain categories mainly TVs and phones).

they aren't in the same league for durability in other categories as the Japanese. For North Americans, Panasonic (who makes literally everything electric/electronic), Hitachi, and Toshiba are the former Toyota equivalent of reliability in appliances and other hard good products, which are not sold in North America, but are sold around the world.

 

[kr_bitog]

Originally Posted By: ffracer
I have to laugh, as Samsung and LG still to me is not as good as the Japanese brands that are good (Panasonic, Pioneer, Sony, JVC, etc.) for reliability, but the performance and style are sometimes on par. LG = Lucky Goldstar as OVERKILL pointed out.

Both Samsung and LG are brands that when I was in high school were knock-offs of the big guys. It has been 30 years and I still don't see them as equals and for objective reasons - I've seen their insides.

Having said that, they are far better than the [censored] from China.


Sony is one of the worst reliability among the brand you listed, new Samsung and LG is one of top in class for LED quality and electronics because they manufacture most of the parts themselves and not cheapest contract outsourcing like Sony does

 

[kr_bitog]

Originally Posted By: KrisZ
We have Samsung fridge, stove, microwave, dishwasher, washer and dryer

It may look crazy, but these items were bought at different times and each was researched by my wife an me before making a decision, so no I'm not a Samsung fan boy, but in this case they got our business through reasonable prices and good quality products. Reliability is still unknown to me, but time will tell. Oh, I got a freaking Samsung smartphone as well

, oh bo

Korean cars, on the other hand, do not impress me yet, but I'm not ruling them out, and when the time comes to purchase another car, I will definitely look at ALL offerings.

For home appliance, SAmsung is improving but still not as good as LG or Japanese brands. The smartphone offer better display but battery seems still not that robust.
Korean cars now are much better on powertrain and engine due to they are willing to invest on getting advanced part from tier-1 supplier, but suspension tuning is still hit and miss.

The interesting part is for home air conditioning, apparently some China brand is very reliable compared than Japan/Korea brand even though the electricity consumption is not their forte.

 

[Spazdog]

Originally Posted By: kr_bitog
Originally Posted By: ffracer
I have to laugh, as Samsung and LG still to me is not as good as the Japanese brands that are good (Panasonic, Pioneer, Sony, JVC, etc.) for reliability, but the performance and style are sometimes on par. LG = Lucky Goldstar as OVERKILL pointed out.

Both Samsung and LG are brands that when I was in high school were knock-offs of the big guys. It has been 30 years and I still don't see them as equals and for objective reasons - I've seen their insides.

Having said that, they are far better than the [censored] from China.


Sony is one of the worst reliability among the brand you listed, new Samsung and LG is one of top in class for LED quality and electronics because they manufacture most of the parts themselves and not cheapest contract outsourcing like Sony does

And Panasonic.
We had a rear projection Panasonic. The power supply tanked immediately. That was warranteed. Shortly after the warrantly expired, the red convergence amplifier failed. Cost $400. Within a few weeks of that, another convergence amplifier failed. We got a Toshiba Regza rather than replace it. Figured that there was two more amplifiers and that would =$800. Spent an extra $200 for the new Toshiba LCD instead. 5 years. No problems.
It's not an isolated event. My friend's Panasonic Plasma TV chews through power supplies on seemingly a yearly basis.

To be honest, I wanted the Pioneer, but when placed side by side, the only difference I could see between the Toshiba and the Pioneer was the price tag.

 

[Cardinal49]

I have had hit and miss luck with electronics over the years. I had a great Sony TV (tube) that still works but all other Sony products had a pretty short life span.

I have a Samsung LCD that has a great picture and is going on 3 years with no problems. I was looking for a 32" LCD for the bedroom and took a chance on a Vizio at Costco (2 year warranty). The picture is just as good as the Samsung and is going on 2 years with no issues.

I have Kitchenaid appliances. When a new microwave had an issue, Whirlpool sent out a repair man (independant). We got talking and I asked about the Korean and German appliances. He felt that LG and Samsung were good products giving the edge to Samsung. He did say that it is harder to get parts for these appliances compared to Whirlpool. It also took longer to get paid for warranty repair work. He did not think highly of Bosch. Yes, this is just his perspective but I did find it interesting.

 

[someguy]

Is this discussion about cars or electronics?

I bought my first Korean car this year 2011 Elantra and I'm very impressed. 5 years ago if you told me I was buying a Hyundai for my next vehicle I would have laughed in your face. Times have changed but the majority of the general public still does not have a great perception of Korean cars. I still hear a lot of comments along the lines of "Well it looks nice but still a Hyundai", or "Oh really thats a Hyundai its actually a nice car".

Bottom line is that I got the most for my money with this car. The build quality is top notch inside, outside, and under the hood. It doesn't squeak, rattle, or shake and I don't see any evidence of cutting corners to make the cost lower. Actually I keep finding little details that impress me as I get to know the car better. At this point only time will tell how reliable this car will be but it came with a great warranty.

 

[ffracer]

The point is that if you read my post, it doesn't knock Samsung or LG in what they are good at (TVs, phones, some other things), but they aren't there yet on other things.

While you have had problems with certain brands of TVs, if you look at the reliability of certain brands Panasonic, Hitachi, etc. still today have better reliability across the board of products they make vs. the Korean brands. Look at Samsung printers or LG dehumidifiers, both not so good. Sony does not have a good recent track record for . It is spotty.

The other factor in addition to reliablity and durability is performance. Anyone can make a boring US spec Toyota competitor like a base Corolla or a Camry - it either has to be more reliable or cheaper, but if they want to compete, they will need to make a better performing (handling, power), more efficient, or better build quality to compete.

A base Corolla is boring car, but very dependable and a known quantity. A Corolla S is much more fun and also reliable. Need to top that or be cheaper.

 

[Y_K]

Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
VERY german ride.

yes, I like them, but the other operators who tried them in livery complained about the suspension repairs sucking money and increasing op-ex. But when it works, it *is* nice: you hear the thump, but you do not feel it.

 

[Popinski]

Consumer Reports always give Korean cars and electronics high ratings. I'm not sure if it's a legit source of testing but they're always rating the Koreans high. On this month's issue, they marked the Hyundai Genesis VG, LG Vacuum cleaner, and Samsung TV's #1 They're on par, if not better than the Japanese and Americans. People just can't accept that because they're stuck in the "old days".

 

[SteveSRT8]

We need a magazine to rank the consumer reporting magazines.

 

[grampi]

Originally Posted By: Popinski
Consumer Reports always give Korean cars and electronics high ratings. I'm not sure if it's a legit source of testing but they're always rating the Koreans high. On this month's issue, they marked the Hyundai Genesis VG, LG Vacuum cleaner, and Samsung TV's #1 They're on par, if not better than the Japanese and Americans. People just can't accept that because they're stuck in the "old days".


I don't know, my brother-in-law works at a car dealership and sees a lot of cars coming through. He said he doesn't see nearly as many high mileage Korean makes coming through as he does Japanese makes, and he also said the high mileage Korean vehicles have more problems than the Japanese makes...I'm not so sure I'm ready to jump on the Korean bandwagon just yet....