Friday: Who would have thought?

Typical 1986 Pony

Remember the Hyundai Pony? Absolutely cheap and absolute garbage! My dear departed mother-in-law had one (not on my recommendation of course) and really liked it  -  shed a tear when it finally went and she got a Civic. In the 10 years she had it, it broke down regularly (twice on one trip to Florida) and fell apart bit by bit.

What a way to introduce your company to a new and huge market. Well it took many, many years, but finally Hyundai has achieved an enviable position in North America. Their quality has been great for several years and now their designs are cutting edge  -  look at the new Sonata, Elantra, Tucson and Accent. Sales? Closing in on the Honda Civic as Canada's best selling car.

I can get any make of vehicle for my clients, but I love to recommend Hyundai as I firmly believe it is an excellent choice. J.D. Power did a survey of 4/5 year old cars and their incident of repair. Hyundai was up there with Lexus for reliability and lack of any repairs. With this kind of track record, how can one go wrong?

But who would have thought? Look at this new model.........

This is the 2012 Genesis R-Spec  -  visually it adds lower body work, bigger wheels/tires, but the real change is underneath. How about a whopping 429 horsepower and 376 ft-lbs of torque. Also a tighter, but not abusive suspension upgrade. I think you can never have enough power, so this car would be right up my alley, although I'll look forward to a hopefully more distinctive design on the next generation. But who would have thought?

And now a Genesis coupe race car.......

And a slightly stretched Equus limo.......

Who would have thought in 25 short years Hyundai would have, could have gone from a producer of pure garbage to excellent quality, sought after vehicles?

NASCAR hits the road course in Sonoma, California this Sunday  -  always fun to see these big racecars negotiate a road course. And since it's from California, it starts after your golf game or gardening or whatever. No excuse not to check it out.

Until next time..........