November 14: Where is Ssanysong?

Everyone tries to make their products stand out and hopefully in a good way. For instance, take a look at this van and tell me that it is a great effort at differentiating it from the competition. I should rephrase that. This company has done an excellent job of making this model stand out. But oh, my aching eyes, why did they do it? Relax folks, this is the last version of this van, the latest one is still different, but not as hideous.

So who is this company?

Ever heard of Mahindra and Mahindra? They are a huge company from India, with fingers in a ton of pies (more on them in an upcoming blog). One of the pastries is the Ssanysong car brand made in South Korea. Ssanysong? And once upon a time you thought that Hyundai was hard to pronounce. The Rodius van pictured above is one of the products in a rather large and somewhat varied line up. Take a look at the new Rodius........

Different, but not bad and so much better than the prior model, but this is only a start. Let's take a quick look at what else they have..........

 This is the latest version of the Rexton, an suv that I've been seeing in Europe for the past several years, but this latest version looks great and stands out in an increasingly crowded suv field. Or how about the Tivoli XLV......

Clean and contemporary. Remember, that initially all those Pacific rim countries' car designs were slightly weird in our eyes, but over time and thru the hiring of great talent, they have started turning out trendsetting designs.

My question to Ssanysong is when are you coming to North America? You've seen how your compatriots, Hyundai and Kia, have done and right now, you are missing out on a huge opportunity in the world's second biggest car market. The folks know how good South Korean quality can be and you've got a strong product line. Few sedans, but these days they are a detriment, not an asset. I've wondered about this question for a while now. Eureka! Just yesterday, I saw on one of the many auto related websites I frequent, that Ssanysong is indeed investigating an entry into our market with an announcement due soon.

What else might they have to show us? A nice little crossover (aren't they all these days?), another Tivoli, this time the Tivoli Sport.....
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Want something smaller, but like the vibe Ssanysong seems to be generating? May I present the Korando.....

Similar in size to the hot selling Chevy Trax. Stock a few and stand at the showroom door with order book in hand.

If you aren't selling suvs, then you better have a pick-up somewhere in your roster. Honda has the Ridgeline and even Hyundai is planning on dropping a pick-up "light" on the market in the next year or so. No problem here, as Ssanysong already has the Actyon Sports.........

What better way to cover all your bases? But about that name?

Notice that Hyundai and Kia are eyeing the high end luxury car market with the Genesis line and Kia's K900 (would you please just shoot the person who comes up with these non names?). Ssanysong also has this base covered, if you really felt it was necessary........

Ah yes, the Chairman W, another of the names, which might have to be changed, once the entire Ssanysong line up is expanded outside of South Korea. Coming in around $70k USD, this might be a car that they hold back, while populating the marketplace with suvs and that semi pick-up.

North America. Seems to be ripe for the picking, if your company has the right product line, good quality and is not North American. And it gets even better, as Ssanysong also plans to have an electric vehicle in place within a couple of years. Important fact: Mahindra and Mahindra is currently building a big factory in Detroit! Now that's just plain insulting, isn't it?

Yet another stay tuned moment folks. Which upcoming auto show will have the priviledge of announcing the imminent arrival of yet another competitor for our hard earned dollars? A couple of European brands are also considering setting up shop again on our shores. A surfeit of choice for sure, but my bet is on that South Korean company, which will beat them all to it.......Ssanysong.

Until next time.......