March 11: Another home run?

I sometimes wonder if I have nothing else to write about or maybe I simply love Hyundai? Well, neither is accurate, but they are a wonderful case study of a company, that in the beginning threw junk at us (read my numerous other blogs) and then, thru perseverance and hard work (including hiring the right people), rose from the ashes of that junk and now rolls some of the market's best vehicles off their production lines.

What brings this on, you ask? No problem......check out the just shown 2020 Sonata, due out later this year........

My first thought upon seeing this last week, was, "Sonata is a $30k car?". Hyundai has once again jumped ahead of the curve, in what seems to be one of the last holdout categories of the family sedan. Obviously some companies still consider this to be a viable market niche. Companies like Toyota, Honda and Nissan. Pretty good company.

The Sonata has had a rocky road in its journey. After a string of reasonably good, but quite forgettable cars, Hyundai shook things up in 20111. But first, a brief look at some past Sonatas.......

Pleasant, but nothing to write home about (assuming one writes home about such things) and certainly not much competition for the titans of the midsize market of the day, the Toyota Camry and the Honda Accord. Trying to assail those two was like climbing Mt Everest in shorts, t-shirt and sandals. Maybe tougher.

Then saying that Hyundai made a dramatic change would be a bit of an understatement. Overnight they went from the milquetoast 2010 model (shown here in black) to the stunning 2011 reincarnation........

Now the Sonata was a real competitor, that brought style to the family sedan category. No longer would mom and dad have to settle for blah, just because that Mercedes or Lexus was out of reach.

The next redesign was actually a conservative redo and most pundits thought of it as a step back from the gutsy brink of Hyundai's past success. Now once again Hyundai will be leading the midsize field, with a car that looks to be hitting above its pay grade style wise.

Mercedes, BMW or Hyundai?

Now for the big question. Can this new Sonata, along with the new Altima, Accord and Camry forestall the onslaught of suv's, that are taking over the world? For your blogger, who still makes a sedan his vehicle of choice, this Sonata is indeed good news. The world needs one less new suv.

Until next time......