- Hyundayyy.
Hain Die? Hyun D?
I think Hahn said it best.
You're representing me now.
Whattaya think? I'm gonna let you roll in a Hyundai?
Now I'd like to just Trons...
Uh.
Now I'd like to just trust Hahn's advice,
but it's hard when he has the judgment to let a guy
who just crashed his car,
get in his car and drifted having zero drifting experience.
But that's besides the point.
The fact Hyundai is getting thrown under the bus
in "Fast & Furious," and car enthusiasts having grumbles
about the brand paired with some heavy depreciation
on its more popular cars has me interested.
For some reason my mind always associates Hyundai
with the early two thousands.
Maybe it's because of the Tiburons,
and the fact I think we all have that one person
in high school that had the most clapped out Tibby
but drove the absolute piss out of that car.
However Hyundai has been around for over 50 years.
It's not a domestic, not a Euro, not even JDM,
but KDM baby.
Being involved in World Rallycross,
making hot real-world drive coupes like the Genesis,
hot hatches likes the Veloster.
They must be perfect, right? Wrong!
Inflated MPG numbers, cheap creaky interiors.
And can you even name more than four cars made by Hyundai?
Don't cheat. I'm being serious.
So let's dive into why Hyundais get so much hate.
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And of course, whether Hahn would let you roll
in a Hyundai or an Evo, we have all the wheels,
tires, and suspension you could ever want
over at fitbitindustries.com.
So before we start getting into the beef
with the KDM manufacturer, let's learn a little bit
about where it came from.
So all the way back to 1947,
Charles Ju-yung founded Hyundai
Engineering and Construction Company.
I never thought that Hyundai started out the same way
Bob The Builder did.
It doesn't just change to a car company either.
There would be Hyundai Heavy Industries. Oh.
There'd be Hyundai Heavy Industries Group.
I'm like the Fitment Industries Heavy Group.
(gong bangs)
Hyundai Department Store Group,
and even Hyundai Fast Food Restaurants.
Okay. The last one was a lie.
But Hyundonalds sounded cool when I was singing about it.
But in 1967, we would see Hyundai Motor Company
hit the streets.
The first car to be produced came out in 1968,
and helped Ford for some reason.
I swear Ford has owned or dabbled in
half of the automotive industry somehow.
But anyway, the Cortina was born.
I won't talk much on this
because this was pretty much just marketed
as Ford's vehicle.
And you've probably never heard of it until right now.
Fast forward and we're in 1974
with George Turnbull being hired on
with a team of five of the best British car engineers
they could get.
By 1975, we would see the Hyundai Pony.
The Hyundai Pony.
It was kind of a lackluster name.
However, the car was sort of a big deal.
It was South Korea's first real mass-produced car.
But cars are expensive to make and design and test.
So this wasn't your average pony.
This was a bit of a Frankenpony.
It had a body styled by a separate engineering company.
You have the engine and transmission
from their friends at Mitsubishi.
And then some good old leftover parts from the Ford Cortina.
Honestly, I think the Pony looks kinda cool.
It would come in a hatchback version
and a pickup truck version.
And I'm not quite sure why I like it so much, but I do.
Not only would the Pony be South Korea's first car,
but it would be the first exported car from South Korea.
Also being sent all over the world to places like
Europe, Chile, Egypt and eventually even Canada.
Not the US though.
No way the Pony could compete
with its Ford big brother, the Mustang.
Wait, is that why they, that why they named it the Pony?
Remember how I just said it came to Canada?
Well, those syrup-drinking, manner-having hockey players
would love it.
And when I say love it, I'm talking like me
in Old School RuneScape, getting my first PvP kill
type love.
It was one of Canada's top selling cars.
So by 1986, the US is peeking over and being like,
yo uh, Hyundai kinda dope though.
And the first car from the South Korean manufacturer
would come to the States.
The Excel.
Yup. Like the spreadsheet.
Dude, they hired (beep) everybody.
Everybody except the guy to come up with car names, I swear.
So anyway, the Hyundai spreadsheet would actually be
another decent looking car.
It was a hatch.
Kinda gives me some MK3 Jetta vibes,
but in the hatchback kind of way.
Mitsubishi would be selling this car for them in the US,
under the name, which wasn't really any better, The Presses.
The Presh, Presses, Precious?
- My precious!
(Gollum screams)
- I don't know. It's weird.
Hyundai would continue gaining momentum somewhat quietly,
and bring the Sonata in 1988, which is still made today.
By 1991 they would be producing
their first four-cylinder engine,
and their own transmission because someone was fed up
making the freaking sign horses or cars I mean.
So all of this sounds like a bit of a Cinderella story.
From construction, to slapping cars together
for another brand, to putting their own cars together
made out of other cars, to making their very own cars.
Chubby beard guy, where is this hate you speak of?
Well, I'm glad you asked.
Although initially received and loved by everyone,
Hyundai didn't have the money to be building these cars.
Soon peoples' cars weren't like
the first day they picked them up.
By cutting corners and saving pennies where they could,
reliability issues would plague these cars and the company.
Things weren't looking good for a little bit there.
This would start to ruin the reputation
this company worked so hard to earn.
But they were willing to put up a fight.
Hyundai would put tons of time and money
into long-term research of their vehicles' design
and the quality.
They would start offering great warranties
to try and combat that rough history they had.
And show they were willing to prove themselves again.
Fast forward to 2004, and this is really where you'd see
Hyundai come back to life.
Doing extremely well money-wise,
and taking the reliability game serious,
competing for the best rate along with Toyota and Honda.
Today Hyundai is producing bangers like the Genesis Coupe,
the Genesis Sedan, the Veloster and many more.
They really have made a name for themselves.
But the problem is first impressions stick
for a lot of people.
And this is where the hate comes in.
Those reliability issues in the past
left a bad taste in peoples' mouths,
and Hyundai would continue to be thought of as cheaper cars.
Not all of their cars have been perfect
since they came out with Genesis Coupes
still feeling very cheap on the interior
in their first models.
And then seeing massive depreciation.
In 2009, Genesis Coupes would start in the MSRP of $22,000.
Now with a quick Facebook Marketplace search,
you can find them for nine, eight, seven, $6,000.
I found multiple in that price range,
even with under a hundred thousand miles.
Overall I'm gonna give these cars
a three on the hate scale.
I feel for the underdog here.
And honestly, I don't hear that much hate anymore
about these cars.
Owners enjoy them, and their unreliable past
has started to drop off.
Not to mention they keep making better cars every year,
it seems like.
Hyundais aren't Hahn's or my cup of tea,
but I respect where they came from,
and what they have been able to do.
But what do you think?
Would I catch you rolling around in a Hyundai?
Drop a comment.
I'm going to read every single one.
And whether you drive a Frankenpony or a Veloster,
then head on over to fitmentindustries.com
for all your wheel, tire and suspension needs.
Check out the site.
It's what allows us to keep making videos
every single day for you guys.
By the way, think we should bring "Driver To Driver" back?
Think it's almost time.
If you've made it this far in the video,
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Number two, prove it by dropping a comment
on who you'd like to see on "Driver To Driver" next.
Season three baby. Let's go.
(saxophone music)