Hyundai arrived in America following Yugo into the bargain-basement corner of the market, and stayed there for more than a decade. A Hyundai was perceived as cheap, and not particularly cheerful.

In 1996, Hyundai launched the Tiburon coupé, for the first time displaying a unique styling language, and a desire to expand beyond mere transportation. A flamboyant effort, the car was received fairly well by enthusiasts; but it was at heart a niche product, and Hyundai craved attention from the average consumer.

So, on November 1^st, 1998, Hyundai became the first company in America to offer a 10-year, 100,000-mile powertrain warranty on its new cars. Although buyers were slow to consider Hyundai, those who did could at least feel confident that the company would stand behind its products; and the designs themselves would grow progressively more modern in the years to come. The 1^st-generation Tiburon coupé of 1997 and the 3^rd-generation Elantra of 2001 were the first Hyundais that could dynamically hold a candle to their competition.

By 2002, Hyundai's reliability had improved dramatically. Indeed, 5 years later, in June 2007, Hyundai extended its industry leading warranty to certified pre-owned cars,up to 5 years old and with less than 60,000 miles on the clock.

These days, Hyundai's new cars also get a 7-year/ 60,000 mile corrosion warranty, as well as 5 years of 24-hour roadside assistance. Meanwhile, Toyota and Honda do not offer roadside assistance; Toyota halves Hyundai's powertrain warranty, while Honda's is no more than a third, and neither matches Hyundai's bumper-to-bumper coverage.

Hyundai's cars in 2009 averaged 30.1 miles per gallon for the '09 model year, according to the EPA, making this the most fuel-efficient automobile brand in America. Rounding out the top five were Honda (29.7 mpg); Volkswagen (29.6 mpg); Toyota (29.4 mpg), and Kia (28.0 mpg, and Hyundai's sister brand). Every automaker will strive to meet the upcoming 35.5 mpg U.S. standard for the 2016 model year, with such technologies as direct injection; turbocharging; hybrid powertrains, and lithium-polymer batteries. Hyundai's first hybrid vehicle will be the 2011 Sonata sedan.

Today, Hyundai talks of wanting its future sales to be "emotion led," rather than "value led"; buyers will, the company hopes, want a Hyundai because it looks good, not because it is cheap. Hyundai's European chief designer Thomas Buerkle sums up the Korean firm's brief this way: "upmarket and refined with a touch of sportiness."

Whether Hyundai can pull off an "upmarket" feel remains to be seen; and whether it can do so without developing truly new technology is particularly debatable.

Thus far, at least one Hyundai executive has admitted that Hyundai wants to be "best rather than first;" this is a company which emphasizes the importance of getting the technology right, in price as well as content, rather than spending millions developing something that is too expensive for its clientele. It is, as such, unlikely to be first with the latest and greatest.


Hyundai launched its first V8 sedan in the U.S. market, the Genesis, in the Summer of 2008. Powered by an optional 4.6-liter V8, Genesis offers 375 horsepower and rear-wheel drive.

Meanwhile, in Korea, a 2010 Equus luxury sedan is planned, with a larger and more powerful 5-liter V8 producing between 400 and 500 horsepower. Rumors abound of a flagship, supercharged model with more horsepower still.


In 2003, Hyundai announces that it expects to sell 420,000 cars for the year, and 500,000 in 2005. Compare these numbers with just 90,217 in 1998.

Indeed, Hyundai in 2003 becomes only the fourth import franchise ever to exceed 400,000 annual units in the United States.

After dropping Hyundai Motor America CEO Bob Cosmai and installing Steve Willhite in his place, Hyundai asks Willhite to beat 2006's sales total by 100,000 units in America. This prompts AutoExtremist's Peter DeLorenzo to accuse Korean automakers of "operating in an alternative universe... (with) a time-honored propensity to ignore reality unlike anything this business has ever seen" (AutoExtremist, May 2nd, 2007).

Despite a growing range, and the 4^th-best owner loyalty in the business (over 57%), survey after survey in 2005 suggests that no more than 40% of American car buyers have even heard of Hyundai - and that 84% of new car buyers do not consider buying one (Autoline Detroit, May 1st, 2005).

Nonetheless, Hyundai plows forward, launching a new Tucson, a next-generation Accent; a new Sonata; the Azera flagship; Elantra; Entourage minivan, and 2^nd-generation Santa Fe.


The 2006 Sonata seems more refined any Hyundai before it. Finished in a choice of eight colors, Sonata's new lines suffer from none of the former car's faux-Jaguar aspirations (as Motor Trend once characterized them). Hyundai's mainstreamer has evolved from a car which overtly - perhaps even shamelessly - expressed ideas above its station to one which exhibits subtle (if still derivative) polish.

The best efforts of in-house and outsourced designers notwithstanding, "Hyundai" and "style" have never quite been correlated. "Despite everything, I felt sorry for him," wrote Top Gear presenter and columnist Jeremy Clarkson of famed designer Giorgetto Giugiaro, who penned the 1976 Hyundai Pony.

"You see, his path to righteousness does contain one particularly large and virulent mistake. Flick through the book that celebrates his work, and it's there: a small picture tucked away on page 46: a verruca on the foot of greatness.

"I'm talking, of course, about the Hyundai Pony, which is almost certainly the ugliest car of all time.

"Quite how this happened, I have no idea... either way, Giugiaro has to get up every morning and have breakfast knowing that on his way to work he might pull up at the lights alongisde the result of his darkest hour.

"And as he peers inside, the occupants will peer back, their faces saying it all... why?" (Born to be Riled, Jeremy Clarkson, BBC, 1999).

As Hyundai in the mid-90s began engineering its own vehicles, depending less on Mitsubishi, its design grew more unique and expressive. CAR magazine looked at the 1^st-generation, 1997 Tiburon in September 1996, and concluded that Korea was "finding its own style now." The bulbous, swooping coupé was certainly something new, and more visually (and dynamically) special than any Hyundai to date.

After pushing the envelope to excess with the unloved 2^nd-generation Tiburon, a car which grew distastefully blobular for 2000, Hyundai started with a fresh sheet of paper for its 3^rd-generation, 2003 Tiburon. As with more modern Hyundais, clean (if derivative) lines exemplified restraint.