LA 2009: 2011 Hyundai Sonata debuts with style, four-cylinder only and less weight
12-02-2009, 12:35 PM
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LA 2009: 2011 Hyundai Sonata debuts with style, four-cylinder only and less weight
Filed under: LA Auto Show, Sedan, Hyundai
2011 Hyundai Sonata SE - Click above for high-res image gallery
Cheap and inexpensive are not necessarily synonymous. Inexpensive is generally considered a positive thing. Cheap? Not so much. Hyundai automobiles have always been relatively inexpensive compared to their direct competitors. In recent years, the Korean company has worked extremely hard to rid itself of any talk of cheapness by improving quality, introducing an unprecedented 10-year/100,000 mile warranty and engaging in some remarkably clever marketing campaigns.
It wasn't always so. Way back in 1983, Hyundai first entered the North American market when the Pony hatchback went on sale in Canada. Two years later, the replacement for the Pony, dubbed "Excel" went on sale in the United States. To say that the launch did not go well would be the understatement of the decade. While those early Hyundai models were indeed cheap, the company nearly met the same fate in this market as Yugo.
Unlike the abysmal Yugo, Hyundai persevered. The company kept redesigning its cars, making each subsequent generation better than the last and extending its warranties to generate confidence in its products. More than two decades later, Hyundai is introducing its latest challenger, the 2011 Hyundai Sonata, into what is arguably the most fiercely contested segment in the U.S. market - that of the family sedan. Check out our high-res galleries below, and then click through to the jump to read more of our impressions and check out Hyundai's press release and specifications.
Gallery: 2011 Hyundai Sonata
[Source: Hyundai]Continue reading LA 2009: 2011 Hyundai Sonata debuts with style, four-cylinder only and less weight
LA 2009: 2011 Hyundai Sonata debuts with style, four-cylinder only and less weight originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 02 Dec 2009 14:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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2011 Hyundai Sonata SE - Click above for high-res image gallery
Cheap and inexpensive are not necessarily synonymous. Inexpensive is generally considered a positive thing. Cheap? Not so much. Hyundai automobiles have always been relatively inexpensive compared to their direct competitors. In recent years, the Korean company has worked extremely hard to rid itself of any talk of cheapness by improving quality, introducing an unprecedented 10-year/100,000 mile warranty and engaging in some remarkably clever marketing campaigns.
It wasn't always so. Way back in 1983, Hyundai first entered the North American market when the Pony hatchback went on sale in Canada. Two years later, the replacement for the Pony, dubbed "Excel" went on sale in the United States. To say that the launch did not go well would be the understatement of the decade. While those early Hyundai models were indeed cheap, the company nearly met the same fate in this market as Yugo.
Unlike the abysmal Yugo, Hyundai persevered. The company kept redesigning its cars, making each subsequent generation better than the last and extending its warranties to generate confidence in its products. More than two decades later, Hyundai is introducing its latest challenger, the 2011 Hyundai Sonata, into what is arguably the most fiercely contested segment in the U.S. market - that of the family sedan. Check out our high-res galleries below, and then click through to the jump to read more of our impressions and check out Hyundai's press release and specifications.
Gallery: 2011 Hyundai Sonata
[Source: Hyundai]Continue reading LA 2009: 2011 Hyundai Sonata debuts with style, four-cylinder only and less weight
LA 2009: 2011 Hyundai Sonata debuts with style, four-cylinder only and less weight originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 02 Dec 2009 14:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | Comments
View the full article
