Posted on 11/13/2010 11:23:33 PM PST by 2ndDivisionVet
They’ve come a long, long way.
Hyundai has really gotten their act together in the last decade I’ve had my Elantra for 7 years, and I’ll probably hang on to it for another four or five at least. It came loaded with everything, and it runs as smoothly today as when I first bought it.
As for taxis in Korea...I feel ya. As the old saying goes: “There are no atheists in foxholes...or on any highway within 50 miles of Seoul.”
Nothing remarkable here. Cadillac has V8 already with similiar numbers. And a 3 cylinder? Not unusual you can get 55mpg. It’s basically a motocycle. Move along.
But still come up short against Honda. I took a close look at both. Fit and finish on the Honda is much, much better. Dash and console parts move on the Hyundai when you push on them. You can pound on the the dash and console in the Honda and all they do is make a thud sound. Solid.
429 horsepower sounds like a lot out of a 5.0L mill, but 376 torqs means that they’re spinning that V8 into high revs to make the HP figures.
These are pretty good figures... for a Hyundai. I will give them that.
Toyota has their 5.7L V8 at 552 factory horsepower and 500+ torques, full drivetrain warranty. That mill has a rotating assembly that will support 1000+ horsepower with stock parts. There’s Tundra 4x4s out there right now that will boil all four tires down the dragstrip.
And Ford and Chevy? Good God. Their most powerful engines with the most power potential in their company histories are being made right now.
I don’t think well-equipped Cadillacs with a powerful V-8 start at $43,000.
I had a co-worker back in 2001 that had an RUF (Porsche) and lived in Seoul.
We both were stationed at Yongsan, but our worksite was at a ROK base down in the southern suburbs of Seoul.
And after getting off of work one Sunday morning (worked the mid-shift), he offered be a ride.
Needless to say, we got back to Yongsan in about 5-7 minutes. Never thought I’d ever be able to say that it’s possible to drive at 140 miles an hour in the middle of Seoul. But it is, at least, at 0600 on Sunday morning.
Was stationed at Camp Red Cloud, which was then I Corps (ROK/US) Group headquarters. I drove Lieutenant General M. Collier Ross to the Blue House and Yongsan from time-to-time when his regular guy had the day off. You’d be surprised how fast you can go in a souped-up Ford LTD with 3 star plates. Who’d pull you over?
Cadillac has an engine with far more guts than just ‘similar’ numbers to that Hyundai. Those CTXs can really peel out.
Circa 25 years ago.
Wasn’t that the Geo Metro?
A Cadillac CTS-V with a V-8 starts at $64,290, according to their website. You cannot get a V-8 in a regular CTS.
http://www.cadillac.com/pages/mds/pricing/affordability.do?zipCode=50315®ionCode=70&countyCode=19049
Well, it is a Cadillac. Can’t have any old riff raff driving around in one.
Hyundai has really gotten their act together in the last decade Ive had my Elantra for 7 years, and Ill probably hang on to it for another four or five at least. It came loaded with everything, and it runs as smoothly today as when I first bought it.
As for taxis in Korea...I feel ya. As the old saying goes: There are no atheists in foxholes...or on any highway within 50 miles of Seoul.
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Had a 94 Excel. put 130,000 miles on it. Went to the shop once for clutch problems. Luckily I can do the minor things. Have a 2004 Santa Fe that my family is very happy with. Hyundai puts out a good product.
Almost. The Geo Metro was a later iteration of the Sprint, a rebadged Suzuki Cultus/Swift.
Now about Hyundai, yeah their early cars were pretty bad. The Excel was one of the worst pieces of junk you could buy. Had the distinction of being the last car sold in the US with a carbureted engine. They also sold a rebadged version as the Mitsubishi Precis. Hyundai has definitely come a long way since then.
But let’s not badmouth South Korea’s car-making skills. Their cousins up north couldn’t build any cars at all.
Chevy Sprint came before the GEO Metro but it makes no difference. They were all made by the same Jap company.
Love the Ford Taurus and with 376 Horsepower and all the electronic goodies.
But I have never owned anything but a Ford and always will.
Looking into. Bump.
The Hyundai’s new V8 sounds like a replacement for the Ford 4.6 V8, which powers the Crown Vic, Grand Marque, Lincoln Town car, and I’m sure some Ford trucks.
I love my Grand Marque, and previous Crown Vics!
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