2018 Hyundai Kona

[Eunos_Cosmo]

It seems to be paying off for them, though. Probably learnt a good lesson from GM that keeping the same models for over a decade with very little changes is not a sustainable strategy. Just look at Chevrolet, Buick, Cadillac, Oldsmobile, etc models from the 1980s to 2000s.

Well we're definitely in an era of exuberant spending by the Koreans to try to wrest market share away from Japan. I suspect that their margins are less than Japanese competitors because of things like frequent facelifts but also much more experimental feeling products. The Germans and Japanese seem to be trying to cut costs (the body detailing and interior complexity has tanked in the last 10 years for both groups) while increasing prices while the Koreans seem to be trying to improve quality while keeping prices below competitors.

 

[Keef]

Well we're definitely in an era of exuberant spending by the Koreans to try to wrest market share away from Japan. I suspect that their margins are less than Japanese competitors because of things like frequent facelifts but also much more experimental feeling products. The Germans and Japanese seem to be trying to cut costs (the body detailing and interior complexity has tanked in the last 10 years for both groups) while increasing prices while the Koreans seem to be trying to improve quality while keeping prices below competitors.

It kind of reminds me of how Toyota treated the Camry for so long with a brand new model seemingly every couple years. But while Hyundai's iterations have always been great cars and improved every time, the Camry was bargain basement throughout the 2000s despite selling millions.

 

[05XR8]

Maybe Hyundai are bringing back the egg cars. Nowadays, brands are doing the "three-cuts-in-the-eyebrows" everywhere and block shapes.

 

[Keef]

Great explanation of something I didn't notice at first but now really bothers me. Probably Hyundai cutting costs with simpler stampings but they failed to frame the rear tail lights the same way they did the front, resulting in effectively the exact same design looking worse than it does on the other end of the same car.



The design explanation starts at about 7:00.