From Punchline to Powerhouse: How Hyundai Rewrote Its Future

Those of us who were around during the 1980s remember the Hyundai XL.

It was cheap with questional- questionable reliability.

The new Korean upstart was once the butt of jokes.

Yeah, that four-door was horrible.

It was.

In 1990s, '92 came, there was a recession, it almost killed General Motors.

Demand for what Hyundai was selling in the United States fell to the point where they re- were reconsidering whether to pull out of the United States entirely, but they didn't.

They decided to double down, started bringing out new vehicles.

In the midst of the Asian financial crisis in the late 1990s, they bought Kia and added them to the fold.

By 2006, the Hyundai Sonata rivaled the Honda Accord in build quality as the automaker built its first American manufacturing plant, that being in Montgomery, Alabama.

Hyundai also, like I said, brought Kia along for the ride as their product wasn't just better, but revolutionary with each passing generation.

In 2007, Hyundai announced their intention of launching a luxury brand.

And yeah, we laughed, but not anymore, because Hyundai is on a roll.

Let me fill in the blanks for you.

In 1999, Hyundai did a masterstroke that even to this day, no other manufacturer outside of the Hyundai Group offers this kind of warranty.

10 years, 100,000 miles on the engine, guaranteed.

I believe it's six years, 60,000 on everything else.

It is the best warranty in the industry, and I mean better than Mercedes, better than BMW, better than Lexus, better than Toyota.

Nobody else has a warranty that strong.

All because that at the turn of the century, the folks at Hyundai said, "You know what? We're gonna get serious about quality.

We are going to get serious." And with Kia now under their fold, and I told folks down through the years when all I was doing was writing car reviews, I said, "Keep your eye on Kia, 'cause every time they come out with a new generation, it's not evolutionary, it's revolutionary." They are leaping better and better and better.

And right now, believe it or not, Hyundai Group is the third-largest automaker in the world.

That is behind Toyota and Volkswagen.

They make more vehicles worldwide than all but two manufacturers.

Let that sink in a minute.

Those of us who were around during the 1980s remember the Hyundai XL.

It was cheap with questional- questionable reliability.

The new Korean upstart was once the butt of jokes.

Yeah, that four-door was horrible.

It was.

In 1990s, '92 came, there was a recession, it almost killed General Motors.

Demand for what Hyundai was selling in the United States fell to the point where they re- were reconsidering whether to pull out of the United States entirely, but they didn't.

They decided to double down, started bringing out new vehicles.

In the midst of the Asian financial crisis in the late 1990s, they bought Kia and added them to the fold.

By 2006, the Hyundai Sonata rivaled the Honda Accord in build quality as the automaker built its first American manufacturing plant, that being in Montgomery, Alabama.

Hyundai also, like I said, brought Kia along for the ride as their product wasn't just better, but revolutionary with each passing generation.

In 2007, Hyundai announced their intention of launching a luxury brand.

And yeah, we laughed, but not anymore, because Hyundai is on a roll.

Let me fill in the blanks for you.

In 1999, Hyundai did a masterstroke that even to this day, no other manufacturer outside of the Hyundai Group offers this kind of warranty.

10 years, 100,000 miles on the engine, guaranteed.

I believe it's six years, 60,000 on everything else.

It is the best warranty in the industry, and I mean better than Mercedes, better than BMW, better than Lexus, better than Toyota.

Nobody else has a warranty that strong.

All because that at the turn of the century, the folks at Hyundai said, "You know what? We're gonna get serious about quality.

We are going to get serious." And with Kia now under their fold, and I told folks down through the years when all I was doing was writing car reviews, I said, "Keep your eye on Kia, 'cause every time they come out with a new generation, it's not evolutionary, it's revolutionary." They are leaping better and better and better.

And right now, believe it or not, Hyundai Group is the third-largest automaker in the world.

That is behind Toyota and Volkswagen.

They make more vehicles worldwide than all but two manufacturers.

Let that sink in a minute.