Hyundai, did you steal?

"Smultron" (ixyps) 09/11/2014 at 15:34 • Filed to: Hyundai

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Well, I do not like Hyundai. I can not name any car they make or made which I'd like to own. Or drive. This is quite rare for me, usually I'd always find something to recommend a car to someone ("Buy that Dacia Duster, you know, if it breaks down you won't lose much and untill that, you can transport some stuff in it..."). With Hyundai, it is different, though. It apears to me, they are a bit like Volkswagen, in the worst way possible.

You know,from time to time some manufacturer is onto something, say the "compact" SUVs like the Honda CR-V or the second Toyota RAV-4 are gaining more and more interest from average buyers. VW decides now to watch excactly what they like about those cars, thinks about it, starts surveys, all the things manufacturers do and in the end, they will launch a car which unites those abilities mostly, in this case the Tiguan. Hyundai does almost the same and launches this thing:

It DOES also unite what people liked about their second gen RAV-4s, it is, as the Tiguan, it offers you higher seating, it doesn't look like it could kill children with its front fascia, but still pretends to be a rough, rough boy with all that hard, raw plastic. Apart from that, it is mostly a larger hatchback and nearly drives like that. And here stops Hyundai. Their cars are driveable average tastes. Apart from that, VW did add its own classic touches to the Tiguan, namely adapting its suspention gear and drivetrain until total boringness, because its as safe and comfortable as it gets with a unnecessarily "bold" compact. Also it's got at least some identity.

My opinion is, Hyundai succeds in building the average car, featuring average styling, average performance and handling, average fuel economy for average pricing. But I do not like that approach. Hyundai is the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! of cars.

So, I fairly often check their site. Today I did and I saw this big ad on their frontpage promoting the newly released i20:

It reads: "The new i20. More Room for Inspiration"

Well that is as ripped off as most of these slogans are, but what got me upset a bit was this:

That guy doing some relaxing in his chair. Let me imagine those Hyundai advertising guys in Rüsselsheim having a talk about how to advertise the new i20:

"Hey, you know, I read about that english guy doing something with art in cities. I think he's funny. Let's use his stuff for that small car, his work is urban and trendy and futuristic just as the new i20 *cough*" "Yeah, you mean that 'banksy' guy? But he won't do something as commercial as that, because he is an artist." "So what do we do?" "Let's do something that looks like his stuff. I can do that, I always painted like Basquiat during my art lessons in college." "But, that'd be ripping off, no?" "Well, we put some 'inspiration' slogan next to it. Because we were inspirated, no?"

"Great, let's take a break and enjoy some argula with mustard vinegrette."

Pictures are Hyundai property

CRider > Smultron 09/11/2014 at 15:42

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You're telling me the Koreans don't know how to market to Germans?

For Sweden > Smultron 09/11/2014 at 15:45

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I can not name any car they make or made which I'd like to own.

Smultron > For Sweden 09/11/2014 at 15:51

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I did not read any good reviews about it. And it was very much pricey, starting at above 35.000 Euros in Germany.

Smultron > CRider 09/11/2014 at 15:53

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They aren't all Koreans, Hyundai's centre of european affairs is located in Rüsselsheim, Germany. I do not say, they can not market, i say, their identity is all ripped off at the core, which is sad.