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HALO CARS: Hyundai is ready for its Halo cars
Automaker has proved it can sell; now it wants a car to generate buzz
June 30, 2006
BY MARK PHELAN
FREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. -- Fueled by the sales success of its recent models and excellent quality ratings, Hyundai is considering building a performance car to create an aura of excitement for the brand and draw more customers to its showrooms.

"The time is right for us to do a halo car," John F. Krafcik, Hyundai Motor America vice president for product development and strategic planning, said in an interview as Hyundai introduced its redesigned 2007 Santa Fe midsize SUV in Santa Barbara.

"This will validate the engineering proficiency of Hyundai," he said. "It's a sure sign we've arrived."

Hyundai probably would price the car below $25,000, although the company is considering a wide range of options, including either a front-wheel-drive model based on its Tiburon sporty coupe or a more powerful rear-wheel-drive model. "We could do a convertible based on either," Krafcik said.

Hyundai will decide whether to build the car within the next six months, said Krafcik, the company's top U.S. product development executive.

Hyundai expects to set a U.S. sales record this year, thanks to new models like the Santa Fe and the Sonata and Azera sedans that went on sale last year.

The South Korean automaker is developing new cars and trucks at a hectic pace as it works to boost sales and become the world's fifth-largest automaker.

Hyundai also is developing another SUV that will be larger than the new version of the Santa Fe, which just began rolling out of the company's assembly plant in Alabama. The bigger SUV will be about the size of the Honda Pilot, Krafcik said.

Hyundai also will build a pickup at some point, Krafcik said. He wouldn't say when either of those models would go on sale, but the SUV is closer to reality. Hyundai is still debating whether the pickup should be a traditional full-size model like the Ford F-150 or a smaller model like the Honda Ridgeline.

If the halo car gets the green light, Hyundai probably will reveal it to consumers early in the process, perhaps as a concept car at one of next year's major auto shows.

"There's not much point keeping it secret," Krafcik said. "The whole point of a vehicle like this is to generate buzz and excitement, so we might as well let people see it early.

"Whether to use a front- or rear-wheel-drive platform is the decision point we're at now."

A front-wheel-drive model could be a compact performance coupe like the Acura RS-X, while a rear-drive would be larger and more powerful, like the Infiniti G35, he said. He declined to say when the performance model might go on sale.

Automakers often develop sporty halo models to create favorable publicity and boost sales for entire brands.

Krafcik cited the Pontiac Solstice roadster as the best recent example of a successful halo car. Pontiac aims to sell fewer than 20,000 of the inexpensive little sports cars a year, but Hyundai's research showed that a remarkable 59% of visitors to Pontiac dealerships this year came because of the Solstice.

"Most of them won't buy a Solstice, but the rule of thumb is that around 20% of showroom visitors buy a vehicle, so it drives higher sales for the whole brand," he said.

A halo car also could catch the eye of car buffs who don't give Hyundai much thought.

"We haven't developed a relationship with the enthusiast customer," Krafcik said. "We've been absent from the pages of the big car magazines, but they have about a million readers each, and their readers are the ones other shoppers seek opinions from."

Developing a performance model would also build excitement among Hyundai's own engineers and designers, he said.

"It can be a motivator for the whole company. We're car guys, too."

interesting...

No please don't make pickups Hyundai. Stick to the cars if you want to remain successful.

boo on pickups

but woot on sports car



The biggest hole, is the illusion of invulnerability.

:::Creative Draft Image Manipulation Forum:::

Nathaniel O'Flaherty wrote:boo on pickups

but woot on sports car

I would like to see the sports car.

PIck up.................... I dont know. But you never know. Hyuandai has been making some strides. Look at the cars they made a few years back and now look at them. I think they have been improving....example tiburon.





"Remember do what you like because you have to drive it."--Me

i think Hyundai suck in general so them makeing a truck would be more of a joke then the honda "truck" . and for them to make a sport car would be funny. that tibby thing even sucks.

jbody03eco wrote:i think Hyundai suck in general so them makeing a truck would be more of a joke then the honda "truck" . and for them to make a sport car would be funny. that tibby thing even sucks.

You must not have ever owned a Hyundai, you really have no room to talk seeing you own a sunfire.
not that that is bad, it's a j-body organization for god sakes so I would expect you to. but like I said you must not have ever owned a Hyundai.





View my MySpace

My ex girlfriend owned a hyundai and it was all that bad. Would I want one no. But If I had to get a car on a lower budget I would go with a hyundai. Go drive one you may change your tune.......you have to remember the moeny you are spending to go out thinking its a benz.





"Remember do what you like because you have to drive it."--Me

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You must not have ever owned a Hyundai

LMAO why would i ever want to drive one of them things there @!#$ junks i would rather walk. i no a few people with them and they have proplems. and my old sunfire was fine the tibbys are ugly as hell and my friend owns one and at 80K the tranny blew yea some car. i dont own a jbody anymore i own a cobalt SS and i love how my 2.4 4cyl has more power then a V6 .

Your making youself look stupid id stop now if I were you^

jbody03eco wrote:

Quote:

You must not have ever owned a Hyundai

LMAO why would i ever want to drive one of them things there @!#$ junks i would rather walk. i no a few people with them and they have proplems. and my old sunfire was fine the tibbys are ugly as hell and my friend owns one and at 80K the tranny blew yea some car. i dont own a jbody anymore i own a cobalt SS and i love how my 2.4 4cyl has more power then a V6 .

no it doesnt
and the v6 is only .3 liters bigger than your 4
you do the same mods to each car (like i/h/e) the v6 would be farther ahead by a bunch
every thread youve posted here in other cars has been full of ignorance

from what ive read in reviews the tib is a big piece of @!#$.......but ive never driven one so maybe it's because of the class it's in and it's compared with other sports cars and not compacts? i don't know.


but hyundai has improved, and does make decent cars although id never buy one. i think a truck is a bad idea tho

if they were to build a truck..it should be a midsized like the tacoma or frontier...try to establish some credibility there and if it works out, then move to fullsized...in the mid sized market they would have alot more chance for sucsess

i dont have any problem with hyundi...im sure there cars are just as good as anyone elses

jbody03eco wrote:

Quote:

You must not have ever owned a Hyundai

LMAO why would i ever want to drive one of them things there @!#$ junks i would rather walk. i no a few people with them and they have proplems. and my old sunfire was fine the tibbys are ugly as hell and my friend owns one and at 80K the tranny blew yea some car. i dont own a jbody anymore i own a cobalt SS and i love how my 2.4 4cyl has more power then a V6 .

You should do some research before you post on stuff you don't know. Hyundai is ranked 3rd in quality in 2006. 4 out of 8 of their cars ranked in the top 3 car sements. Tibby is ranked 2nd in Compact Sporty cars. GM combine, only 3 cars make top 3(not to bash on GM or anything). So dont make comments that Hyundai are "@!#$ junks", b/c they aren't. And for your comment Tibbys are ugly. What do you know, they are ranked 6th on top 10 sexiest cars in 2006.

here are the links



http://www.autoblog.com/2006/06/08/2006-sexy-cars-by-road-and-travel/
http://www.jdpa.com/news/releases/pressrelease.asp?ID=2006082

and by the way I own a sunfire not a hyundai. So I am not Hyundai fan. Just stating facts.

i wouldnt based everything off rankings...alot tend to be quite biased against american cars

The last Hyunai I drove was a Pony...

Kinda soured me on the brand.




RIP CPL Brian St.Germain (SAINT), Semper Fidelis

GAM (The Kilted One) wrote:The last Hyunai I drove was a Pony...

Kinda soured me on the brand.

haha. my parents bought a PONY back in 86 (first car i drove -- oh the stories)






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