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The Washington Post newspaper lavished heavy praise on the Hyundai Veracruz crossover utility vehicle in a review called ¡°Hyundai¡¯s Mission Possible¡± in its Sunday issue. The automaker introduced the vehicle to automotive journalists at a comparison test with the Lexus RX350 mid-size crossover late last month.
The Veracruz is Hyundai's main weapon in its strategic mission to boost its image in the high-end segment of the U.S. market. The model hit the U.S. market in late March for between US$26,995 (US$1=W937) and $34,695, making it Hyundai's most expensive American vehicle.
¡°Bolstered by an incredible No. 3 ranking on J.D. Power and Associates' overall product quality list,¡± the article said, Hyundai held a head-to-head comparison against the Lexus RX350 ¡°that once would have been viewed as an act of corporate suicide.¡±
But the newspaper concluded, ¡°After a day-long drive of both vehicles over many twisty California roads, most of us left the event wondering why any consumer would pay more for the Lexus RX350.¡±
In the beginning of the review the newspaper retold jokes about the poor quality of Hyundai cars from when the Korean automaker first set foot in the U.S. in 1986. ¡°The early years for Hyundai Motor America were downright painful, with the company made the butt of numerous jokes. The reason was the abysmal quality of Hyundai's first U.S. offering, the subcompact Hyundai Excel,¡± the article said. According to the article, late night talk show host David Letterman once joked that a good way to frighten astronauts in space is to place a Hyundai logo on the spacecraft's control panel.
Jokes aside, Hyundai¡¯s sales rose an annual average of 14 percent in the U.S. market for five years from 2001, the article said. ¡°Hyundai is now implementing a strategy of building better passenger vehicles than any of its European or Asian rivals¡± and will ¡°challenge the German myth of engineering superiority.¡±
But the article added, ¡°Taking on the Europeans and the Japanese, and a resurgent General Motors in America, is a very, very tall order.¡± The newspaper cited the difficulty of building an upscale image without chasing away budget-minded customers.
It's ¡°a daunting task to get dealers who have grown up dealing with subprime customers on board in the race for upscale clients,¡± the article said.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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