Hyundai

People shopping for a quality sedan or coupe who don?t want to go broke buying one can count on Hyundai. The car maker may not have the diversity of car types that monolithic auto conglomerates typically do, but the cars and SUVs the company produces are every bit the equal of the company?s larger competitors. They also have the longest, best warranty in the business.

Affordable quality makes for top selling cars

Following the Korean war, the South Korean government believed it easier and cheaper to import cars rather than allowing domestic firms to build cars, according to the company history page on Edmunds.com. However, the ambitious founder of Hyundai Civil Engineering Company, Chung Ju Yung, had other ideas, and he founded the Hyundai Motor Company in 1967 and immediately partnered with Ford to manufacture and sell the Cortina. The Cortina, according to Wikipedia, was a version of the Ford Cortina, the compact sedan by Ford U.K., but built by Hyundai using Mitsubishi technology.

After gaining a foothold with the Cortina, Hyundai contracted engineers from British Ford to design the Hyundai Pony. After setting up production facilities in Korea, Hyundai began producing and selling the compact sedan in 1974. Six of them, according to Hyundai?s website, managed to make it to Ecuador in 1976, and exports to other countries soon began.

Hyundai set its sights on North America, launching Hyundai divisions in Canada in 1983 and America in 1985. By 1986, the Hyundai Excel had launched in North America, and proved a huge hit, as the subcompact Excel was available in multiple configurations for a great value. The company followed it up by launching the Sonata in 1988, the car that has been the backbone of the brand ever since.

By 1991, Hyundai was designing and building its own bespoke engines, shedding all previous ties to other car firms. The company continued expanding its lineup and working hard to counter a perceived lack of reliability in some models. However, the brand has always been known for offering a very good car for the price, a quality that continues to the present.

Better prices and better warranty

A modern Hyundai comes with two distinct features. First, the car will be every bit as good as the competing mega-firms? car, and will be at parity or below on price. Second, a new Hyundai comes with a 10-year, 100,000 mile warranty, one of the longest and most generous in the car business.

Hyundai doesn?t currently make a trucks, but Hyundai does make quality family-size and compact sedans, coupes and a few luxury models, as well as a small line of crossover SUVs. They may not be quite as flashy as some of the competition, but they deliver the goods for less than most.