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Article: 2007 Hyundai Elantra: wherein Hyundai gives other small sedan makers 13,995 reasons to lose sleep.(Hyundai Motor America)
- Article from:
- Automotive Design & Production
- Article date:
- December 1, 2006
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2006 Gardner Publications, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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About 30 years ago, Hyundai was best known for assembling Ford's Cortina and Granada from CKD kits, and building its first home-grown design, the forgettable Pony. Within recent memory its vehicles were odd little blobs at the bottom of the market, or a car for those for whom finishing atop the J.D. Power list was less important than getting a new car for used car money. Now, however, Hyundai is building vehicles that keep engineers at other OEMs up at night. The latest is the Elantra sedan.
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"Our R & D team is maturing to the point that our capabilities in this area are world class," claims John Krafcik, v.p. Product Development ...