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The brand issue Kia needs to overcome....

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F

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Discussion Starter · #1 ·
Last night while going to my car in the parking lot at Angels stadium after the game my wife and I were walking behind a group of 4 men.

Getting close to my car we hear one in the group say "WOW, that's one of the nicest looking cars I've seen in a long time". As they got closer to the car the very same guy said "Oh, that's ONLY a Kia" and just kept walking.

Never looked at the lines of the car or inside.

It looks like a lot of people will be missing out on a great car because they see the name Kia.

Oh well, their loss and my gain to drive a car I don't see on every corner.

Guy
 
EscalonJon

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#2 ·
First of all, at the risk of pissing you off (if you're a Dodger fan)...GO ANGELS!

Second of all, I agree with you. The Kia name does bring with it a lot of preconceived negative notions that Korean cars (Kia and Hyundai) have garnered over the years by bringing cheap/affordable cars to the States, as that's the only market that they could hope to break into at the time. I remember (I'm in the collision/insurance industry) when the Hyundai Excel in the mid-eighties was a laughing stock as far as safety and structural integrity were concerned. Any time there was the slightest rear-impact, you could expect to see secondary damage at the bottom of the opposite windshield pillar. Very flimsy and well deserving of their poor reputation. It's a very different story today for many reasons. They (Korean products) have earned respect within the industry, but people (especially brand-snobs) don't have a clue. You are right, Guy, those who own them are the ones benefiting from the giant strides made in the intervening years. Give the brand five more years, more due-respect will be commonplace. What the brand-snobs don't even acknowledge is that many of the marques that had built so much respect are now descending to a point where they are only really separated (by cars once snubbed) by price and not so much quality. Truth be known, most BMW owners (for example, but not all) don't know where to put oil into their cars. No offense to any of them, but there are great items in any set of products that people buy only to show everyone that they can afford to overspend. Some of us recognize a good value, and if it might be as good as something costing twice as much, we are the winners.

I have owned two Kias (2003 Sorento and 2007 Spectra), I am a life-long died-in-the-wool car guy who has owned many vehicles, cheap and expensive. These two Kia were the most trouble-free of the bunch. I now own a $60,000.00 Tahoe that is, and has been from day-one, a nightmare. I will be happy and proud of my Cadenza (and my new Sorento)! You should be proud of that beautiful new Cadenza of yours, too!

John
 
M

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#3 ·
FirstUSACadenza said:
Last night while going to my car in the parking lot at Angels stadium after the game my wife and I were walking behind a group of 4 men.

Getting close to my car we hear one in the group say "WOW, that's one of the nicest looking cars I've seen in a long time". As they got closer to the car the very same guy said "Oh, that's ONLY a Kia" and just kept walking.

Never looked at the lines of the car or inside.

It looks like a lot of people will be missing out on a great car because they see the name Kia.

Oh well, their loss and my gain to drive a car I don't see on every corner.

Guy
Click to expand...
That must have stung.

Don't let that bother you though. I still consider Hyundai/Kia to be a pretty young company, but I can only see their brand get better with more exposure.

Kia is also making a lot of strides in offering more luxury vehicles. It's only a matter of time, till the mainstream and public opinion catches up.
 
F

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Discussion Starter · #4 ·
EscalonJon said:
First of all, at the risk of pissing you off (if you're a Dodger fan)...GO ANGELS!

Second of all, I agree with you. The Kia name does bring with it a lot of preconceived negative notions that Korean cars (Kia and Hyundai) have garnered over the years by bringing cheap/affordable cars to the States, as that's the only market that they could hope to break into at the time. I remember (I'm in the collision/insurance industry) when the Hyundai Excel in the mid-eighties was a laughing stock as far as safety and structural integrity were concerned. Any time there was the slightest rear-impact, you could expect to see secondary damage at the bottom of the opposite windshield pillar. Very flimsy and well deserving of their poor reputation. It's a very different story today for many reasons. They (Korean products) have earned respect within the industry, but people (especially brand-snobs) don't have a clue. You are right, Guy, those who own them are the ones benefiting from the giant strides made in the intervening years. Give the brand five more years, more due-respect will be commonplace. What the brand-snobs don't even acknowledge is that many of the marques that had built so much respect are now descending to a point where they are only really separated (by cars once snubbed) by price and not so much quality. Truth be known, most BMW owners (for example, but not all) don't know where to put oil into their cars. No offense to any of them, but there are great items in any set of products that people buy only to show everyone that they can afford to overspend. Some of us recognize a good value, and if it might be as good as something costing twice as much, we are the winners.

I have owned two Kias (2003 Sorento and 2007 Spectra), I am a life-long died-in-the-wool car guy who has owned many vehicles, cheap and expensive. These two Kia were the most trouble-free of the bunch. I now own a $60,000.00 Tahoe that is, and has been from day-one, a nightmare. I will be happy and proud of my Cadenza (and my new Sorento)! You should be proud of that beautiful new Cadenza of yours, too!

John
Click to expand...
NO NO NO, We're Angels fans!!!!!
 
EscalonJon

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#5 ·
Okay then...GO ANGELS!!!!!

I lived about two miles from the stadium for years (State College and Lincoln). Moved up north in 1991. My daughter works at D'Land and I have a couple of sons in Temecula. I go down pretty often.

My whole family is bigtime Angel fans. My brother used to live next door to Brian Downing back in the day. I started going to the Big A the first season they moved to Anaheim from L.A. (Wrigley Field, not that one, I think in 1966) That shows what an oldie I am, I guess.

I just hope they can stay on the run they are on...I never thought they would get to .450 this season the way they've been going.

Later,

John
 
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