Comments on: anti-FTA group says Korean Cars Suck

By: snow

snow — Wed, 06 Sep 2006 01:44:39 +0000

“One of them told me “I am driving a beer can”.”

Now that is funny, Baduk.

By: littlebrownasian

littlebrownasian — Tue, 05 Sep 2006 23:47:17 +0000

Quote from Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift…

Han: The Red Evo’s yours
Shawn Boswell: What do you mean?
Han: You’re representing me now. What, you think I’m gonna let roll in a Hyundai?

By: Richardson

Richardson — Tue, 05 Sep 2006 21:59:39 +0000

Status seeking, show-off traitors, they are. May a shit-driving ajumma smash up their pricey foreign cars.

BJ, you’re the epitome of everything that is wrong with the stereotypical hypocrite kyopo.

By: sewing

sewing — Tue, 05 Sep 2006 17:35:37 +0000

Oh, I get it: you mean if FTA goes through. Well, considering that endless exposure to heavy traffic in any major city—especially a place like Seoul—is an occupational hazard, I’d understand. That’d be so weird (because it’d be so familiar), seeing taxis like that some day in Korea!

By: baduk

baduk — Tue, 05 Sep 2006 16:29:32 +0000

Many taxi drivers worry about getting killed in a collision accident. They know Korean cars, Hyundai and Kia, are not well fortified in term of steel thickness. One of them told me “I am driving a beer can”.

Many of them will be interested in the US make because they know American cars use lots of steel.

By: sewing

sewing — Tue, 05 Sep 2006 15:12:16 +0000

Baduk (51): Chevy Caprice, Crown Vic? Don’t recall seeing any, or would they taxi owners go for smaller models? Having been around taxis most of my life, I would’ve recognized an American-model cab in Korea.

One of the first times I was in Korea, we were getting a lift from a relative along the 강변도로 or whatever it’s called along the north side of the Han River. Evening rush hour, suffering from jet lag. We passed a cab (the black ones with the gold checkerboard stripe) with very similar livery to some cabs back where I come from in North America. For a split second, I thought (or would have thought, had the idea made it into words before I regained a grip on reality), “Wow, Vancouver to Seoul…how did he get here? That’s a great fare!”

Mercury Sables were considered a luxury car in Korea not too long ago, were they not?

By: Sugar Shin

Sugar Shin — Tue, 05 Sep 2006 11:00:38 +0000

Hyundai

By: Sugar Shin

Sugar Shin — Tue, 05 Sep 2006 10:59:36 +0000

Guess, Korean cars (Hyunday or Kia) don’t lack in quality,butin style and image. Nobody with status wants to buy a sedan or SUV which lacks the quality and brand credentials of e.g. German cars. Japanese automakers did a great job to introduce high-standard luxury brands like Lexus, Acura and Infiniti to substitute for their image lacking basic brands like Toyota, Honda and Nissan.And they’re engaged in Formula I motorsports, which is a good image transfer for their rather bland compact cars and sub-compact models with tiny, tiny laughingstocks of motors but a subtile “grand image”-attachment of a Formula I-supplier. Korean cars look only dull and without any exciting attachment of brand image. From a financial cost-benefit point of view they’re rather a good buy, but emotionally they lack status.

By: baduk

baduk — Mon, 04 Sep 2006 22:15:52 +0000

Koreans have long been doubted the quality of Hundais sold in Korea versus Hundais sold outside Korea. Many Korean companies send the “good stuff” overseas while putting out garbages for internal consumption. Some metal parts and engines may be of different quality.

American cars such as GM or Ford will be purchased by Korean taxi drivers because they want more protection in collision event. Some wealthy Koreans will buy Hummers for his wife and children. It could easily become the status thing.

By: Dram_man

Dram_man — Mon, 04 Sep 2006 18:13:32 +0000

Leo> I call “bullshit” to your entire post. Anybody worth their salt will tell you its not the total amount used its effiency of the use that counts.

Of course the US BTU usage is high, its one of the highest in the world in population and GDP. Add to that as well the consumption used for travel. So again of course the US uses more, the country is lot bigger.

Finaly the retail price of gas shows nothing given most of that price is in tax. Additionaly I note the omission of countries, such as China, that subisize the price of gasoline.