If you asked about Hyundais and Kias 4 years ago, I'd been a bit skeptical, but these two car brand have the backing of the Hyundai Group, which has tons of money and they are not stupid. In the US 5-6 years ago, they realized their products were suffering a bit of a stigma. IMO, well-deserved stigma, in that their build quality was shabby. So they offered a 10 year warranty. That help generate interest in the brand. They were still considered a bit a joke, but it seems to communicate to people that they will stand behind their products and a perception of increased confidence. This led to more people coming and more people buying their cars and made them more of a legitimate player.
However, they decided to change course. Based on an article I read few years ago somewhere in either WallStreet Journal, BusinessWeek, or some other legitimate outlet, one of the higher ups in Hyundai North America said that they needed to not only up their quality, but up their appeal in order to maintain this momentum. Partly, because that 10-year warranty would become too pricey for Hyundai in the long-run and they would like to be known for quality. I think their gambit of offering a 10 year warrant, while risky, was brilliant. Consumers want their products, especially those that relatively pricey items, to have the backing of the company. Hyundai has done a fantastic job of hearing what consumers want and distilling that into a product. But what also shows how committed they about taking it to the big guys (Ford, Toyota, Honda, et al) is not only listening to potential customers, but hiring and attracting people from other, more established companies, and have them implement it.
Regarding, Samsung...again, I don't know too much about their cars, but since they are allied with Renault-Nissan, I see good things happening with them as well.
Unfortunately, Japanese cars and electronics have become stagnant. Lots of reasons for it too... natural disasters played a signifcant role in that. But before the devastating and tragic events of the March 2011 tsunami/earthquake and Thailand disasters, there existed big problems. One of them was the sudden rise of S. Korean products and them being blind-sided. Another was the economic calamity of the years prior. And another reason that confounded Japanese automakers was that their near-bulletproof reliability experienced a slight slip. And that's one of the biggest reasons why people buy Japanese cars. And there are other reasons where I'm not very well-versed...I'll let others more knowledgeable expound on those areas.
That being said, I really don't think it's all doom and gloom for Japanese carmakers. First of all, the slip in reliability was less significant, I think it was blown way out of proportion. Japanese carmakers realize that reliability is one of the biggest reasons why consumers buy their cars, and they are and will rectify that. While there are more viable options out there, Japanese automakers, especially Toyota and Honda, enjoy some best repeat buyers in the industry. Yes, there have been few who have abandoned them for other makes, but their numbers are still strong. And I see Toyota and Honda working towards making their products more attractive because they have to otherwise they will continue to lose customers in the long-run. Again, it should be noted, I only say all this based on the US market as that's all I know about. Abroad, I'm not that knowledgeable how Japanese cars are faring in other markets as of late.
Ok...to give credit to the Asians, I believe the world is witnessing their rapid rise...in general...in innovation, creativity, cars (of course)....I don't think the Asian cars are superior to the European cars per say but I believe they have greatly improved...now I'm mostly talking about Japanese and Koreans....Not quite sure about the Chinese....
But West has been ahead for quite some time...in the past 200-400 years...in innovation and creativity at the least. But admittedly, there WAS a time when Europeans, even Germans, were considered making "inferior" and "low quality" products and cheap copy-cat innovations at one time...although it was hundreds of years ago. Although the Asians were far ahead and more innovative and dominant thousand years ago, Westerners have been ahead in the past 400 years or so.
Although I am impressed with the '12 Hyundai Elantra...i mean 2012 NA car of the year ;D
Any thoughts? Opinions? This isn't just about Cars but a general historical question.
Unfortunately, when I come home late, I tend to become more bleary-eyed not read the whole thing, whether it'd be an article or post. I saw the first paragraph and launched into my defense of Japanese makers because, as much as I love the Euro makes, I love the Japanese and American makes as well. That said, I absolutely will not go beyond talking about cars (and electronics) because this is a car forum. Also, while I try not to make too many assumptions, I'm rather wary of what you are trying to get at with the last two paragraphs, especially since you are new here. So I'll leave at that.
East Asia is capable of originality but it's news like this that taints the regions artistic promises:
http://gizmodo.com/5916079/chinese-real-estate-developers-successfully-clone-entire-austrian-village
Having now read the article ("Reading articles"...what a novel concept, right?)...
I can't help feeling a little bit cynical. But I stand by what I said earlier. While I'm sure the China Minmetals saw this a great cash-grab from the "nouveau riche," I'd like to think the person who came up with the idea over at China Minmetals was a great admirer of the architecture.
Or maybe it was a cold, calculated way to make some more yuans.
Damn, I spent waaaaay too much time rambling on here......
