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Globutron
Joined: 13 Feb 2010
Location: England/Anyang
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 Posted: Fri Mar 19, 2010 10:26 am Post subject: Cars |
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Anyone noticed how you have the wide, wide choice of silver, white or black here?
If that's not enough, you have a vast array of Hyundai, Kia and Samsung to choose from.
Just find it pretty funny. Most cars around here seem pretty shiny and expensive, however. |
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.38 Special
Joined: 08 Jul 2009
Location: Pennsylvania
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| Posted: Fri Mar 19, 2010 11:00 am Post subject: Re: Cars |
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| Globutron wrote: |
Anyone noticed how you have the wide, wide choice of silver, white or black here?
If that's not enough, you have a vast array of Hyundai, Kia and Samsung to choose from.
Just find it pretty funny. Most cars around here seem pretty shiny and expensive, however. |
A car is a massive expense, especially in the city where you may have rather little need of one.
For many, just like elsewhere, it is a status item. Frankly, what good would a tarnished and dull status item do? Too bad about the protectionist economy here, because Western status cars would do really well here if the price were more ... realistic, and the usual Korean offing much less prevalent. But I guess that's the point.
I suppose you don't see many rusty, beat-up, and older cars because there isn't as much a used-car market for working-class people and their much smaller budgets. Heck, I'll bet that even Americans would own many fewer cars if it had a Korean-equivalent transit system. It is, after all, an enormous expense that could be spent on other things (which is the very reason the States doesn't have a Korean-like transit system).
That said, I have to wonder: How popular are rentals and lease vehicles? If you only need a car when leaving the city, rent/lease makes a lot more sense.  |
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jvalmer
Joined: 06 Jun 2003
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| Posted: Fri Mar 19, 2010 4:47 pm Post subject: Re: Cars |
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| .38 Special wrote: |
For many, just like elsewhere, it is a status item. Frankly, what good would a tarnished and dull status item do? Too bad about the protectionist economy here, because Western status cars would do really well here if the price were more... realistic, and the usual Korean offing much less prevalent. But I guess that's the point.
I suppose you don't see many rusty, beat-up, and older cars because there isn't as much a used-car market for working-class people and their much smaller budgets. Heck, I'll bet that even Americans would own many fewer cars if it had a Korean-equivalent transit system. It is, after all, an enormous expense that could be spent on other things (which is the very reason the States doesn't have a Korean-like transit system).
That said, I have to wonder: How popular are rentals and lease vehicles? If you only need a car when leaving the city, rent/lease makes a lot more sense. |
2 things, there is a huge used-car market in Korea. A lot of young people will buy used cars. And Daewoo is owned by GM, so American cars do have a presence here under the Daewoo brand. Korea's climate is pretty good on cars, that is why most cars aren't as rusty, usually not much snow to rust out the bottom of the car.
As for American cars doing well, I'd say the average car, like the escort and Malibu, won't make much of an impact. But, if you're talking Mustangs, Cadillacs and Corvettes, then I'd say it would give those Japanese and European cars a run for their money in the luxury car market. |
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b-class rambler
Joined: 25 Mar 2009
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| Posted: Fri Mar 19, 2010 4:52 pm Post subject: Re: Cars |
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| Globutron wrote: |
Anyone noticed how you have the wide, wide choice of silver, white or black here?
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Perhaps a better question would be if anyone had NOT noticed this? Accompanied by a strong recommendation that they get themselves to an opticians' promptly if that were the case 
Actually, although Hyundia/Kia offer plenty of colours in other countries that they don't here, there are still other options besides white, black and silver in Korea. But it's just that Koreans tend to be extremely conservative in their choices. Red is becoming a little more popular (unfortunately, as I chose red mostly because they weren't many red cars around when I bought the car!). However, red and other similarly outrageous colours are seen as a bit weird. It's often assumed by people I meet that my wife must have chosen the colour of our car.
The ubiquity of Korean cars is probably especially noticeable to people from the UK because we're so used to seeing so many non-British cars on our roads, which is in turn due to there not being a lot left of the British car industry. Go to Germany and you'll see a very high percentage of German cars, similar in France. Of course not quite as high as the percentage of Korean cars here, however Korea is not the only country where you hardly see any foreign cars. Japan is very similar, even though imported cars have been available locally there much longer than in Korea. |
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Adam Carolla
Joined: 26 Feb 2010
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| Posted: Fri Mar 19, 2010 4:54 pm Post subject: Re: Cars |
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| Globutron wrote: |
Anyone noticed how you have the wide, wide choice of silver, white or black here?
If that's not enough, you have a vast array of Hyundai, Kia and Samsung to choose from.
Just find it pretty funny. Most cars around here seem pretty shiny and expensive, however. |
Like many, my school had open classes yesterday for home room teachers. The parking lot (full of parents' cars) was exactly as you described with a couple exceptions. There were 4 Kia Souls, 3 of which were beige. BEIGE for christ sakes! There was also 1 yellow mini-cooper. And maybe 2 red cars of some kind or other. Around 95% white, black, or silver.
You mention the great variety of Hyundai, Kia, and Samsung, which should actually be Hyundai, Hyundai, and Samsung (Kia being a division of Hyundai now.)
*I drive a white SM3. |
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b-class rambler
Joined: 25 Mar 2009
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| Posted: Fri Mar 19, 2010 5:06 pm Post subject: Re: Cars |
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| jvalmer wrote: |
| And Daewoo is owned by GM, so American cars do have a presence here under the Daewoo brand. |
I disagree with you a little on that one. I'd say it's the other way round mostly. I think it's more a case of Korean cars with an American company's name tagged on than American cars with a Korean name. Daewoos are nearly all made here, like they were before GM rescued them from bankruptcy and I don't think anyone here sees them as anything other than a Korean car. It's true that the same cars will often appear as Chevrolet (or occasionally Opel, Holden or Vauxhall) in other countries. But, in Europe for example, many people on seeing one of these Chevrolets will say, "yeah, but it's really a Daewoo with a Chevy badge."
The latter case scenario does however happen with Samsung. All their cars are either re-badged Nissans or Renaults that are assembled locally. |
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Adam Carolla
Joined: 26 Feb 2010
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| Posted: Fri Mar 19, 2010 5:09 pm Post subject: |
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| I think it's more a case of Korean cars with an American company's name tagged on than American cars with a Korean name. |
It might depend on the model. The latest Lacetti is a rebranded Chevy Cruze, for example. |
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b-class rambler
Joined: 25 Mar 2009
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| Posted: Fri Mar 19, 2010 5:24 pm Post subject: |
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| Adam Carolla wrote: |
| Quote: |
| I think it's more a case of Korean cars with an American company's name tagged on than American cars with a Korean name. |
It might depend on the model. The latest Lacetti is a rebranded Chevy Cruze, for example. |
You're right, and it'll likely happen that the number of GM Daewoo cars that are more like rebranded GM cars from elsewhere than the other way round will steadily increase.
Ironically, many of the very old Daewoos from back in the 80s and 90s were based on even older Opel/Vauxhall cars sold in Europe. Opel and Vauxhall were also companies that had been taken over by GM, even though they never marketed themselves as such. |
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toadkillerdog
Joined: 11 Nov 2009
Location: Daejeon. ROK
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| Posted: Fri Mar 19, 2010 5:44 pm Post subject: |
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| Body work here is dead cheap. |
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atwood
Joined: 26 Dec 2009
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| Posted: Fri Mar 19, 2010 6:25 pm Post subject: Re: Cars |
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| b-class rambler wrote: |
| Globutron wrote: |
Anyone noticed how you have the wide, wide choice of silver, white or black here?
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Perhaps a better question would be if anyone had NOT noticed this? Accompanied by a strong recommendation that they get themselves to an opticians' promptly if that were the case
Actually, although Hyundia/Kia offer plenty of colours in other countries that they don't here, there are still other options besides white, black and silver in Korea. But it's just that Koreans tend to be extremely conservative in their choices. Red is becoming a little more popular (unfortunately, as I chose red mostly because they weren't many red cars around when I bought the car!). However, red and other similarly outrageous colours are seen as a bit weird. It's often assumed by people I meet that my wife must have chosen the colour of our car.
The ubiquity of Korean cars is probably especially noticeable to people from the UK because we're so used to seeing so many non-British cars on our roads, which is in turn due to there not being a lot left of the British car industry. Go to Germany and you'll see a very high percentage of German cars, similar in France. Of course not quite as high as the percentage of Korean cars here, however Korea is not the only country where you hardly see any foreign cars. Japan is very similar, even though imported cars have been available locally there much longer than in Korea. |
Bad choice--red cars are bad luck. |
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madoka
Joined: 27 Mar 2008
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| Posted: Fri Mar 19, 2010 9:19 pm Post subject: Re: Cars |
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The variety of cars has EXPLODED since the early nineties. Back around 91-92, all I remember seeing are the same dozen or so different Korean cars around. The high end cars were either the Hyundai Grandeur or the "exotic" Mercury Sable. All the cars looked fairly new because Korean cars were not well-built and did not last long.
| .38 Special wrote: |
| Too bad about the protectionist economy here, because Western status cars would do really well here if the price were more ... realistic, and the usual Korean offing much less prevalent. But I guess that's the point. |
While some protectionism certainly exists, part of why Americans think that cars in Korea is how low-priced everything is in the U.S. For example, my Lexus IS-F sells for around $60-$65,000 in the U.S, yet over $100,000 in Japan where it is built. Same goes for my other foreign cars - they are significantly cheaper to buy in the U.S. than in their home country. My Porsche is about $25,000 more and my Mercedes is about $20,000 more in Germany. I believe Koreans were actually reimporting Hyundai Genesis cars from the U.S. because they there cheaper than buying in Korea. |
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Globutron
Joined: 13 Feb 2010
Location: England/Anyang
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| Posted: Fri Mar 19, 2010 9:31 pm Post subject: Re: Cars |
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| b-class rambler wrote: |
| Globutron wrote: |
Anyone noticed how you have the wide, wide choice of silver, white or black here?
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Perhaps a better question would be if anyone had NOT noticed this? Accompanied by a strong recommendation that they get themselves to an opticians' promptly if that were the case
Actually, although Hyundia/Kia offer plenty of colours in other countries that they don't here, there are still other options besides white, black and silver in Korea. But it's just that Koreans tend to be extremely conservative in their choices. Red is becoming a little more popular (unfortunately, as I chose red mostly because they weren't many red cars around when I bought the car!). However, red and other similarly outrageous colours are seen as a bit weird. It's often assumed by people I meet that my wife must have chosen the colour of our car.
The ubiquity of Korean cars is probably especially noticeable to people from the UK because we're so used to seeing so many non-British cars on our roads, which is in turn due to there not being a lot left of the British car industry. Go to Germany and you'll see a very high percentage of German cars, similar in France. Of course not quite as high as the percentage of Korean cars here, however Korea is not the only country where you hardly see any foreign cars. Japan is very similar, even though imported cars have been available locally there much longer than in Korea. |
I like how you describe red as outrageous. Back in the day when I was a little kid (so late 90's), I remember tallying cars that overtook us, for whatever reason, and the winning colour was usually red. This is before we had the Silver=cool phase that has lingered ever since. |
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