Hyundai dubs Buick, Cadillac, Saturn "so-called 'American'"

[cletus8269]

I just saw one of the ads on a web page I was looking at and I had to view it three times! It was shot from a moving a car and it showed a horse taking a dump...I swear. WHAT THE F^CK is that??? And why are they discussing my ego in the ad as I watch a horse defecate...and what does it all mean? STUPIDEST THING I HAVE EVER SEEN!

AND I like the DUH! ads they play - but to follow it up with this crap...ugh.

must be a subbliminal message that domestics are crap. hyundai the mind taker! ooooooweeeeee oooooooooo

[mustang84]

GM just needs to wipe the floor clean with Hyundai, Toyota, and all the others that wrap themselves in the stars and stripes. Put out a full two-page ad listing all the American plants, how many workers they employ, average parts content, how many jobs are impacted (suppliers, dealers, etc), how much they contribute locally, total annual donations and grants, total R&D dollars, and then put a big ass picture of the Renaissance Center with bolded "Detroit, Michigan Worldwide Headquarters" underneath it.

[PurdueGuy]

GM just needs to wipe the floor clean with Hyundai, Toyota, and all the others that wrap themselves in the stars and stripes. Put out a full two-page ad listing all the American plants, how many workers they employ, average parts content, how many jobs are impacted (suppliers, dealers, etc), how much they contribute locally, total annual donations and grants, total R&D dollars, and then put a big ass picture of the Renaissance Center with bolded "Detroit, Michigan Worldwide Headquarters" underneath it.

Something like that would be great, though carefully planned. There will be people that will be surprised by the number of GM products that aren't assembled in NA. A focus on how NOT american the other manufacturers are would be best, probably. Not that they should hide that some GM products are made overseas, but keep that info toned down some.

[gm4life]

I'd rather see Hyundai nu. 1 than Toyota but I'd still rather have GM on top of both of them! :AH-HA_wink:

[grandmarquis]

Hyundai would make Joseph Goebbels proud...

Edited September 17, 2007 by grandmarquis

[Hudson]

1) The posted claim is not validated by actual figures. Does 'cars' mean cars? Or does it count everything made by Buick, etc.?

So now all advertisers must spend the entire ad listing all of the details? How many Buicks (Lucerne and Rainier) are made in the US compared to the 243,000 Hyundais built in the US last year?

2) Hyundai conveniently ignores that the vast majority of their lineup is still imported. Spin a wheel, pick a Hyundai, 3/4 of the time, its from Korea.

Yes...the majority of their models are. But most of the vehicles SOLD here are BUILT in the US.

3) Hyundai apparently doesn't count Canadian-assembled cars, which are considered domestic by the federal government in calculating domestic parts content. Heck, most Canadians consider cars full made in America as 'domestic.'

Yes...that's how advertising works. Advertising to people in the United States who don't care about Canadian-built vehicles. And wouldn't explaining why the US and Canada would be counted together but Mexico, the third member of NAFTA, isn't be a really long advertisement (see question 2 above)?

[Flybrian]

So now all advertisers must spend the entire ad listing all of the details? How many Buicks (Lucerne and Rainier) are made in the US compared to the 243,000 Hyundais built in the US last year?

Because you never see fine-print disclaimer anytime a manufacturer mentions best seller, largest, roomiest, etc? Yes, in fact, they do include specifics as to where data was sourced from, what vehicles were included, etc. Also, so? Buick offers a small, more expensive lineup than Hyundai. Its an illogical comparison.

Yes...the majority of their models are. But most of the vehicles SOLD here are BUILT in the US.

Yes, but how many know that the Sonata and that other piece of crap vastly outsells the rest of the lineup? It creates the false impression to the general public that most Hyundais are made in the U.S. Again, its worth pointing out that 75% of Hyundai's lineup is imported.

Yes...that's how advertising works. Advertising to people in the United States who don't care about Canadian-built vehicles. And wouldn't explaining why the US and Canada would be counted together but Mexico, the third member of NAFTA, isn't be a really long advertisement (see question 2 above)?

Not a problem if Hyundai didn't predicated this entire campaign on 'clearing up misconceptions' and using 'facts.' This isn't a 30sec tv commercial, a radio ad, or a flyer in the newspaper; this is an entire website that portends to educated people on the 'truth' of Hyundai. Ironically, its short on both truth and facts, but has tons of misconceptions of its own. Of course, some folks who buy Hyundais may have switched from Japanese cars but would never consider a domestic because their aunt's neighbor's Fifth Avenue was a piece of crap. How was the quality on those old Ponys? I suppose illogical facts appeal to those sort of consumers.

[ZL-1]

Hey, where did you get a picture of me?

Seriously, I think you guys give too much weight to stuff like this. I'm more concerned with GM engineering World-class cars and trucks than with Hyundai's opinion on GM.

[CARBIZ]

Hey, where did you get a picture of me?

Seriously, I think you guys give too much weight to stuff like this. I'm more concerned with GM engineering World-class cars and trucks than with Hyundai's opinion on GM.

Although you make a good point, it is the collective piling on of the supreme efforts of every car maker on Earth, assaulting the North American market that has created this death by a thousand cuts. Believe me when I say, the consumer is getting to the point where they either a) don't care or b) are starting to believe this $h!.

As I have tirelessly pointed out many, many times: buying a $25k car and sending the majority of that money overseas has a dramatic spin off effect on our economy and future. It is not in the same league as buying a pair of shoes made in China or Thailand - not by a long shot. Judging by the almost weekly outbreaks of these debates on this website, it is a contentious issue, but worse - there are supposedly intelligent people out there who are either starting to buy this BS or (due to their own hidden agendas) are perpetuating it.

[ZL-1]

As cold as it may seem, I think the consumer never cared. That's why consumers shifted from Detroit products to European/Japanese/Korean products so easily. They wanted the best deal with the best reliability possible, and for a while Detriot had trouble delivering that. For the most part, Detroit has recovered in the objective part (nr. of defects, and so on), but they have yet to regain the image/perception side of the business. That's going to take time, but it's not a lost battle.

Re foreign trade, I'll agree to disagree with you. Maybe because I am from a small country where having an open economy is clearly an advantage.

[Hudson]

As cold as it may seem, I think the consumer never cared.

You're probably right. I see the Hyundai direction as taking a page from the Toyota book of marketing. Sonata sales are spectactular, but perhaps a few borderline people could be lured in with the idea that Hyundai makes quite a few (relative to their sales) vehicles in the US. But I agree that most US buyers could care less.

[Gizhost]

I just read this...sad fact is...Hyundai is in a position to talk about anyone they want...thier line-up speaks for itself.