Do Koreans believe it's impolite to have a loud and commanding sounding horn? I generally rarely use my horn but I did last night for the first time in a while and me and my wife started laughing! Is that a car horn or one of the "honk honk" hand held toy horns those circus clowns use! I've heard louder horns on my kids Barbie car! Sheesh. Here I'm driving this cool looking hatch with the sporty looks and trim and then the "I'm so sorry to disturb you Mr. Peterbuilt truck driver man but would you mind not cutting me off" weak horn honks and it's not even a honk ...more like a "tweet tweet" sound.

So my next mod is the horn. Are the dual Fiamm's my best bet or what else would be a decent sounding, simple & easy horn to change too?

I have two qestions. !. I've heard both on this site, and elsewhere of people complaining that the paint coat is thin. Does anybody have any information on this? Have measurements been made? Does Hyndai answer this concern?
2. Same thing about the gauge of sheet metal used for body panels. Does anybody have any hard facts?

I hear an add on the radio today and the dealer rep kept calling them Hun-die's

How do you pronounce it?

From the Toronto Sun:

by Dan Proudfoot

"Coolest-looking sedan around!" That’s how the 20-something woman describes the Hyundai Elantra in the television commercial.

No matter how many times I see and hear this commercial, I can’t believe my ears. Has the definition of Cool blurred this much through the generations? Because I cannot understand how a four-door sedan can described as Cool unless it’s a ’58 Chevy Impala, new BMW M5, or something along those lines.

A $18,025 Elantra? Hyundai’s Tiburon sports coupe, I might understand. I think.

I call Hyundai Canada and get the exact wording from the script. The commercial portrays a couple (I onIy remember the woman, but apparently there’s a guy in there, too) chorusing, "Our Elantra is not only the coolest looking sedan around, at $199 a month it’s nothing to sweat about."

Okay, okay. We’ll adapt. In this week’s review, we’ll drop such adjectives as "significant" or "exhilarating" to which regular readers have grown accustomed. Instead, we’ll search out what’s Cool in this four-door sedan.

The price is, no doubt. Few sedans list for less than $20,000 with adequate power, an automatic transmission and air conditioning. This one falls $1,975 short of $20,000 – practically enough to cover the taxes. Cool!

Working yourself into a state of ecstacy doesn’t come so easily considering the styling. If you walk into a parking lot knowing your Elantra sits somewhere in the middle, it’s not as though it jumps out at you as a singular example of molten-metal eye candy. Visually, it’s just another compact car, hardly Cool.

Closer up, though, the silver Elantra grows more involving. Hyundai’s designers have pleated the sheet metal to outline the engine bay and define the trunk in a manner often employed in luxury cars. The side moulding is the same colour as the body. If this car were magnified to be a third larger, it would rival any luxury car in detail and stature. Awesome! To our way of thinking, anyhow.

Once inside you find everything you really need. So the seats aren’t power adjustable? They’re multi-adjustable, anyway. And aren’t there enough buttons as is, without more buttons for power seats? A compact disc function is found within the tiny-buttoned stereo. That rocks. Truly. The outside mirrors are remotely adjustable, more buttons. Cruise control is good because every car, even a four-door sedan, must cruise on a Saturday night if it’s considered remotely Cool at all.

Hyundai provides a vanity mirror in both driver and passenger sun visors, which rules because you can’t go around declaring everything cool if you’re looking most un-Cool yourself. They’re not illuminated, which sucks, but again, check the price.

From the driver’s seat you’d never guess this car can be leased on lunch money. The shiny black plastic surrounding the heat and sound controls borders on the cheesy, but otherwise the quality is awesome. The seats fit. Truly.

Even taller dudes need not be bent or folded to occupy the rear seat. And when they discover that their headrests are adjustable, they too may just find themselves saying, "Cool!" Ask yourself, how many cars in this price range have adjustable rear headrests? Nobody, however, is going to say the foot room is awesome. They may say it’s okay.

The Elantra VE isn’t the most powerful car in the world, but it’s hardly lame. Not with a claimed 140 hp and 133 lb.ft. of torque from a 2.0-litre motor. If you’re not into figures, all that really matters is that many cars in this price range generate less power.

You feel the power at higher speeds: the Elantra cruises easily on the highway where it’s capable of collecting speeding tickets if you don’t keep a light right foot. At 140 km/h the engine shows no sign of busyness, a fact confirmed by the tachometer’s 3,200 rpm.

Spending too much of your cash on gas is not Cool. Our averaging 14.7 L/100 km seems too much, even in city-area driving, so maybe the tank wasn’t full when we picked up the test car. By Transport Canada’s rating, the Elantra should average 9.6 L/100 km in city driving, and 6.5 L/100 km on the highway.

Engine, wind and road noise are remarkable by their absence. This can only be a Cool feature in a budget-priced car. Silence rules! Except when all four speakers are maxed out, or when your foot’s to the floor because you need to get up to speed quickly. Then you’ve got noise. All but a few four-cylinder motors roar in such circumstances.

One other area in which the Elantra is outstanding is in ride quality. Neither the biggest nor the smallest sedan in the Hyundai lineup, the Elantra smoothes out bumps and rough pavement like a much more expensive car. That’s Cool, truly Cool.

Downside, the suspension isn’t tuned for keeping up with the Acuras and Hondas in fast cornering. The steering is nice and light, but the Elantra hardly feels slotted into the pavement while changing directions.

Can the Elantra itself be called Cool? To tell the truth, I am still struggling with that concept. That conclusion is up to you. What can be said is it’s a solid sedan for the money, and $199 a month truly is nothing to sweat about. In fact, it rocks.
_______________________________________________

A great article...

im picking up my brand new elantra gt tomorrow morning. i was just wondering about how to break the car in.
iv heard back in the day u couldn't drive over 60 and other bull shit. but these day i hear that u don't have to worry about breaking the car in anymore.

is this true, and if soo what is a safe way to do so, so that my car will last as long is it possibley can.

After bringing my GT to the dealer to get the recall fixed, I noticed that the emergency brake was pulled up to close to 70 degrees. I never pull it up that far, what is an acceptable level, ie, how many clicks. I usually go maybe 4 clicks, just a quick pull up.

I picked up the 05 brochure and saw the rear of the 05GT, I noticed that the rear lights have a clear lens w/ what looks like red stripes. Is that the signal, or backup light. If it is the signal, is the bulb colored, usually the signal is colored. Just wondering. It was nice to browse through this brochure, I remember that distinct smell of the booklet, kind of wish I was about to get a new 05GT, but I still enjoy my 02.

As you know I have an 04 Elantra, being that I live in the woods and do a lot of driving I already have 32K on it, anyway, I take very good care of my leather, and I notice that my steering wheel is very patchy now, so dull with spots, almost to the point that I think it may start peeling. Will thy change it under warranty??

hey guys is this normal or should i go back to the dealership tomorrow and complain.

i didn't even notice it myself one of my friends mentioned it to me and on closer inspection. they were right. its on the inside of the light. forming on the plastic.

theres always something with anything new

Well I got a call from a friend in Minnasota and he bought an Elantra GLS a few months ago. He is coming out this way around the first part of July and driving his car. I'm the one who talked him into buying the car in the first place though. He was here around graduation time last year, and when I was looking at cars. So I will be sure to keep everyone posted on how his car looks, and what all we do together. He has made me think about mods to my car too, just not sure on the whole warranty thing? Can anyone explain what we can and can't do please?

Thanks,
StugGuts. 2003 GLS

Ok, so I was led to believe that the only differences between the two, mechanically, were...
1) disc brakes on GT
2) thicker stabilizer bars on GT
3) Stiffer springs and struts

Are there any other mechanical differences?

I'm very happy with my car and plan on keeping it for quite some time. While I have some quibbles with it (too many rattles, not enough power) its a great car for the money. When the time comes for a new car, I strongly will look in Hyundai's direction again. I was curious how many of you would strongly consider another Elantra as your next vehicle?

For me it has to be Creaks and rattles. I've always been very sensitive to car rattles and the Elantra (at times) has far too many. I'm not one to simply crank the stereo to drown them out and trying to pinpoint them gets oh so frustrating!

What do you vote for?

A friend of mine suggested "Fenders and Fins" to do the repair of the damage to my doors after the bicycle hit me. Fenders and Fins is a body shop that specializes in older car restoration.
When I drove up, the owner made a comment that he saw my UJC (Universal Japanese car) pull up. OK, I should expect this from this type of establishment. The guy was very friendly and explained everything that they would do in detail.
After a week I finally was able to pick up the car. To my surprise, the owner said "That's one nice little car you have there. I'm impressed". He noted my short shifter and I told him it was an adjustable one. I told him a little about Hyundai's quality commitment and the mod's I have done to the car.
So, I think I may have at least convinced another person that Hyundai's have become much more acceptable option. Of course this guy wouldn't ever have a car that isn't at least 50 years old.

I know some are counting the Elantra out going against the next gen Civics, Scions and the like but I think it will more than hold it's own.

Hyundai dramatically has improved their cars both in style and content for a long time. Of course, Hyundai will be a value nameplate but their technology is catching up with the big boys.

So what's my prediction for the '07 Elantra? Contrary to popular opinion I think both body styles will remain...hatch and sedan. I'm pretty confident they'll put the new "world" engine in the car... the so-called "theta" engine which is tentatively rated (by one online car source) at 164 hp. Right there (if the 2,600 or so curb weight remains) would add a bit of kick in your seat performance. That would be a full 25% increase in horsepower...dramatic.

I see a big change in the Elantra's interior design to a much more modern look. Maybe some standard aluminum trim. Look for a few bells and whistles to be added to the option mix too.

I don't expect seriously beefed up handling as the Elantra really isn't geared towards the "toss the car into a corner" crowd.

Basically my prediction is a car with substantially more hp, a mildly beefed up supension with larger than 195/60-15 tires... a much better looking interior, possibly with leather as an option now to keep costs down... a car with updated and pleasing exterior style...

In other words the same value packed, competitive, full of standard features car Elantras have always been... just better.

Over at EZboard we had some pictures and discussions about the next generation Elantra!


I have been following this topic as much as I can, and have been to many a car forum that discusses spy shots etc. Some of these forums have Hyundai Insiders as members, and these are the people that are claiming what's what!

The consensus appears to be that any pictures we think we may have seen of the Elantra is actually the Kia Optima!

So...Who knows...I guess we'll have to wait and see what happens! Of course..the insiders could be bluffing?

SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)


2004 is over. Some automotive manufacturers were winners and some fell short of their targets. Strategic Vision Inc. (SVI) takes a clear position on the key to success: Delight your customers. Who did it well and who did not? What do you need to do to create a success? Where can you go next to create a positive leverageable position that leads to success? Who will be the winners for 2005?


In order to answer these questions, Strategic Vision is providing its Total Delight study a new title: Customer Delight. "This re-orientation focuses on the key player in the equation: your customer," stated Dr. Darrel Edwards, founder of Strategic Vision Inc., a research-based consultancy. "No matter how much you put into a product or how well you execute your plan, if you do not Delight your customer, you have failed. In order to help product planners develop delightful vehicles that will address the needs and desires of customers, we created the Customer Delight measure that reflects both the rational and emotional aspects of customers' responses."

The Edwards Customer Delight Scale® provides a comprehensive look at the product attributes and benefits that explicitly create "super-positive" delightful responses from the primary drivers of the vehicles.

"Four significant issues emerged to lead the multitude of discoveries that are revealed with the new measure: (1) the industry continues to improve its ability to Delight its customers; (2) attention invested in a small car or truck can produce as positive a response as that created by a much larger and often more expensive vehicle; (3) there is a new kid on the block that needs attention: the Wagon/Sport Wagon, and (4) the hybrids are coming ... actually, they are already here," noted Dr. Edwards.

Overall, the CDI™ (Customer Delight Index™) is 48 points higher (04 CDI = 529 vs. 03 CDI = 481). The index is calculated from the "top box" scores recorded for 110 product attribute/benefits versus the other responses recorded for the vehicles the respondents primarily drive. The 48-point gain on a scale that records responses ranging from 000 to 1000 is a statistical giant step for the industry.

Strategic Vision, has often exhorted the industry to think of an "entry level" vehicle as "a noble destination" to which customers aspire as they choose their first car or truck or chose a vehicle that will explicitly fulfill their needs at a particular point in time. Hyundai's Small Car Elantra (CDI = 602) created as much Delight for their customers as did many larger or more expensive vehicles (Large Car: Mercury Marauder = 583; Large SUV: Nissan Pathfinder Armada = 583; Near Luxury: Lexus ES 300 = 597; Luxury: Acura RL = 593).

The new, emerging, morphing class of vehicles arises out of the traditional categories and appears as a cross between wagons, sport utilities and tall cars. They are the new capable vehicles that Dr. Edwards described in a seminar for the automotive community five years ago when he introduced the concept of the STAR (part SUV, part Truck and part CAR). Now, they are here in force. Chrysler's revolution took the shape of a PT Cruiser; Volvo introduced a Sport Wagon; Honda has its Element; Toyota produced a new line and introduced its Scion xB. While these vehicles may rest uneasily in several current segments, they will have evolved to form a new class in 2005 for SVI.

From electric to hybrid, the industry is poised to meet the demands for fuel efficiency, some political freedom from oil, and environmental friendliness. This new segment will find a place in the immediate future although trying to predict the exact time shows the complexity of the issues involved in the transformation. Beyond the Prius, Toyota proposes to have a hybrid alternative in all of its segments. Toyota's bold proposition potentially holds tremendous merit for the automotive industry, and it exposes the need to rethink segmentations in 2005 that have been in place for decades.

The Most Delightful Vehicles in Class

The Far Eastern and European imports dominated the car and SUV classes with the Volkswagen Phaeton presenting an amazing balance between luxury and performance (CDI = 800), receiving the highest score on the 2004 Delight Index™. The Lexus RX330 (CDI = 724) was a leader in the truck-based vehicle segments. The Lexus SC430 Convertible (CDI = 761) and the Mercedes-Benz CL Coupe (CDI = 658) also received CDI™ scores from their drivers that out-reached the scale's typical top end. Delight Scores that surpass 700 on our 0-1000 point scale describe vehicles that have essentially few flaws from the drivers' perspectives.

The Japanese OEMs lead in 9 of 23 segments. In 2004 Toyota (Corporation CDI = 517) remained below the threshold (Industry average = 529) in delighting their customers. While they consistently make "Excellent" vehicles, they do not create the competitive edge that Delight brings. Honda (Corporate CDI = 555) held its ground with their Odyssey (CDI = 539) and their Element (CDI = 597) segment winners.

The domestic manufacturers remained strong in Pick-Ups, leading all segments. The new revitalized Ford F-150 (CDI = 643) revolutionized their product, receiving a +189 point boost in their CDI score. The improvements are also reflected in the Ford-250/350 (CDI = 554), leading the segment. Such a remarkable change can only mean that the execution matched a plan that was directly responsive to the customers' desires and needs. The Chevrolet Colorado entered the market with a CDI = 539 in a segment that has an average CDI = 431. It is in a class that has room for improvements but made a strong entry.

Korean manufacturers continued to do well with their strengths: Hyundai Elantra (602) in Small Cars, and the new Kia Amanti (635) in Mid-Size Cars.

Following are the winners of the Most Delightful vehicles in their class (Customer Delight Index™ scores). Strategic Vision's 2004 Customer Delight Index™ was calculated from the responses from 74,910 new vehicle 2004-model owners who made their purchases between October 2003 and March of 2004. They had owned their vehicles for at least 90 days before they were surveyed. The primary driver of the vehicle is measured.


1 Small Car -Hyundai Elantra- 602
2 Compact Car -Toyota Prius- 658
3 Compact Wagon -Scion xB- 559
4 Mid-Sized Car -Kia Amanti- 635
5 Mid-Sized Wagon -Volvo 40- 523
6 Larger Car -Mercury Marauder- 583
7 Near Luxury Car -Lexus IS300- 718
8 Luxury Car -Volkswagen Phaeton - 800
9 Luxury/Sport Wagon -Audi Allroad Quattro- 652
10 Specialty Coupes <$25K -Mini Cooper- 674
11 Specialty Coupes >$25K -M-Benz CL Coupe- 758
12 Mid-Specialty Cars -Pontiac GTO- 654
13 Convertibles <$30K -VW Beetle Convertible- 584
14 Convertibles >$30K -Lexus SC430- 761
15 Minivans -Honda Odyssey- 539
16 Small SUV -Honda Element- 597
17 Mid-Size SUV -Nissan Pathfinder- 625
18 Large SUV -Nissan Pathfinder Armada- 583
19 Near Luxury SUV -Lexus RX330- 724
20 Luxury SUV -Cadillac Escalade- 704
21 Compact Pickup -Chevrolet Colorado- 539
22 Full-Size Pickup -Ford F-150- 643
23 Heavy Duty Pickup -Ford F-250/350- 554


With a top score of 1000, these latest scores demonstrate that there is major room for improvement on product Delight in all vehicle segments.

In 1995, Strategic Vision introduced its Total Quality Index™ to measure the complete assessment of Quality as experienced by the customer in the automotive industry. This more complete measurement of Quality considered the whole vehicle ownership experience including the customers' emotional response. "Measurement in the industry had "stretched" satisfaction nearly to its limits. In 1995 and now in 2004, Strategic Vision has enhanced the measurement of Quality by using a more discriminating scale. However, the measure of Delight goes further," said Dr. Edwards, father of the Total Delight concept.

"A Delight rating requires a more positive, complete response than simply 'Excellent' or 'Completely Satisfied,'" asserted Dr. Edwards. "Important to understanding Delight was uncovering the point that 'Satisfaction,' even 'Completely Satisfied' meant that the manufacturer had fulfilled the basic contract with the customer. You can even create an 'Excellent' vehicle without delighting your customer. When you Delight your customer, you create stronger bonds of emotional commitment to the product, the brand and the manufacturer. We have demonstrated these links in multivariate procedures that predict positive outcomes from complex measures."

The Customer Delight Index Study™ is intended to help automotive planners, engineers and designers understand how to specifically improve their products. The information can also give communicators direction to create a leverageable position for the brand and model. The scores can also direct customers to models with specific characteristics that might stand out in a class. Delight is the more sensitive, informative, and useful score for 2004 and beyond.

Delighting customers with products that go beyond satisfaction will be the key for the domestic manufacturers to make their ways back into the hearts of the consumers.