gdogg

iTrader: (38)

never said you were my man... i agree with you on the idea of originality....as far as getting excited about the car- i'd have to see it 1st.
imho- there is no true originality anymore. as original as we may think subaru imprezas may be- if we dig up a few years back we will find some similarities w/other cars. (as matter of fact- i think the designers just threw together a bunch of designs and made one huge ugly one)- i own 2 subies btw

meilers i'm sure you know this already- but i've sold subaru's for a year and a half-selling hondas now- been in the car business 3 years. our reports we get from dealer bulletins is that the customer satisfaction surveys are much higher than those in subarus- not to hate on subaru but i can honestly say that currently subaru of america sucks in terms of a national scale of CSI ratings- obviously hyundai/kia are doing something terribly right- it shows in the CSI's. i've mentioned this before- several months ago i did a national dealer survey for subaru- their main focus was to see how dealers felt of subaru's new direction- the upscale market.(so they are trying...)

without trying to get too far off subject...
my only reservation of buying a hyundai is that i won't be in the car right 1-3 years after i buy it. i've always respected the car- i've never loved it- but if they make it rwd- that would be something i'd consider looking in to.




aloha from the summit of *-^-Mauna Kea-^-*

FUNKED1

RWD Tiburon, sounds great. I definitely would have considered buying one if they had a RWD Tib a few years back.

stevenkhau

iTrader: (11)

Can't say they ripped off the Santa Fe and Tucson from anybody. Who came up with that ugly *** bulging design?

If they're copying for their designs, at least it's not as blatant as VW's copy of the Corolla

That being said, I'm looking to pick up a Hyundai Accent for a commuter. Looks may matter...but to me, not nearly as much as build quality, warranty, performance, and PRICE! And I can certainly see the Tiburon being a good seller...original design (nothing like the Celica), good performance, great price, and great warranty.

bone324

They don't look anything alike to me. The current Tiburon is the best looking Hyundai ever. It kind of looks like a Ferrari-style design to me.

constellation

iTrader: (1)

The only thing about the tiburon that really resembles the celica is the overall mass and visual weight of the car - the front end feels the same but if you really look at there really are no dead on curves that match. I think the tiburon a great design - much better than the celica, even if the tiburon seems to be inspired by the celica - and i personally think it matches the previous generation celica more. Anyways, good for hyundai - hopefully they can get some good wins in with WRC and bring us some more sports cars. woot.

HomerJay

iTrader: (3)

Here's the HCD8 concept car that is supposedly the next Tiburon:

meilers

Wow, that is a stretch. Please find and post ANY Ferrari that looked ANYTHING like the Tiburon, EVER -- not to mention that 90% of the Ferrari's made are CONVERTIBLES or roadsters!

If you can't see the comparison, I can't make you see it -- trust me, if you saw the two cars sitting side-by-side in a parking lot, you'd notice right away. I actually noticed it because someone pointed it out to me first. As mentioned, the tib looks even more like a previous-generation Celica, but I couldn't find any pictures of one that was silver and from that angle.

edit: here's a link to that older-model Celica. If you can't see the resemblance NOW, then it is time to get the perscription checked

http://www.dieselstation.com/wallpap...Celica-GT4.jpg

Concept cars rarely, if ever, resemble the production models; I don't see that as being a production car, and I can guarantee that those headlights would never pass US DOT approval. Note, as an example, the lack of door handles -- not a consumer-friendly idea. An interesting blend of styles, however -- those front fenders look ready to explode. It looks like a chipmunk with a load of nuts in its cheeks.

http://www.aftagley.com/chip7.gif :P

meilers

I don't want to clutter up the thread with more images, so I'll just post the links:

http://hyundai.reybert.free.fr/Wallp...Fe%20route.jpg

http://www.autoweek.nl/images/480/6642.jpg

Huh? Which model years and cars? The Toyota Corolla has appeared in dozens of different forms and configurations, from 2-door to 5-door minivan.

bone324

The gills and side windows of the Tiburon remind me of the 550 Maranello. No need to get defensive.

LUvikes29

you know, before you guys get all up on Hyundai for "ripping off" the looks of other cars, consider what you would do if you ran the company:

Let's say your company has been known for the last 20 years as the purveyors of second rate econobox ultra cheap "disposable" cars. Now, let's say you want to go upscale, and take some shots at Honda and Toyota. First, you up your reliability so the cars get top notch durability reviews (which they've done), then, you re-style the cars, to appeal to the built in aesthetic that people have about cars. When people see a Jaguar X-type (sonata) or a Lincoln Continental (XG-350), they think to themselves "boy, that's a nice looking car", because they're conditioned to know that it's expensive, so it MUST be nice. When you see a celica (Tiburon) you think, "Hmm... that looks pretty quick".

By preying on pre-established mental imagery, Hyundai doesn't have to build their own mental imagery, and they don't have to take chances on aesthetics that they can't afford (e.g. Pontiac Aztec) to be wrong about. By copying established and successful designs, you know people will find the car pleasing to the eyes. Pleasing to the eyes+good reliability+ cheap = car sales

meilers

Oh, I absolutely agree -- and I congratulate you, sir, on perhaps the first ever use of the phrase "pre-established mental imagery" on this esteemed board. You have it exactly. I will admit sneering at Hyundai for being copycats is a little juvenile; I'm just trying to have some fun. My real point was that even if a new Tiburon with a 3.6-liter V6 comes out, there are a hell of a lot of cars in the pipeline (such as the Solstice, a new Mitata, a new Celica and Eclipse, etc.) in that category which are NOT as derivative and which are worth considering for car enthusiasts such as ourselves. Subaru fans, after all, are a unique lot; we love some of the ugliest and most compromised cars ever made, where looks, comfort and "bling" have been sacrificed for utility, power and performance. When you invert that equasion -- looks but nothing special in performance -- then I start to get bored with that car before I even see it; thus, I have a tough time being excited about anything Hyundai because they've dressed their cars to look like something that they are not, both under the hood and in overall performance.

As company they've definitely come quite far, and I see more Sonotas than Jags these days (and I live in the Arizona equivalent of Beverly Hills!); I'm just sayin' that the 2005 Tokyo auto show gave me a LOT more to look forward to than a Tiburon

stevenkhau

iTrader: (11)

The newest Jetta vs. the current Corolla. And if you say they're not identical, then you can't say anything about Hyundai copying people's design (which I don't dispute).