Autoblog

In South Korea, economics trumps justice. Chung Mong-koo, the head of Hyundai who recently received a suspended sentence for embezzling and bribes has -- along with 341,000 other businessmen, bureaucrats, and politicians -- been given a full pardon.

President Lee Myung-bak, who said he was "personally against" the decision, decided to issue the pardons anyway. Mong-koo wasn't even in jail, but apparently the convicted and jailed businessmen were "having problems doing business overseas." Go figure.

So on Liberation Day, in hopes that "businessmen would take the lead in reviving the economy by creating jobs through active investment and exploring markets abroad," the bad guys got gifts even better than walking papers. In South Korea, crime does pay... if you have good business sense.

[Source: Reuters]

This is the JATY DR7200 GPS, and it does a lot more than just tell you where you are and how to get where you're going on that 7-inch screen. You see, it's got an integrated breathalyzer, too, so it'll also tell you whether you should even be trying to get where you're going. Blow "over" and you get a standard BAC readout, a red "OVER" warning, and if that's not enough, a yellow skull and crossbones to drive home the point that, well, you really shouldn't be driving at all. In addition to all that, it supports just about every techno-acronym you can imagine (USB, MP3, DiVX, JPEG, MPEG, etc.), so if you're in no shape to drive, you can at least watch a movie on the thing while you wait it out. Want one? Just run on down to the local electronics store...in Korea.

[Source: Engadget]

We dug the hot new Genesis Coupe at the New York Auto Show, but not everybody can head out to Gotham to see Hyundai's future tuner de force. Hyundai knows it has a good thing on its hands, and has now shared it with the world in web form. The Genesis Coupe's official site includes everything from technical specifications and available equipment to photo galleries and videos. That ought to help you kill the year-or-so wait for the Genesis Coupe's arrival in dealer showrooms. We noticed that Hyundai hasn't gotten around to posting video of the car's smoke-laden intro in New York, so we've added ours after the jump. Thanks for the tip, Mike!



[Source: Hyundai]

We've already seen some undisguised pictures of Kia's handsome new midsize SUV, but the vehicle just launched officially in Korea as the Mohave. Official launch means official pictures, and that's what we have here, a ton of really beautiful images of what we'll soon know as the Borrego. Not that Borrego, this one sports a full frame, seating places for seven, and the choice of Kia's strong-like-bull V6 or their first V8. The wisdom of introducing a new body-on-frame SUV at this point, especially in light of the coming new CAFE rules, might be questionable, but the vehicle itself is handsome and it's hard to deny the inherent value that Kia bakes into its cars. We'll check the Borrego out in person when it makes it's US debut at the Detroit Auto Show. In the meantime, Carscoop unearthed a lot of great pictures to tide us over.

[Source: Kia via Carscoop]

Roewe, SAIC's renamed Rover, has an SUV in the works. Details are scant, though it's reportedly based on a Ssangyong model. We think the Ssangyong Kyron is hiding under the Roewe's handsome sheetmetal. The Kyron carries its Mercedes-esque styling atop a ladder frame and off-road capable 4WD componentry, so Roewe's new SUV should be able to get dirty without becoming mired. Roewe has added some Lexus to the styling of the Kyron, but the older Mercedes powertrain systems might not remain underhood. Ssangyong uses Mercedes castoffs through a special licensing agreement, though we wouldn't go so far as to call either vehicle a bargain last-gen Mercedes. Looking into reports on the Kyron reveal a vehicle that's well equipped but not a screaming deal; nor is it a stellar performer. Perhaps Roewe has revised the chassis calibration and found a different motor to slide in between the front fenders.

[Source: China Car Times via Straightline]

Ford is launching the Taurus in South Korea at the end of the month where it's expected to compete with locally manufactured sedans like Kia's Opirus, which we know in the U.S. as the Amanti. Korean versions of the Taurus will get the same 263-hp 3.6L V6 and six-speed auto as U.S. spec cars, putting it in good steed against the local competition. Ford officials are well aware of the Blue Oval's budget image, even overseas in places like Korea, and have no ambitions of targeting brands like Lexus and other imports.

The Taurus is a long standing US nameplate, selling in the States for more than twenty years now, but there's not much cachet in the badge in foreign markets. In recent times, the car has lost favor back and home and even led Ford to replace it with the new Five Hundred sedan. Realizing the mistake of throwing away almost two decades of history, Ford's new CEO Alan Mulally set about reinstating the name and thus it reappeared this year on a facelifted version of the Five Hundred. Of course, all this means nothing to the Koreans, who we're sure will have an affinity for their local brands.

[Source: Korea Herald via Winding Road]

Bolstering their green credentials and commitment to the environment, Korean automakers Hyundai and Kia have teamed up on a $50 million green tech R&D center. The purpose of the facility will be to "accelerate the commercialization of fuel-cell electric vehicles," and it is kitted out with a hydrogen filling station, an endurance tester, emissions lab, and dynos. There is also a prototype plant for automated vehicle dismantling that will explore options for bettering the amount of recyclables in the modern car. Even the toilets at the facility are green: they are vacuum units, as on airplanes, that will save 1,500 tons of water per year. Hyundai and Kia have not been considered major players in the hybrid movement, but, depending on what starts to come out of this center, that could change rather soon.

[Source: Inside Line]

It used to be that foreign cars were a very rare sight on the streets of Seoul, Korea, but according to the International Herald Tribune, that's changing, as Koreans look to foreign marques for added cachet. High tariffs on imported cars and a patriotic sense of duty had created an environment in which most Seoul residents drove domestically-produced automobiles. As the IHT reports now, a number of economic factors (including a new trade agreement with the US, for example) and a willingness to look beyond purely patriotic motives have ushered in a new era in which foreign cars -- German, American, Japanese, and others -- are being purchased because they're different and are viewed as status symbols.

They still only account for only 5% of the total market, meaning there's plenty of upside for carmakers as more citizens look past their own country's offerings when shopping for new vehicles. The top-selling import right now happens to be the Honda CR-V, whose sales numbers jumped 150% in the first six months of 2007. According to the IHT, foreign-market cars are also having an effect in the premium segment, where they're taking sales (and profits) away from domestic luxury offerings. At the Seoul Motor Show (above) this past April, just about every foreign marque was present and accounted for, showing that the automakers don't take Korea lightly at all, even if they only own a tiny share of the overall market at this time. Now we know why. You can check out the IHT piece in its entirety here.

[Source: International Herald Tribune]

Hyundai's product line-up has been both steadily improving and moving up-market, first with the launch of the Veracruz luxury SUV and now with the announcement of the upcoming Genesis RWD V8 luxury sedan. The emergence of the premium Hyundais has lead to industry speculation that the burgeoning Korean carmaker could be considering the launch of a separate premium brand to compete with its Japanese rivals.

Although they've far from confirmed any such decision, Hyundai execs have suggested it could be in the cards. Product planning VP John Krafcik was quoted as saying, "We haven't decided that as of yet. Genesis will be sold through our Hyundai dealers as a Hyundai, but we're still in the midst of discussions as to whether or not we should have an alternative distribution channel with a new name. It's still a possibility."

Like Toyota did with Lexus, Nissan with Infiniti and Honda with Acura, a premium marque from Hyundai would give the Korean carmaker the prestige and justification for the higher prices that inevitably come with producing up-market products. While Japan remains on alert from nuclear weapons from North Korea, the real bomb seems to be coming in automotive form from South Korea.

[Source: Winding Road]

When General Motors took the reins of Daewoo in 2002, they saw a future in the then bankrupt Korean automaker. Since then, GM has poured a considerable amount of resources into Daewoo and now, that effort has paid off. GM Daewoo has taken back its former standing as the number two automaker in Korea.

Kia has occupied the second place spot, right below its parent company Hyundai, for the past four years. However, GM Daewoo was able to out-produce the automaker by some 180,000 vehicles in 2006.

Close to 80-percent of GM Daewoo's are shipped abroad, with exports up over 33-percent, while domestic sales rallied 19.2-percent. Some of those aforementioned exports arrive in the U.S. wearing Chevrolet's bowtie.

Since GM's sales have been waning over the past few years, this sort of news is an unlikely bright spot for the automaker as a whole.

[Source: Edmunds]