Hyundai gets Extreme Makeover by a couple of good-ole boys

Hyundai Group Chairman Chung Mong Koo has decided that it is time for the Hyundai and Kia brands to develop their own unique look like Mazda's "cat's eyes" headlamps or Chrysler's and Audi's open-mouth front grills. So he hired two American designers, Joel Piaskowski (Hyundai) and Tom Kearns (Kia), to spearhead the development. Both are Detroit natives who worked at General Motors for years before joining Hyundai.

The redesigned Sante Fe, which generated rave reviews on Autoblog, is based on Piaskowki's design. If that's just one example of the two Korean brands direction, the next decade will prove to be very interesting. We can't wait to see what they do with the Tiburon.