Posted on 02/19/2011 1:15:34 PM PST by reaganaut1
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Few people in this city 800 miles south of Detroit cared much about the auto industry until Hyundai announced it would build cars here nine years ago.
These days, Montgomery cannot stop talking about it.
Hyundai and its sister company, Kia, which opened a plant last year just across the Georgia state line, have brought thousands of well-paying jobs to the region and even helped nurture a little Korean culture in Montgomery, the first capital of the old Confederacy. Hyundai is running its Montgomery plant almost nonstop. Rarely do more than a few weeks pass without word that another parts supplier has dozens of new positions to fill, typically offering good benefits and double the pay that the average Alabaman earns.
Hyundai, which will observe its 25th anniversary selling vehicles to American drivers on Sunday, was little more than an ambitious, second-tier brand when it chose to build its first United States car factory just south of Montgomery. But during the recent recession, the South Korean company thrived as Americans sought out cheap cars just as Hyundais were improving in quality.
In 2010, Hyundai and Kia each posted their highest sales in the United States and, taken together, surged ahead of Ford Motor to become fourth-largest automaker worldwide. Hyundai built 300,000 cars in Montgomery last year and sold most of them in the United States.
“If folks looked deeply at how far we’ve gone so quickly, from having no U.S. production five years ago to where we are today, it’s amazing,” John Krafcik, chief executive of Hyundai Motor America, said. “I don’t know that any company has gotten to such a high level of local assembly as Hyundai that fast.”
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
I’ll tell you what, go look at the news headlines around the world for the past 24 hours. Maybe that will put some perspective on some idiot redneck (yes, I can say that, I are one) who did something incredibly stupid. ANYBODY who judges an entire state by that is worse than Patty Murphy.
Outstanding car for the money and the dealership staff was great. Would buy a bicycle before I would by a GM union mad P-O-S.
Murphy=Murray, or whatever her name is.
Well said my friend. So many folks obsess about gas mileage when depreciation, registration, and repair costs are what often are the big $$ cost numbers.
Have seen one painted in a two-tone paint shceme? They “clean up” nicely.
Effective life of Saturn S projected to be about 20 yrs based on my 97. With my $300 Maaco paint job applied after a bruising from an 18 wheeler it looks darn near new. Just don’t let her run shy on oil.
Man, I love those cars.
Well you’ve got the break-in done, LOL.
I remember over on Saturnfans.com there was a guy in Calif with a long commute that was over 450,000mi on his original motor, and one auto trans rebuild.
They were pretty, though.
Ah, that is Citroen porn. The SM had some nice lines.
More than just a little bit of Raymond Loewey in it. Check out the ‘53 Studebaker Starlight Coupe that he did the styling on, the roofline, the front fascia, even the swept back lines falling from front to rear. A clear inspiration, but they certainly made it their own, one of the iconic cars of all time, imho, and so technically advanced.
There’s something vaguely American about it from some angles, especially the windows, roofline and fastback, and from others it’s anything but. Very interesting to look at.
Oh, I know how smart Alabamans are. I am afraid that idiots like the Senator from Washington don’t.
Oh, I know how smart Alabamans are. I am afraid that idiots like the Senator from Washington don’t.
There definitely is some resemblance.
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