This is a big week for TTAC. A really properly big week. We’ve just had our new budget approved, and as a result, we’ve got some masthead changes to announce shortly… including the hiring of the newest member of Team TTAC, who just happens to be one of my favorite auto writers on the whole damn Web. We’re waiting on a few last-minute details before we make these big announcements though, so in the meantime you’ll have to make do with a smaller announcement: though you might not know it from the content that’s gone up so far today, this week will be Korea Week at TTAC.
Why? Because the rise of the Korean automakers has been one of the biggest automotive stories of the last decade. Twenty years ago, just as Japanese brands were gaining mass-market acceptance in the United States, Korean brands were the punchline of America’s new-car market. But like the Japanese before them, the Korean automakers persisted and successfully entered the automotive mainstream, both with their own brands, and as developers of captive imports and global products for American automakers like GM. Now, with the automotive industry still reeling from the economic downturn, Hyundai and Kia are poised to make serious inroads on the US market, with new products that are capturing the attention of the media and the public.
Over the next week, we’ll explore the history of the Korean automakers, their rise to power, and the vehicles that they built along the way. We’ll also be featuring reviews of the newest products coming out of Korea, starting with one of the Web’s first reviews of the 2011 Kia Optima (Korean-Market Spec), directly from our man in Korea. So pull up a chair, break out the BiBimBap, and stand by for a week of Kimchi-flavored coverage here at TTAC!
William Jeanes!
As a maker and addicted enjoyer of Kimchee, I suggest you buy a jar and complete the immersion in Korean products this week. Give it a chance, it’s an acquired taste – but is one of the world’s healthiest foods. Now back to the program…
+1. Kimchee for breakfast = one alert, feisty TTAC editor. Highly recommended!
Is Brock Yates coming back? (kidding)
I briefly owned a 1986 Hyundai Stellar – wasn’t a bad car at all.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/daveseven/164017233/in/set-72157594165392141/
My first car was an 88 Excel. It was a real piece. However, I’m currently saving up to buy a Genesis Coupe – that thing is a blast to drive. The local Hyundai dealers are getting sick of me.
Bring on the Daewoo love fest. Leganza, Lanos, and Nubria!!! Oh wait, there are other Korean auto makers?
>New writer
All Hail and Welcome John Davis !
Would this week’s theme have anything to do with someone’s little Asian trip, last week ?
Walk away from that writer. We got Moo-cows to move.
Old Korean cars rock. All you need are some big rims and a flame job.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/8490341@N04/3663049800/
It would be better, I think, to include a special section on the Pyongyang traffic girls.
Please tell me that plate frame exists
You know it does. Might just have to get one myself…
http://www.cafepress.com/+i_love_kimchi_license_plate_frame,372328202
Is the new guy someone who was just let go from 0-60 magazine?