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Old 12-23-2013, 10:22 AM   #1
XDCX
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Default Hyundai i10 - A cool little car that's not available in the U.S.

I completed a road trip from Seattle to Phoenix last week and saw a Hyundai i10 sedan while I was traveling through California.

Here's an example of what the i10 looks like:




At first I was convinced the car must have been a test mule that Hyundai was evaluating during a road test but then I noticed that the car was plated with Mexican license plates.

When I finally had a chance to check the car out on the Internet I learned that the Hyundai i10 is produced in Turkey and India and sold just about everywhere but the U.S.

The i10 is about the same size as a Fiat 500 but it's available as a four door. I think the vehicle would sell well in the U.S. but I'm guessing Hyundai decided not to sell the vehicle in the U.S. because it would conflict with their efforts to take the Hyundai brand up-market.
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Old 12-26-2013, 08:06 AM   #2
tnpartsguy
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Default Micro Cars

Plus the price factor is against it. It would be priced in Accent territory.

People in the US don't really want micro cars, especially if you have to pay $15~20k for one. I personally love smaller cars, but I wouldn't consider paying $18k for a smart. A micro/city car isn't for daily driving outside a major city. Most of them don't even have the fuel milage to make them a real option.

Base Models of the Nissan Versa, Chevy Spark, and Toyota Yaris are all over $14k, and none break the 35 mpg city mark. And how many truely BASE cars are people willing to buy?
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Old 12-26-2013, 09:13 AM   #3
XDCX
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tnpartsguy View Post
Plus the price factor is against it. It would be priced in Accent territory.

People in the US don't really want micro cars, especially if you have to pay $15~20k for one. I personally love smaller cars, but I wouldn't consider paying $18k for a smart. A micro/city car isn't for daily driving outside a major city. Most of them don't even have the fuel milage to make them a real option.

Base Models of the Nissan Versa, Chevy Spark, and Toyota Yaris are all over $14k, and none break the 35 mpg city mark. And how many truely BASE cars are people willing to buy?
You make an excellent point - especially about the minimal fuel economy gains that are achieved when people opt for a micro-car.

I do think it's important for the OEMs to offer an inexpensive entry-level car for their dealers to compete in the market but I agree that offering a micro-car isn't a necessity given their limited popularity in the U.S.
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