Drive a Korean

Two maligned types of automobile come to mind when I see the letters "orean" -- DeLorean (properly, the DeLorean DMC-12, which sounds like the name of a movie theater) and Korean, like the two specimens currently sitting in our driveway.

Only difference is, the DeLorean brand disintegrated like a water balloon, while Korean brands are climbing in both popularity and reputation.

Edmunds Inside Line points out today that Hyundai is now the #8 "Best Global Brand" automobile, ahead of Nissan and Porsche, among others. Since this is a global survey, it's a strong signal that most of the world has caught onto the fact that Hyundai and its subsidiary, Kia, are building some first-rate cars these days.

For better or worse, the auto industry -- like so many others -- has entered the age of true globalization. Our Hyundai Sonata was manufactured in Alabama, as are some Mercedes Benzes. In a 2006 comparison between a Hyundai Sonata, Toyota Camry, Honda Accord and Ford Fusion, a major car magazine pointed out that the Ford is the only one of the quartet that is not manufactured in the USA. It's built in Canada, on a Mazda platform (Ford owns a controlling interest in Mazda).

So what does this all mean? A couple of things:

1. No more generalizations about the quality of a car brand based on the country it's from. German-based Mercedes has recently fallen near the bottom of most quality rankings, while some "cheap brands" (American and Asian) are in the top 10. Globalization means that every car company is capable of building top-quality automobiles, and each can also build clunkers. Modern Quality Control, not country of origin or location of corporate headquarters, is what matters.

2. What was true 20 -- or 10 -- years ago may no longer be the case. Most American car-buyers have come to the realization that American cars are no longer the most dependable on the market - far from it. But in more recent memory, many brands were associated with certain reputations, and those are quickly being shattered too. Hyundai was known for econo-shoeboxes like the original Elantra, and they're getting ready to release a V8-powered luxury sedan that will rival Lexus at half the price. Saturn, which came to be known as GM's flimsy division, is starting to sell mostly rebadged Opels -- the European GM brand, which builds some of GM's most exciting and well-designed cars in the world.

The rest of the world is quicker to dismiss their old notions and make really practical purchasing decisions. Europeans have caught onto the fact that there are some solid cars coming out of Korea, while Americans (by-and-large) are more inclined to spend big dollars on a brand with status, without regard to practicality or even reliability ratings. Car and Driver magazine recently suggested that Hyundai change their logo, in order to help the American public move past their old perceptions of the brand.

My advice to car shoppers? Make a list of the criteria that are important to you, like fuel economy, fun-to-drive, passenger space, safety features, reliability, etc. Narrow down your list of candidates based on your criteria (Edmunds.com is helpful) but with complete disregard for brand names. Then, test drive each candidate - even if it means driving a Saturn back-to-back with a Lexus. You may be surprised.