Hyundai's Origin Car - the Pony

The Hyundai Pony isn’t held in much regard by the west, but in South Korea it’s celebrated as the beginning of Hyundai’s ascendancy as a global car manufacturer. It may have rusted to nothing in some of the more extreme places it was exported to, but from the outset it was designed to be a hardy car that could survive the roughest roads. And Hyundai didn’t try to do this on their own, it assembled top talent from around the world, and purchased quality machinery from established players. Why did Hyundai think it could take on the world making its own mass-produced car, after just 6 years’ experience assembling other people’s cars? And did they pull it off?
Optional Extra video: • Hyundai Pony - Optiona...
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Sources:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_War
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kia
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyundai...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_...)
www.aronline.co.uk/archive/ar...
www.aronline.co.uk/archive/ar...
www.aronline.co.uk/people/geo...
www.aronline.co.uk/people/obi...
www.aronline.co.uk/people/arc...
www.italdesign.it/project/pony/
tago.kr/story/hyundai.htm
news.mt.co.kr/mtview.php?no=2...
www.hyundainews.com/en-us/rel...
news.kbs.co.kr/news/view.do?n...
blog.naver.com/PostView.nhn?b...
jodesign.kr/189
www.aronline.co.uk/people/geo...
www.italdesign.it/project/exc...
www.hotcars.com/largest-car-m...
www.threadinmotion.com/blog/to...
ko.wikipedia.org/wiki/%ED%98%...
ko.wikipedia.org/wiki/%ED%98%...
www.nepalautotrader.com/blog/...
#bigcar

[@crashbandi53]

I have an '86 Canadian spec. Pony- it's primitive but it's been a fantastic car. It doesn't get winter driven so it's quite well preserved. It's incredibly efficient and very comfortable!

[@dannnsss8034]

Your car belongs in a museum. Kudos to keeping it in shape, I appreciate well looked after classic / old cars.

[@xminusone1]

Great news that some are still preserved. Mine was to far gone by 2001 to be preserved unfortunately but I keep good memories of that car. My grandfather bought it new in Montreal in 1983 or 1984 and I remember that the dealer wasn't even identified as a hyundai dealer. It was called Pie-IX pony and it was on the Pie-IX boulevard in Montreal. My grandfather was eastern European and it was the first car he bought new in Canada. He was used to drive Ladas and moskvitch. He really loved that car. We do montreal-chicoutimi ( now saguenay ) many times a year in that car with my mother and grand parents to family reunions. Than he stop driving and give it to me in 1994. I kept it till 2001 as a second car as I worked at 45 min of Montreal. It was cheap on gaz and on parts. It finally broke in half with more than 350 000kms on it. The motor and transmission still worked very well.

[@matthewtait3782]

They were always just a cheap basic car for us (in BC), but I don’t recall them being any worse than any other cheap car, they got from A to B reliably enough. Most of my experience with them was robbing parts cars for their carburetors, they made for an upgrade for other vehicles of the era like Suzuki Samurai’s

[@sungwook99]

Contact Hyundai. They might pay you very nicely for your vehicle.

[@rocosuavez]

i had a Canadian version of the pony , i loved that car mostly because of the rear wheel drive , this was so much fun in winter , i had a ball with that car , this car was super reliable in winter and never failed to start even on the coldest days ...

[@marcos1669]

We need more Hyundai/Kia videos, their rise on the last years have been quite stellar (pun intented)

[@MaximilianvonPinneberg]

Oh god that hideous rebodied Cortina.

[@MrDuncl]

@@MaximilianvonPinneberg Hyundai actually had an advert making fun of the Ford Cortina's replacement the "Jelly Mould" Sierra, with the headline "We saw the replacement for the Cortina in a different mould".

[@ChatterboxFM]

Is it weird to say that I’m really proud of Hyundai? Like, the leaps they’ve made is kinda incredible and I love that they still very proud of their humble beginnings, even if the Pony isn’t the most exciting car in the world.

[@abelq8008]

No, it's inspiring. They started late in the game compared to their competitors, they went about things smartly, hiring experts when needed, and continously improving.

[@RideCamVids]

There's a lesson to be learnt here from this video. While Hyundai was taking all the necessary baby steps to become a fledgling car company, British Leyland was taking all the required steps to finally dismantle itself and become nothing. Well done.

[@Menaceblue3]

Didn't British Leyland become Weyland industries and was later bought then merged into/by Yutani Corp.?

[@laveritesurlestemoinsdejeh8522]

@@Menaceblue3 Oh, I'll bet you just ALIENated a lot of people with that comment...

[@baoquoc3710]

@Mathew Lee Mini is fine, nothing rough about it. He just said that unlike Hyundai which they are very eager to make their global presence by keep improving the production quality, British Leyland is always about internal conflicts and interest conflicts with union strikes that led to their demise.

[@gennivianello1165]

Cosa c'entra la British Leyland con la hyundai?

[@exNRGista2]

​@@gennivianello1165Furono alcuni ingegneri usciti dalla British Leyland a dare il loro importante contributo nella progettazione e realizzazione di questa vettura, che può essere considerata quello che per noi è stata la Fiat 600, ovvero una vettura che ha motorizzato un'intera nazione.

[@reallyrandomrides1296]

I was so happy to see a video on this unloved and almost forgotten car. I'm in Canada. In 1991, I was 18 and bought my first car, a fairly rusty special edition black 1985 Hyundai Pony 1600 GLS "Pony Plus" (the "Plus" was in the price, lol) with a 5 speed manual, factory installed Bosch front fog lights (that didn't work), rear window louvers (that melted in hot summer heat), gold wheel covers (three of them fell off), gold stripes (that cracked and faded), a sunroof (the handle broke) and an AM/FM/Cassette radio. But I still loved that car. It was an as-is trade-in at a Hyundai dealer. I paid CAD $600 (about CAD $1100 or USD $850 or £650 in 2022 money). Ridiculous depreciation on a six year old car! Already a cheap car, I bought it for about 17% of what it cost new just six years earlier. I drove it from Toronto to Vancouver (about 4500 km or 2800 miles). Only broke down once, in rural Manitoba. In the dead of night. In the dead of winter. But I still loved that car. It's been easily 20 years since I saw a Hyundai Pony on the road in Canada, though I know a small number are still in existence, from beat up parts cars to pristine examples. I knew the Hyundai Pony had some 1960s Ford and Mitsubishi heritage, but not quite that much. I love the amount of research and detail you put into your videos!

[@A2Wx8]

I remember Hyundai and Kia when they first entered the American market being the awful little things you bought if you couldn't afford a Honda or Toyota. They've come so far to be the rivals of anything coming from Japan or Europe. I have a co-worker that drives 70,000+ miles a year and just upgrades to the newest Sonata every few years. My Kia Stinger is an incredible car I absolutely love. If you asked me ten years ago if when people talk to me about cars my first answer would be "have you looked at Hyundai or Kia" but here we are.

[@HVAC_Jae]

What line of work?

[@A2Wx8]

I.T. - he just lives a good hour away from the office. He also drives 1,500+ miles each way to visit family a few times a year because he doesn't like flying. We joke that he drives 70,000 a year and I drive 7,000.

[@PhyuckYew]

These Korean cars only look good today but mechanically, it's still crap.

[@yunus_aros]

And 2022 Hyundai, Genesis and Kia beat Toyota and Lexus regarding quality in JD Power Reliability Index.

[@ryanthompson2893]

@@yunus_aros jd power is a pr firm who's income is from it's customers paying for awards. I'm a mechanic and I can assure a manual transmission Honda from a decade ago will easily outlast a new Hyundai. Jd power means nothing...

[@mikekinloch6049]

Great info, thanks. When I was just 13/14 years old we started seeing the first of the Hyundai Ponies rolling on the roads of my Canadian town, this is back in ‘83/‘84. They looked no different at a glance to the average Datsun,Toyota,Mazda etc at the time…but I do recall in 1986, when I was 16 and looking to buy my first car, seeing a 1984 Pony for sale in our local buy/sell paper for only $800..a two year old car in my mind was practically brand new! Half priced or better than a 5-10 year old Japaneesy car! I considered it briefly but there were a lot of reports stating that they were junk and to be avoided so I went with the wise decision and went for a 1976 Chevy Vega…man did I learn quickly how to twist wrenches!

[@jonnycando]

You went from the frying pan to the fire! Actually Vegas were pretty tractable and reliable if you could keep them filled with oil….

[@mikekinloch6049]

@@jonnycando I agree..they were decent and good looking in a way, mine was a fast back in metallic dark blue, I quickly ditched the Iron Puke 4 cylinder/auto and jammed a 3.1 Buick V6 w 4 spd Saginaw w nice rims and a little subtle spoiler on the rear plus new carpets and a stereo, being 16 and a broke ass kid I was rolling quite happily around in a clean little car that I built and was proud of..I paid $430 for the car, 150 for engine found the trans for 70 and other bits and bobs, well and truly under $1000 bucks drive it for a few years dead reliable!

[@kimchipig]

I sold used cars when the Pony was around and in fact they were really reliable cars. When something did break it could be repaired with simple hand tools. As for the Vega 140 they were awful until 1974 when GM upgraded them to the "Durabilt" Being GM, they then promptly stopped making it. The cars were not well suited to salty roads, either.

[@jonnycando]

@@kimchipig well they were rust buckets….but back when everything was rustable we overlooked it so long as the heater worked and it ran…..firing caps on the plugs to keep them a little cleaner

[@ReneDelfgou]

Hyundai Pony mk1 was my very first car. I bought a 1982 one in 1989. Had so much fun with it. Fond memories. My father bought a mk2 with a 1400cc engine, but with twin carburettors. Car was originally meant for Canada, but somehow ended up in the Netherlands.

[@paulbrady9454]

Back in the 90's a colleague ran an elderly Pony. White. Rusty. We used to share cars to go to lunch every Friday. I clearly remember piling in one day and the soundtrack to shaft "blasting" out from the cassette deck. He treated it badly, crashed it no less than 4 times, never serviced it but that damn thing would not die. Legendary. 60 mile commute every day for 4 years. If that Pony was the shadow of what was to come, its no surprise they are where they are now. Hail the Pony.

[@bucharestbiketraffic]

We had an i20, few years ago. Great little car, reliable and very easy to drive. We called it "the bug" since is small but quite spacious on the inside.

[@tjnucnuc]

Wish we got some of those cool euro market Hyundai/Genesis here in the states.

[@RachaelSA]

I love Hyundai. I have owned, and driven many, many, cars, and I got a little 1600cc Hyundai Getz in 2004 and I have put over half a million Km's on it and it has never let me down once, other than plugs, filters, oil, brake pads and batteries I have never had to fix anything, and every part, every switch and every button still works. It has been perfect, and never broken or let me down. Thank you so much for this one.

[@karimtemri1664]

My father has a Getz and hates the primitive driving experience. Realiability has been ok though

[@chrispenn715]

We owned a Lantra and then an Elantra, both bought new in the 1990s as second cars. They weren't anything special to drive, but were well built and equipped for the money. We took both on several European holidays from the UK to Italy and they performed faultlessly. Not a car to get emotional about, but a very capable 'appliance'.

[@kerbsidemotors9249]

Top of range Elantra diesel bought 37k for £1400- gearbox failed 100,000 binned it and only repair a £12 abs ring.

[@PORRRIDGE_GUN]

I bought one 7 years ago for a £100 at an auction (plus fees) because no-one else bid for it. I wondered what I was letting myself in for. Not a particularly exciting drive but that car never broke down and was cheap to run. It had all the toys, bells and whistles inside and out and they were all still working when I gave it to my daughter at 159k miles. Oddly we both had problems getting it insured for a reasonable price. One well known company wanted £4500 up front, no installments to insure it!! I eventually got a specialist insurer and a reasonable quote but come renewal myself and subsequently my daughter always had to hunt around for a good quote. I could never work out why that was. She sold it at 214k last year and even then, everything on it still worked. She had a breaker collect who said he might try to sell it as a whole car as it was still a good runner.

[@erik_dk842]

@@PORRRIDGE_GUN From an outsider's viewpoint, the British insurance market is a scam. Crazy high rates on third party coverage considering car prices.

[@PORRRIDGE_GUN]

@@erik_dk842 It not just an outsider's view. Many UK motorists don't drive cars they could afford or desire because the insurance is too high. Also insurers operate as a cartel. Price comparison websites offer little difference and the website charges a commission too. UK insurers are far too ready to write off repairable cars,offering next to nothing in payouts.This affects the repair trade too. It's almost impossible to find anyone offering minor accident repair at affordable prices now.

[@ProgresistaGuayaquil]

As an ecuadorian i can just tell you that those Hyundai Pony cars were beaten to death in the ecuadorian 80s roads... and they just keep on running..some until the mid 90s. Yes, rust was a huge problem, but the Hyundai motors keep on running. The Ponys were really loved by taxi drivers and people in general. Hyundai is still (with Chevrolet) one of the most respected brands, they even have here a very modern assemble facility called Neohyundai where they build the Hyundai Grand i10. Congratulation for this great mini-documentary.

[@daveross3892]

The engines were Mitsubishi made.

[@simonhodgetts6530]

Top marks for the Techmoan t-shirt!

[@ukcbtv]

Here in the UK, our family ran a Pony pick-up from 1984 to 1992 which was bought from new - useful little truck with just a new radiator needed in all the time it was owned. Needed a 5th gear, was tail-happy (needed a couple of concrete blocks over the back wheels!) and the tailgate rusted, but all-in-all fared a lot better than many other vehicles of the time. Cheers.

[@sbcwinn]

I owned both a Pony and a Stellar. They were both under powered but reliable transportation. They also were the last cars I owned with a manual choke. That was one feature that actually helped the cars sell in Canada because the manual choke helped the cars start on the most punishing winter's day.

[@datathunderstorm]

I recall seeing the first Hyundai Pony in Nigeria and actually scoring a ride in it. I was very impressed with the vehicle’s design - and the fact that Airconditioning was included. I was so impressed, I genuinely wanted to buy one brand new! Unfortunately, they were sold out before I got the chance! I still have an extremely soft spot for this vehicle and Hyundai as a whole. My first EV will more than likely be a Hyundai.

[@alvindavenport5657]

My brother was a salesman at a Buick dealership in the southeast US when they picked up a Hyundai dealership. They sold $4995 Excels as fast as they could get them prepped and on the lot. Within a year, they couldn’t give them away due to quality issues and numerous warranty claims. Obviously, Hyundai has come a long way since then.

[@xminusone1]

My grandfather was one of first few who bought one in 1984. The dealer wasn't even identified as hyundai dealer in Montreal. The dealer was called PIX-IX pony and it was on the PIX-IX boulevard in Montreal. I gave it to me as second car in early 90's and kept it till 2001. After that many winter in Canada it finally broke in half 350 000 kms later. The drivetrain still worked well. It was the first car my grandfather bought new in Canada. My grandfather was from eastern Europe.

[@grandcarriage1]

Great video as always. I remember the Hyundai Excel (whichi just learned here was basically a Mitsubishi )as our driver’s ed cars in 85 were laudably terrible. The smartest thing they ever did was that wonderful warranty to improve their image.

[@nathancast]

The new concept brought me here.

[@koobert]

My parents picked up a 1985 Hyundai Pony in Quebec, and by 1991 its doors had fallen off and they were on the second automatic transmission. They kept with Hyundai for their next two cars, though - a 1992 Sonata and 2000 Sonata, both of which lasted far longer.

[@SaturnCanuck]

Thank you my friend. A someone who sells Hyundai's in Canada, the Pony is near and dear to my heart. I think every Elantra as the Pony DNA, and we have come a long way, baby.

[@manofthehour6856]

WOW!!! This really puts the Pony into perspective. It wasn't available stateside, but nearby to me in Canada. It was one of those forbidden imports that were a curiousity to me growing up, like LADA vehicles, especially the Niva. Once Hyundai entered the US market, my now brother-in-law had an Excel he bought new and owned for years, and although I have no idea what the driving dynamics were, I am sure it was adequate for the 1980s, and it certainly was durable. Even circa 2000, Hyundai and especially KIA cars were looked on with disdain by many despite getting a foothold in popularity, and in retrospect, the Koreans did a brilliant job at ascending to a top position in the world car market. The British experts in key management positions who are interviewed obviously at the time had an obvious appreciation for the dedication of the company's Korean to the job. The humility in knowing where they needed help and who to ask contrasts with the arrogance of a GM or BL that each declined and failed in time. Was the Pony any worse than many BL cars, the Vega, or the Pinto? This shows how real teamwork between industry and the government's desire to build a national vehicle and feed the economy pays huge dividends. The Pony was a milestone car for what it was. Fantastically interesting presentation!!!

[@TzadikTheManic]

You’re channel is really something special, I’m so pleased I found you recently :) I didn’t know the Pony existed; I grew up in the States, in New York and as a teen my slightly older friend with a license had a red Hyundai Excel. It was outrageously rough & seemed to wag like a dog’s tail at speed. I will say we had good fun it, often taking it to roads with hilly sections in an attempt to “catch air” which was comedic, a tad stupid & certainly not safe! -Cheers

[@yasi4877]

In the early 80's the Hyundai Pony was the most common taxi that you would see on the streets in Seoul. Green and yellow were the most common colours. When trying to hail a taxi early one morning I a gaggle of about 50 of them come past from the Namsan tunnel. They must have been on their way to work because not one stopped for me. For passengers with large feet it was sometimes almost impossible to get out from the back seat as one or both feet would be stuck under the seat in front. An average ride would be about 350 won. They were wonderful days. I don't miss the 11PM curfew however. Daehan min-guk 대한민국.

[@luviskol]

Hyundai Stellar was the weapon of choice for minicabs in the UK at around the same time. Very few if any left as they were low cost, driven into the ground then scrapped. As I recall quite comfy in the back.

[@WillGallagher1]

Fascinating video! I quite like the “vintage-meets-modern EV” styling of that concept Pony. It is a bit similar to the what Honda is doing with the Honda E, which I sincerely wish they sold in the US market. Hyundai has such an incredible backstory. Thanks for sharing!

[@mrjockt]

Since 1995 between my wife and myself we’ve owned a total of 10 Hyundai cars, 2 Accent’s, 1 Elantra, 1 Galloper, 2 Tucson’s, an iX35, and 3 Santa Fe’s, and never had a problem with any of them.

[@JakobKsGarage]

One of the most generic car shaped cars ever! And in that way quite iconic 😎 Very informative with the contemporary interviews. Good content. And I just love your Techmoan T-shirt 👍

[@christophercutajar4020]

Agree a generic shape can be iconic and nostalgic of an era... Like eg the casio square watch... It is the cheapest watch any one can buy but it is an iconic thing that even the rich guys have one... Same with a car ir anything else...

[@DM-hw4cr]

Generic is a 78 ford ltd

[@isend2c]

I'm a big Hyundai fan, I've had 8 and my wife has had 4 Kias. I dream of being able to own one of their first models as a tribute and to keep as an example of how far they've come. It's so difficult though because, as you mentioned, they've all but rusted away. I hope to find one in time. One part that you glossed over was that another reason Hyundai didn't look east towards Japan was because the Koreans as a whole detest Japan for the occupation, oppression and horrible history that goes between them.

[@jamesengland7461]

... except some early Korean products were actually license- produced happens Japanese ones.

[@dannnsss8034]

It's a love hate relationship, and the hate is against the Japanese government (who still essentially honors war criminals, gloss over or deny WW2 atrocities, provoke Koreans by claiming Korean territory, and the list goes on...). The initial love is a mutually beneficial one - business with a wealthy neighbour.

[@lundsweden]

I remember the first Hyundai I saw, a gold colored Excel in 1986. This was a 5 door hatchback, and looked quite stylish at the time. Yeah, it may not have dated well, but at the time it was considered quite smart. The problem with the early units though was very poor build quality, lousy parts, one guy told me the radiator hoses failed quickly as they were very thin! However, by the early 90s quality had improved vastly, and the Excel and Sonata sold shedloads, and lasted quite well too!

[@erroneouscode]

My family combined had around twelve of the 1990's X3 Excels (Australia). Accents/Pony elsewhere. Both single and twin cam versions. These cars were very basic but 'extremely' reliable. I retired my last one around four years ago (1998 manual twincam 2 door). That car had done 230,000K's being thrashed around Victoria's gravel country roads most of it's life. In the end all the ball joints, bushes and struts were flogged out and the clutch was starting to slip so I called it a day and cancelled the rego. That car only ever let me down once when the water pump one day just seized up making a god awful screech with rubber smoke coming out from the bonnet due to the belt being unable to turn the pump. They took abuse and neglect in their stride.

[@restyleband5522]

Another fantastic and very interesting video. Keep up the great work!!

[@richardbrayshaw570]

Wonderful, entertaining and informative as always. Thanks!

[@MrRemcoLamberts]

Very much enjoy your mini docco's on mainstream cars that are interesting but would not get a lot of attention normally. Great detail and knowledge brought into it, and entertaining to watch. Love it. Thank you!

[@bobmirdiff2043]

Excellent video! I can remember watching Tom Mangold's 'BBC Panorama' programme when it was first broadcast. I am now on my fourth Hyundai - Reliable and Economical - Well done George! Incidentally, George Turnbull was instrumental in persuading Toyota to begin manufacture in the UK.

[@shealaking8557]

A great video, appreciated learning more about the history of Hyundai. Thanks from Canada!🙂

[@maus3454]

Many thanks for creating this for us 👍

[@worldtraveler930]

Kudos for sporting the Technomoan T-shirt!!! 🤠👍

[@nickpage2949]

Fascinating, why does knowing the history of a car make you want one when you would have never previously even thought of it ?

[@stevedaly1440]

Great video as always and nice Techmoan t-shirt 👍

[@PASSATCL]

Just want to give you a compliment for creating these documentaries for us about all these very interesting cars! These are by far the highest quality well researched video's on KZbin about car history. And mostly common cars too. Which are the most interesting ones to me.

[@BigCar2]

Thanks - it takes a lot of work, but satisfying to get to the bottom of what happened (or closer anyway).

[@brianfearn4246]

Being a former Hyundi pony owner going back to around 1988 it was a bit plasticky on the inside but within the 5 years of ownership I found it very reliable. The only part that needed replacing was the drivers external door handle which I soon learned was the same part as used on the ford cortina mk4 _ 5 .

[@orderofmagnitude-TPATP]

3:30...im in the UK & I grew up in one of these. I was born in 82. It was an S reg (old S obviously 78 i think???) - it was white. 2 door. I have only ever seen 2 of them in real life and one in the credits of the old program 'minder'. - the other one was also white- we lived in corsham and the other mitsi lancer was in corsham too. My mother had the car since new all the way up till 1998 when unfortunately a mechanic started it up in 1st gear on the ramp where it fell and got smashed. It was then sold for parts to the other person who owned the other white lancer in corsham.... I really wanted it as my first car and loved the steering wheel and smell let alone the fake 3rd party white tiger skin seats.... much missed.

[@rajoosamy201]

Thank yo Igor these wonderful videos.. I’m 54 n I relive my life through your amazingly wonderfully researched scripted n presented videos.

[@deadfishparty]

Watched this episode twice. Love seeing utilitarian cars and how they progressed. Would love to see a KIA video as well.

[@klasseact6663]

Thank you very much for a very well done video greatly appreciated!

[@boldorboy08]

I did not know that about our LJ Toranas! Very Interesting. Thank you.👍

[@nadeemchaudhry6585]

Another great video and amazing to see how far Hyundai have come in a relatively short time frame. Remember the pony and its big brother the stellar coming to the UK and EVERY taxi driver buying the Stellar. Thanks for the great content as always.

[@Brommear]

Wonderfully informative video!

[@madeleinehamel7728]

One of the best, most interesting car stories so far!

[@htimsxam]

That Techmoan t-shirt is ace. Great video too, as always.

[@NLBassist]

What a great video. It's like the last car I want to learn about, but the story is so interesting! Thank you, as always!

[@BigCar2]

Yes, Hyundai seems like it should have a humdrum story, but when I found this one I knew I had to do it.

[@toddbonin6926]

Fantastic video!!!

[@jamesstuart3346]

Great video. Nailed the Canadian experience with Pony...nobody imagined Hyundai turning out the excellent vehicles it does today

[@mrshelfsong]

love the techmoan tshirt. Great video as always

[@Beko500ProGolover]

Excellent content. Very interesting.

[@kevmicjen]

In the mid seventies I was working as a press tool designer for British Leyland in Oxford. One morning my boss introduced me to a Korean guy that had come over to learn about press tooling design. He worked for Hyundai. Nice bloke. I worked, he watched and asked questions. I've wondered over the years what became of him.

[@alejandroalessandro7820]

You always make this information so interesting. Delighted that you're a fellow techmoan fan!

[@BigCar2]

We're both Patrons of each other's channel. He messaged me when he saw the shirt. 😀

[@Justin_0241]

that was unexpected

[@PocketAces500]

Yes!!! Thank you for telling this car's story!

[@21stcenturybohemian]

I have watched every single video you have, some more than once. And it occurs to me... I never subscribed. I have rectified that. Keep up the good work.

[@rajkumarvpost]

Truly impressive - the video and Hyundai!

[@spectrumworksllc3921]

Great 👍 took me back when I was a kid my father had a Hyundai pony . In Chile 🇨🇱 good information about the car and company the first stages of them and how hard they work to get to where Hyundai is today.

[@davidhinkson8856]

So amazing how far Hyundai has come over the years! That's the first time I've seen their version of the Mark 3 Cortina, definitely has some unique styling modifications, but I didn't know they had done a version of the Granada as well. Haven't seen any generation of Pony on the road for years, but I do remember when they were new in the early 1980s. IIRC the Stellar was partially based on the Cortina with the Mitsubishi engines, with the two liter version, known in some markets as the Stellar Prima, being seen where I live in Barbados as a viable alternative at a lower price to the Toyota Cressida and Nissan Laurel. It also was very popular as a taxi.

[@anthonyfoley5576]

Love the T shirt. Great to see a fellow Techmoan fan

[@quadruple_negative]

My driving school car was an early 2000s Accent. The thing that I remember about it was a clutch pedal completely devoid of feel. It was wonderfully light but you couldn't feel the friction point. As a result I never truly mastered it and took the driving test in my Mum's '91 Corolla.

[@IAMBIGJ745]

Hi Mr Big Car! I've been watching you since the very beginning! A lot of things have happened in my life since I recall your first videos about the Metro, Mini and Range Rover. I remember watching them all, quite vividly. I am not surprised you have achieved the growth in subscribers to the point you are, now. I subscribed when you had only around 1.6k if memory serves me correctly; before you had to faf around with moving channels. Since that point, I have keenly awaited every instalment in your automotive history series like this one, and I appreciate the amount of research it must take to gain all the information and present all the facts, alongside editing and finding all the right images and promotional footage. It gives me something insightful to watch; a break from the short-form content I usually consume. I suggested you do a story on Saab a long time ago, and I was wondering if you'd be interested in doing a video on the 2011 Lexus LFA, or indeed Lexus as a whole. The former half of my comment isn't intended to sway you into producing this suggestion, rather, I thought it was about time I took a couple minutes to say I'm a big fan of your content and It's been a pleasure seeing your channel growth. I keenly await your future videos, and to see if a video on the Lexus brand will pop up. 😊

[@BigCar2]

Thanks for watching! I’d like to do the original Lexus - the LS400. One day.

[@Tipo107]

Great video, great T-shirt!

[@robsawalker]

Really enjoyed this one, and love the tshirt!

[@darrensmith6999]

Excellent video thank you (: I love the BL and Marina connection also the Ital design Haha I have owned 3 Hyundai i 10s and i love them the build quality is astounding for the price. Apparently Hyundai means Modernity in Korean.

[@tng2057]

Yeah! Great work! Very good footages and information. The first generation Pony faced very tough competition with Japanese equivalence such as Datsun Cherry outside S Korea. No price to guess which model won that sales battle. Hyundai gained valuable experience though. Incredibly Ponies did feature in a car chase in a movie. It was a S Korean movie of course, a 2017 made political thriller called A Taxi Driver 택시운전사 . Towards the end of the movie (set in the early 80s) there was a scene of a number of Pony taxis fighting a number of Jeeps from the secret police.

[@Flies2FLL]

I grew up in Michigan, south of Detroit and Canadians were always driving though our state in the most bizarre cars: Hyundai's in the late '70's. Me and my dad pulled up to a gas pump in Monroe one day and the car on the other side was a Skoda. On more than one occasion I saw Lada's broke down on the side of the road. Heh! Try getting a Lada Samara fixed in Monroe, Michigan in the late 1980's......

[@thinkpadBentnoseTheBlind]

Thats funny stuff man. I live in Canada and get it totally. Them small Renault r-5's,the LeCar. Some had rollback softop sunroofs

[@johnbroomer3285]

We purchased a ‘90 Excel 2-door brand new, which served us well until family requirements led to its sale. It ran well and only ever required maintenance, nothing ever broke on it. Later, we purchased a ‘10 Sonata which ran well and only needed maintenance during our ownership, with the exception of a driver’s door window regulator. I will always recommend Hyundai to anyone who asks.

[@CrankThijsUp]

Great, love seeing some content on the Korean car industry. Would love to see a video about Daewoo as well

[@MrDuncl]

I would love to see Americans reactions to a Chevrolet Matiz (a car so good there were two separate Chinese knock offs of it).

[@PaulinesPastimes]

Excellent video about a car that has long interested me. We didn't get the Pony in Aus but did get the first generation Excel which sold very well and Hyundai cars have sold well ever since. I admire the South Korean attitude and their cars are excellent. 😊

[@stevieboyNI]

Id love to see a Kia story video Mr Big Car. Love your work as usual, keep it up 🙂

[@pannonianbrute]

Hey, nice Techmoan shirt! Actually drove from NYC to Orlando, Austin and back on the rear seat of a pony (Excel) when I was a boy, and I can tell you, these mules were well-underrated.

[@iangrice329]

Loved the early ones, the truck was lovely to drive.

[@RabbieGrouse]

I remember passing a Hyundai garage in Edinburgh when I travelled through to collage in 1982 and seeing the original ponies lined up outside the garage and thinking that they looked nice at the time. Never had a Hyundai but have had it's sister a Kia (Optima) for the last three and a half years and love it.

[@VOX471]

Just noticed your Techmoan tshirt. That's awesome!

[@julianfoot8748]

Love the techmoan T! Respect to you both.

[@davidbarnsley8486]

We never received the pony our first Hyundai was a excel in the late 80s and they were real cheap But now they are first class Hyundai have so much to thank Mitsubishi for all their engineering work The Hyundai electric car would be the only electric car I would buy

[@mhordijk0871]

My first car was a Hyundai Pony, registered from 89. Followed by an 88 the following year, after a crash. I drove it for about 5 years. Nice enough car. Quite similar to the Mitsubishi Colt i had my lessons in, in 91/92 It took me to the places i wanted to go, in relative comfort. My next car was a 91 Honda Civic. That step up was so high, i have still not come down from that. And i am driving an 04 Honda Jazz/Fit now.

[@merbertancriwalli8622]

OK - loving the techmoan T-shirt - epic :-)

[@Infrared73]

I remember Hyundai Pony showing up in Canada. Rust problems is putting it mildly and It took them quite awhile to get past it. A friend of mine had I believe an excel in the 90s. Body held up, but had other problems with the drive train. Still he was happy enough with the warranty and support on that car to get a second Hyundai when the time came.

[@stephenhunt6673]

Thanks for the story. Most interesting! Hyundai have certainly come a very long way since their early beginnings.

[@NikEastwood161]

great techmoan T. I like your lego car chassis, I had one as a kid, loved the technic lego of the era.

[@cianboy97]

Another great video! I’d love to see you make a video focused on the failure of British Leyland! I know it’s a bit different to your usual video but a deep dive into its fall would be great I think. I’ve always been surprised that the British car industry fell apart to that extent. Great work as always

[@MrDuncl]

I have seen a TV programme about that which featured some of these BL managers at Hyundai clips. I guess at Hyundai they didn't have to cope with 523 worker walkouts in 30 months. As for the British car industry falling apart, car assembly in Britain is still doing O.K. (touch wood) at factories like Nissan Sunderland.

[@goncalo33]

I second that.

[@johndoyle4723]

Thanks, great info. Just look at what Hyundai and Kia have achieved from a humble Marina look alike to the Ioniq 5 and the UK what car of the year the Kia EV6. The quality of Hyundai and Kia is superb, their EVs are definitely up there with the best. Yes their ability to adapt and innovate rapidly is something the BL group lost.

[@PORRRIDGE_GUN]

Still nothing has the charm of the Coupe Siii though.

[@efftee]

@@PORRRIDGE_GUN except for the genesis coupe or veloster

[@Pietervdv]

I remember the cars well. My father did PR for Hyundai in the Netherlands in the early 80s. On summer holidays, I used to clean the just off the boat cars at the importer.

[@johnbee7729]

WOW. I had totally forgot about the Pony until this video. It was so ubiquitous back in the 80's and I came close to buying one. Instead I ended up with a 1981 Dodge (Mitsubishi) Colt. It was a great car for me. Am thinking the Pony might not have been so good.

[@darploin5071]

That's sweet you have a lego auto chassie 2nd generation I had one of those I got it for my birthday in 1983 and it was amazing to put together

[@fredericducomet.boquier7920]

Very interesting thanks 🙏👍

[@fabulousprofound]

I still remember the Pony in Canada. In fact I saw one still on the road the other day. They were crude in comparison to other more established brands of that era, but they were not complicated or expensive to keep running and only rust/neglect would kill them.

[@popsandbangs8858]

What a great documentary

[@whyyoulidl]

Ok, had to re-watch the first 40 secs - was dazzled by the Techmoan T-shirt and message lol. Nice to see the YT b2b going on (Like you, Techmoan's one of my fave channels). Anyhow, back to the Pony...

[@gregornolzen570]

The lines reminded me very much the first VW Passat

[@anthonyhunt701]

God, I love that t-shirt! ( and vid!👍🏻)

[@jerrybailey5797]

Inte4esting video about a Hyundia break into car production, they certainly build some good cars these days , l'd love to see a video on the Hyundia coupe 👍

[@ScottTooley]

Wow, I didn’t think I’d enjoy this specific video as much as the others, but this was super interesting! I had never considered how Korea got their auto brands off the ground. Here in the States, Hyundai and Kia have been doing awesome with the Telluride, Palisade, Kona, Sorento, and Genesis brand. Some embarrassing recalls, but with a 10yr, 100k warranty, those are easier to swallow.

[@xminusone1]

I still remember the firsts kia models who were sold here in Canada. It was the 1994 kia sephia and the sportage. I looked to bought a sportage new at that time because I was young and had little money to put on a car. I didn't bought one but I remember the test drive and it was rugged little truck and much much smaller than the one they sell today.