# Do the Korean vehicles made by KIA have trouble selling in the US because of its name? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [April 9, 2018, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-korean-vehicles-made-by-kia-have-trouble-selling-in-the-us-because-of-its-name/812047 "2018-04-09T00:32:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![anomalous1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e56c9b/32.png) [@anomalous1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anomalous1)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2018, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-korean-vehicles-made-by-kia-have-trouble-selling-in-the-us-because-of-its-name/812047/41 "2018-04-10T22:08:39Z")
> [@Mdcastle](#): > > To the extent KIA has a problem selling in the U.S. because they’re still viewed by a lot of people as cheap, unreliable, unglamorous junk, not because of the connotations of the initials. Basically they’re close to Toyota quality with close to a Yugo reputation. I am one of them. I don’t necessarily agree with the unreliable aspect because I believe any car can be reliable with proper maintenance (that doesn’t include crap engines or transmissions). I believe they are cheaply made from the outside in, the parts are always low grade, even the plastic on the radiators tanks are deceptively thin and don’t offer up much confidence. there are too many points underneath the car where salt packed snow can hang out and the panels are really thin. On top of that they jumped the wagon with everyone else and don’t include a spare tire. But a can of slime and an inflator (great for a nail, NOT for a tear). The interiors feel very cheap as well, but that is subjective. I have a mortal fear of cheap cars with cheap thin graphite head gaskets… the cheaper the car is made everywhere else, the more likely there is to be one… it makes me shiver, if you ever overheat once you are screwed. On the other side, most of them use timing chains instead of belts, which is always a good thing. Cite: I’ve seen them being repaired at my friends shop and the feeling is pretty much universal by the mechanics there. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2018, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-korean-vehicles-made-by-kia-have-trouble-selling-in-the-us-because-of-its-name/812047/42 "2018-04-11T22:18:12Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > Fiats make a wooshing sound when they go by. Fiats go by? I’ve gone by them, but not the other way around. Fiat: Feeble Italian Attempt at Technology ---
**Author:** ![Ashtura](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ashtura/32/2963_2.png) [@Ashtura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashtura)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2018, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-korean-vehicles-made-by-kia-have-trouble-selling-in-the-us-because-of-its-name/812047/43 "2018-04-12T15:17:23Z")
I have owned 2 Kias. My first was a 2000 Sportage donated to me by my mom, and by 2013 or thereabouts needed repair work that would cost more than the car was worth. I don’t think that is totally terrible, but that, coupled with the fact that they obviously didn’t have a full understanding at the time of what Americans want (the cupholders were directly in front of the heater/AC vents, for example). It was also a pretty unremarkable in design. I had never once considered the “KIA” = “Killed in Action” acronym. I was little during Vietnam, and more familiar with MIA. In 2015, I was looking for a new car, and looked at a lot of brands and models. I became very intrigued by the Optima. I thought it was a beautiful car, and feature packed for the money. Being the researcher I am, I looked at tons of reviews and forums about Kias. Discovered they handed over car design to Peter Schreyer, formerly from Audi, and it really showed, inside and out. I don’t know what the previous poster is talking about as far as interior design. [http://x-img.autorevo.com/2015-kia-optima-lighthouse-point-fl-6360031/800x800/2009246-20-revo.jpg](http://x-img.autorevo.com/2015-kia-optima-lighthouse-point-fl-6360031/800x800/2009246-20-revo.jpg) This is more or less the interior of my car. It also has an impressive combo of a sunroof in the front and moonroof in the back and I think it looks fantastic, and can’t see a single thing wrong with it. Not bad for the $25k I paid for it anyway. If this was from a more “reputable” brand, I think it could have demanded a much higher price. The optima is a mid tier car. Obviously it’s going to look better than a low tier one like a Forte. In my research I did see a couple digs about the KIA acronym from haters, but it did not deter my purchase, and so far I am very happy with it. I do, however, think it might serve them better to use the logo from some foreign markets. [![](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/41%2BZZT6DnyL.jpg) ](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/41%2BZZT6DnyL.jpg) Might be viewed as too much of a ripoff of the Lexus logo though as they are similar. My only complaint about the car is the engine is a little anemic (yet adequate) in the base trims. I wish I had bought a lightly used 2015 turbo, I could have gotten it for the same price. It has some minor exterior improvements like led headlight trims and led rear lights too. Oh well. The shocks are a little too stiff as well. You feel every bump. Sorry if this seems like a sales pitch for Kia, but I really don’t think the KIA initials are going to deter someone who’s at least at the test drive point. Also, according to Forbes, Kia has beaten it’s closest, most obvious analog, Hyundai in sales. Since Hyundai doesn’t have an acronym problem, but perhaps similar, (imo) outdated reputation problems (I also owned a crap Hyundai from the early 90s), I really do not think the initial premise is even correct anyway. I think they sell just fine by relatively new Korean car standards. ---
**Author:** ![Corry\_El](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecae2f/32.png) [@Corry\_El](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Corry_El)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2018, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-korean-vehicles-made-by-kia-have-trouble-selling-in-the-us-because-of-its-name/812047/44 "2018-04-12T21:11:31Z")
> [@Ashtura](#): > > 1. Also, according to Forbes, Kia has beaten it’s closest, most obvious analog, Hyundai in sales. > > 2. Since Hyundai doesn’t have an acronym problem, but perhaps similar, (imo) outdated reputation problems (I also owned a crap Hyundai from the early 90s), I really do not think the initial premise is even correct anyway. I think they sell just fine by relatively new Korean car standards. 1. As everyone probably realizes but just in case, Hyundai Motor Co and Kia Motor Corp are more affiliates than competitors though in theory Hyundai Motor Corp is only a minority shareholder in Kia (Kia also owns stakes in Hyundai Motor subsidiaries) so they aren’t exactly the same company either. Some rankings of market share count them separately, others together. The dealers for both brands in the US seem to be told to emphasize to customers the aspects in which they are separate. 2. ‘Hyundai’ is the common word for ‘modern’ in Korean. The name problem Hyundai has had or at least perceives, or its English speaking ad agencies have told it has, is the pronunciation. So in the US they coach customers to mispronounce it one way ‘Hundae’ and customers in Britain to mispronounce it a different way, ‘High Oon Die’. It’s funny when Brits or Americans correct one another on that, both being wrong. The first syllable is ‘hyun’, short ‘u’ like hun but the y is heard as a consonant not a vowel, second syllable ‘dae’, technically you’re supposed to transliterate it now in ROK 2000 system as hyeondae, but understandably the company didn’t want to change it. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2018, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-korean-vehicles-made-by-kia-have-trouble-selling-in-the-us-because-of-its-name/812047/45 "2018-04-15T04:42:51Z")
> [@Mdcastle](#): > > To the extent KIA has a problem selling in the U.S. because they’re still viewed by a lot of people as cheap, unreliable, unglamorous junk, not because of the connotations of the initials. Basically they’re close to Toyota quality with close to a Yugo reputation. The Kia I owned was a cheap, unreliable piece of crap. [I may still be bitter about it](https://twitter.com/search?l=&q=Kia%20from%3Atheevilwriter&src=typd&lang=en). ---
**Author:** ![Throatwarbler\_Mangrove](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8c91f0/32.png) [@Throatwarbler\_Mangrove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Throatwarbler_Mangrove)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2018, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-korean-vehicles-made-by-kia-have-trouble-selling-in-the-us-because-of-its-name/812047/46 "2018-04-16T00:10:17Z")
> [@DavidwithanR](#): > > I don’t think the name has much impact. > > There used to be some very poor quality Korean-made cars on the US market, and Americans who associate “Korean-made car” with “Hyundai Pony” may still be suspicious. But for that group of people, either they will look and see that obviously the newer Korean cars are much better, or they will refuse to consider the possibility and that’s that. THe Hyundai Pony was never sold in the United States, only Europe and Canada. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-korean-vehicles-made-by-kia-have-trouble-selling-in-the-us-because-of-its-name/812047.md?page=2)