All you need to know about Hyundai
The Story: Six months after the car company set up as a division of the Hyundai Engineering & Construction Co Ltd, it produced its first car, a Cortina built under licence from Ford. By 1973, a plan to become a global carmaker was hatched. The first car designed and developed by Hyundai itself, the Pony, was launched at the 55th Turin Motor Show, and exports began in 1977. A decision to build European sales and then go to the US was carried out in tandem with developing exports to South America, North Africa and the Middle-East. The Pony, badged Excel, had its US launch in 1986 and, due to its success, a third plant was built in 1989. In 1991, Hyundai developed its first engine, a 1.5-litre in the Scoupe. In the mid-1990s, the Accent was Australia's best-selling car, and by 1996 the company achieved 10 million units produced. Today's lineup of Getz, Accent, Elantra, Coupe, Sonata, Santa Fe, and Terracan is as competitive and mechanically sophisticated as anything from the Pacific Rim. An earlier perception of "cheap and cheerful" is disappearing. Hyundai has 3.9 per cent of the Irish market, and is the 7th largest global carmaker.
Best car: The Getz, which could become a pan-European best-selling supermini.
Worst car: The aesthetically challenged Atoz.
Weirdest car: Not yet