Cool Wall: 1975-1982 Hyundai Pony

[Snikle]

Poll 1476: 1975-1982 Hyundai Pony nominated by Snikle

Body Style: 4dr sedan, 5dr hatch, 3dr hatch, 5dr wagon, 2dr coupe utility (pickup)
Engine: 1.2L I4, 1.4L I4
Power: 79-91 hp
Torque: 78-125 lb-ft
Weight: 870-935 kg
Transmission: 4-speed manual, 3-speed automatic
Drivetrain: FR
Additional Information: First mass-produced and exported South Korean car - Designed by Giorgetto Guigiaro at Italdesign

Spoiler: Additional Pictures

 

[Snikle]

It's meh to uncool, as far as older cars go. The design is fine (expected of Guigiaro, who did it for some reason), and it's interesting to look back at this car as the place the Korean companies began. I'll be generous and go with meh.

 

[JohnBM01]

Hyundai has evolved into a major automaker, and I guess this was the car that started it all as far as a mass-produced vehicle goes. Even for its time, it seems rather boring. I can't really bring myself to say this is any level of cool. It just seems... there. It lives, but doesn't really exist. So I'll call Meh on this machine.

 

[ZGBox]

Meh, even if I love Giugiaro's works, this is just... an ok design.
I guess it was a good enough car for the time....

 

[Neddo]

a respectable debut car. meh

 

[EngieDiesel]

As far as '70s wedges go, it's not bad. Nothing is really out of proportion and it lends itself well to its variant bodies. I will admit I do like the wagon as it doesn't seem as bulky and top heavy as many from this era tend to do. Don't know what to say for its mechanical bits, but when you're talking cars "1970's" and "reliability" usually don't want to be in the same sentence with each other.

Meh overall. I don't hate it, there's a couple things I like about it, but it's mostly just A Thing That Existed™.

 

[Tornado]

When even Giugiaro doesn't care.

 

[EngieDiesel]

When even Giugiaro doesn't care.

Or when he sends the client a first revision, thinking it will just be a base for more specific details to be added on, and they instead say "oh this is great, we'll take it!"

 

[Centroid]

Italian stylists never seem to do their best work on cheap brands. Whilst this is inoffensive, its lacking in any flair. Mechanical it has more than a passing resemblance to the Morris Marina, which was based on the Morris Minor from 1948. So not exactly cutting edge. Talking of the Marina, the rear of the Sedan and Hatch look quite similar to the Marina Coupe.

 

[Snikle]

Or when he sends the client a first revision, thinking it will just be a base for more specific details to be added on, and they instead say "oh this is great, we'll take it!"

That could explain the huge circular headlights in the rectangular housings maybe.

 

[EngieDiesel]

That could explain the huge circular headlights in the rectangular housings maybe.

Nah, that's just a 70's thing. Lots of American cars did that too, and it doesn't look any better on them either. I'm presuming the housings were supposed to project the light of the headlamps better, since they were almost always painted silver or chromed, but it certainly didn't seem to help any.

 

[MisterWaffles]

I'll go with a meh. Every story has humble beginning and this was it for Hyundai. For me in Canada, the Pony was the car that every person in my parent's generation seems to have owned at one point or another. These cars were run into the ground but everyone who I remember speaking of them said they were OK cars, decently reliable but not exciting in any way, but cheap as chips.

I was thinking of giving it a cool just for all the stories I remember being told involving this car (or at least the generation after) from my various elders, but the car itself isn't cool.