Most Popular
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First-ever meeting of president, opposition chief set to finally happen
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Blinken calls on China to press N. Korea to end its 'dangerous' behavior
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Naver’s Line ownership in jeopardy as Japan ups pressure
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South Korea to launch space security center under spy agency
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More med professors to take day off each week while govt. urges them to stay
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Hybe refutes Ador CEO Min's denial of breach of trust
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S. Korea, Japan could consider simplified entry agreement: Seoul official
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[Weekender] How DDP emerged as an icon of Seoul
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New celebrity-endorsed therapy for face contouring requires only a pair of rubber bands
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[Today’s K-pop] NewJeans' single teasers release amid intrigue
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Beloved by Chinese women, BMW’s Mini targets men
How much do women in China love BMW’s Mini? Perhaps a bit too much for Mini’s comfort.Almost 80 percent of Mini owners in China are women, the highest level among any car brand, J.D. Power & Associates estimates. Now, the company is taking pains to give its cars more masculine connotations. Hence the pool table in the Shanghai showroom, and the all-Mini road trip the company recently organized to Tibet.“You don’t want to tip into being a girlie car,” Sean Green, head of Mini’s China business, sa
June 22, 2014
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Maserati to double global dealer network
Maserati, the maker of exotic cars driven by the likes of designer Ralph Lauren, will double its dealership network to about 500 by 2015 to sustain demand for its Ghibli and Quattroporte luxury sedans.“You need them to support the growth,” Maserati Chief Executive Officer Harald Wester said in an interview with Bloomberg Television yesterday in Modena, Italy, where the carmaker presented an exhibition to celebrate its 100-year anniversary. The brand had 250 sales outlets in 2011.Fiat SpA is inve
June 22, 2014
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Audi Korea to adopt new badging system
Audi Korea announced Thursday that it will introduce a brand new badging system, dubbed Dynamic Badge, by end of June to provide consumers with a more pragmatic assessment of a car’s performance. The new badging involves a series of calculations using a car’s 0 to 100 kilometers per hour acceleration time in order to depict a number that indicates the approximate acceleration the driver will experience.Compared to the current method, which merely identifies the engine displacement like in the 2.
June 22, 2014
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Hyundai Motor tops U.S. quality survey for mass market brands
Hyundai Motor, South Korea’s largest carmaker, reclaimed the No. 1 ranking in J.D. Power’s latest quality study after being nudged out in 2009, the company said Thursday.The 2014 initial quality study (IQS) by the U.S.-based global marketing company showed Hyundai Motor receiving 94 points, leading the pack among 20 high-volume brands examined.The top ranking represents the first time the company has retaken the title since 2009. It also marks an improvement from the fifth-place finish for mass
June 19, 2014
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Hyundai Motor Group car sales in China jump 10% in May
Hyundai Motor Group, the world’s fifth-largest automotive conglomerate, said Monday its sales in China jumped 10 percent on-year in May, fueled by strong demand for its popular models.The conglomerate said combined sales by its flagship companies Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Motors Corp. in the neighboring country stood at 143,121 units last month, up from 130,093 a year earlier.The two companies sell cars through local affiliates Beijing Hyundai Motor Co. and Dongfeng Yueda Kia Automobile Co.The t
June 16, 2014
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New Golfs highlight VW’s compact class
Volkswagen Korea, one of the fastest-growing carmakers here, is looking to the latest high-performance versions of its top-selling Golf compact to secure market supremacy in the soaring compact car segment. The Korean unit of the biggest German carmaker posted a stunning 39.4 percent growth in 2013, with 25,649 unit sales. And behind the staggering performance is the Golf. More recently, Volkswagen has launched the popular model’s sportier versions ― the GTI and GTD ― aiming to appeal to young c
June 15, 2014
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Tesla chief Musk applies contrarian style to patents
Elon Musk wants to apply the contrarian style that made him millions of dollars from PayPal and billions from rocket ships and electric cars, to revolutionize the litigious world of patents.Tesla Motors Inc. became a rarity among automakers when Musk yesterday pledged that inventions on his electric cars and batteries will be free for anyone to use “in good faith.” The move may speed the adoption of technology that Musk needs to make his fledging line of cars more than a luxury niche.Patents are
June 15, 2014
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Track gives Porsche fans a taste of speed
YONGIN, Gyeonggi Province ― For German sports car maker Porsche, the current big sellers are the hulking Cayenne sport-utility vehicle and the four-door Panamera sedan. As part of its latest push into the soaring SUV market, it has also recently launched the Macan crossover. But Porsche remains the world’s most iconic sports car company, and to this day continues to send reminders to customers that they too may want a taste of the “Porsche DNA” by sampling all its speed demons the way they are m
June 15, 2014
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Volkswagen Korea recalls nearly 2,900 Passat sedans
Audi Volkswagen Korea, the local importer of German brands Audi and Volkswagen, is recalling nearly 2,900 Passat passenger vehicles because of headlights that may not work properly, the transportation ministry said Thursday.According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, electricity to the car’s low-beam headlights may be cut off due to a faulty connection.The ministry said vibrations of the hood while the car is in motion may also affect the operation of the car’s headlights. T
June 12, 2014
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(Photo News) Mercedes-Benz C-Class
Models pose with the refashioned version of the Mercedes-Benz C-Class ― the fifth-generation of the German luxury carmaker’s best-selling sedan, at a media event held in Seoul on Monday. (Kim Myung-sub/The Korea Herald)
June 9, 2014
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Hyundai-Kia’s home market share dips back to 70% range in May
The local market share held by Hyundai Motor Co. and its smaller affiliate Kia Motors Corp. dipped to the upper 70 percent range in May despite release of new car models, industry data showed Tuesday.Monthly records indicated the two carmakers claimed a combined 79.3 percent, down slightly from over 80 percent tallied in April.Of the 121,239 cars sold locally, Hyundai, the country’s No. 1 carmaker, accounted for 49.4 percent, or 59,911 units. This represents a 9.1 percent dip in sales from 65,89
June 3, 2014
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Kia Motors’ May domestic sales down 8.2%
Kia Motors Corp., South Korea’s second-largest automaker, said Monday its domestic sales fell 8.2 percent in May from a year ago due to decreased production at home. Its overseas sales, however, rose 1.5 percent on-year in May.A fewer number of working days due to holidays early in the month pulled down its domestic sales in May, the automaker said. Kia Motors sold a total of 253,618 units last month, 36,252 at home and 217,366 abroad. A 3.8 percent gain in its overseas production was the main f
June 2, 2014
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Hyundai Motor unveils world's first mobile car diagnostics system
Hyundai Motor Group, the world's fifth-largest automotive conglomerate, said Monday that it has developed a mobile diagnostics system that can quickly determine problems in a car using an ordinary tablet PC. The new Global Diagnostic System (GDS) is a world first and represents a jump in technology compared to the tools used by Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Motors Corp. since 2006, the conglomerate claimed. The two carmakers are flagships of the conglomerate and the top two manufacturers of au
June 2, 2014
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Sales of South Korean carmakers remain flat in May
Sales by South Korean automakers remained at a standstill last month from a year earlier, mainly due to fewer working days, data showed Monday. The combined sales of five local car manufacturers, including market leader Hyundai Motor Co., reached 746,978 vehicles in May, up just 80 units from 746,898 units a year ago. The total excludes knockdown kits shipped abroad for assembly. The total represents a 6.9 percent drop from 802,657 vehicles sold in April. Carmakers said that the four-
June 2, 2014
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SUVs, diesels and celebrities add shine to Busan
Audi Korea managing director Johannes Thammer presents the New Audi A8 and A3 Sportback e-tron. (Audi Korea)Male celebrities strutted in expensive, well-tailored suits while so-called “racing models” ― mostly women ― struck glamorous poses to brighten the showrooms of the Busan International Motor Show 2014 that has been visited by more than 170,000 people. But truth be told, it was the cars that highlighted the biennial event. This year, it was all about the outdoors and diesels, with carmakers
June 1, 2014
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Hyundai Motor continues upscale push with new sedans
BUSAN ― Hyundai Motor on Thursday once again highlighted its aspirations to go premium by unveiling a pair of new high-end sedans that appeared to be aimed at winning over customers from its German rivals such as BMW Mercedes-Benz ― two of the world’s most premium carmakers. At the Busan International Motor Show that opened Thursday, the nation’s largest carmaker held the world premiere of its new large sedan that goes by the project name “AG.”Strategically placed between its top-selling Grandeu
May 29, 2014
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Volkswagen unveils design DNA in Busan
BUSAN ― The secret to the sturdy, classic but modern design of Volkswagen vehicles was disclosed on Wednesday before the Busan International Motor Show 2014 that kicks off on Friday. Being innovative, valuable and responsible by following the principle of simple, logical, precise and modern in design on top of safety is what makes Volkswagen cars unmistakable in the cutthroat automobile, according to Oliver Stefani, head designer of the company. “From the signature Beetle to the Golf, from sport
May 29, 2014
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[Herald Interview] GM is here to stay, says firm’s Korea chief
BUSAN ― GM will not leave South Korea, according to the carmaker’s president Sergio Rocha.“I can reassure you that GM is here to stay,” Rocha said on Thursday on the sidelines of the Busan International Motor Show, holding up his right hand as if he was making an oath, during his interview with The Korea Herald.He was addressing concerns that the recent recall orders issued on GM autos manufactured in South Korea may facilitate a pullout by the U.S. carmaker. Sergio Rocha (GM Korea)Rocha stress
May 29, 2014
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Renault Samsung unveils Initiale Paris
BUSAN ― Renault Samsung Motor introduced its latest concept car Initiale Paris as “sophisticated masculinity in a multipurpose vehicle” at the Busan International Motor Show 2014 on Thursday. Initiale Paris also represents the final stage of Renault Group’s design strategy, company officials said. The first stage, which depicted people in love, was embodied in the Dezir line, while the spirit of adventure was highlighted in the Capture vehicles. Later on, family was emphasized in the R-Space ser
May 29, 2014
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Ford recalls over 2,200 Escape SUVs in Korea
Ford Sales and Service Korea, the local importer and distributor of U.S. automaker Ford Motor Co., is recalling more than 2,200 Escape sport utility vehicles for problems with their airbags, door handles and cooling systems, the transportation ministry said Monday.According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, side airbags of the vehicle may fail to deploy due to a software problem.The problem has been identified in 859 Ford Escapes produced between May 22, 2012, and Jan. 31, 2
May 26, 2014