It all began with the Starex - BusinessWorld Online Edition
RANKING NUMBER three, no one pooh-poohs Hyundai nowadays. The Sonata is one of the splashiest cars one can buy in the usually sober executive class. The pricey new Santa Fe can go toe to toe with any of the Euro majors. Hyundai was not an unknown entity here before Hyundai Asia Resources, Inc. Believe it or not, all three Hyundai models were penned by the Italian designer, Giorgetto Guigiaro. The V-6 Galloper, a first-gen Pajero lookalike, had its fans, specially those who did not like the look of the succeeding Pajero generations. There was the rakish Terracan, built on the same Galloper platform as most of Hyundai engines and chassis were “donated” by Mitsubishi. Then Hyundai struck it out on its own with the first Santa Fe and the Elantra. Hyundais were imported by enterprising Korean emigres in the pre-’90s and ’90s. Francisco Motors positioned to be the official assembler of Hyundai, burnishing its CV by having made the Anfra, popularized the Mazda B2200 and reintroduced the FIAT... But if there was any model that made Hyundai a household word, it was the Starex. Source: www.bworldonline.com
