[BLAST FROM THE PAST] The legacy of the Ford Cortina
Hyundai Motor Cortina from 1968. [JoongAng Ilbo]
The company was founded in Dec., 1967 and soon after rolled out its first vehicle, the Cortina, from assembly lines in November the following year.
Cortina is a Ford vehicle that Hyundai assembled after signing technology and assembly licensing rights with the U.S. company.
Yet it could be said that the Cortina is the ancestor of all Hyundai Motor vehicles and is the basis for the automotive empire.
Despite several variations, including the New Cortina, Cortina Mark IV and Cortina Mark V, production halted in 1983.
The first type of Cortina was manufactured until September, 1971 while the follow up Cortina went into production in November of that year, only to end in February of 1976.
The Mark IV was built between 1977 and 1980, and the last of the series, the Mark V, was manufactured between 1980 and 1983.
The Cortina initially assembled by Hyundai was a second-generation version developed by the U.S. automaker.
It wasn’t easy for Hyundai Motor since it was a latecomer in the industry. At the time, the government was trying to increase the localization of automotive technology for vehicles. To enforce this mandate, the government said it would not permit the import of parts if automakers did not increase the localization of vehicles every year. As a result, Hyundai had trouble maintaining vehicle quality and follow up services.
In addition, the company struggled financially. The story goes that Hyundai employees waited at the Gyeongbu Expressway and chased Cortinas as they passed by to get unpaid payments on vehicles.
The driver had to either pay the payment or their vehicle was towed.
The Cortina also suffered widespread criticism because of the car’s frequent problems, mainly the result of poor road surfaces. The vehicle was built to run on asphalt, but Korean roads back then were unpaved. The vehicle received various nicknames such as gochina, among others, which meant, “Are you going to get it fixed?”
Hyundai Motor built 8,000 units of the first Cortina. When road conditions improved, Cortina’s popularity shot up.
By Lee Ho-jeong [ojlee82@joongang.co.kr]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
To write comments, please log in to one of the accounts.
Standards Board Policy (0/250자)