Most Popular
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[Exclusive] Korean military set to ban iPhones over 'security' concerns
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Korean, Romanian leaders discuss defense tech, nuclear energy
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S. Korea calls on Japan to confront history amid Yasukuni Shrine visit
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Yoon’s jailed mother-in-law excluded from latest parole list
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Hybe and Min Hee-jin, CEO of Hybe sublabel Ador, lock horns
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[Pressure points] Leggings in public: Fashion statement or social faux pas?
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Korea’s homegrown nanosatellite successfully launches into space
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[Herald Interview] 'Amid aging population, Korea to invite more young professionals from overseas'
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Rocket engine expert, ex-NASA exec to lead Korea's new space agency
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Over-50s, men, single-person households take up majority of those filing for bankruptcy
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Aluminum business hopes for auto boom
Carmakers are focusing considerable resources on meeting new fuel efficiency regulations to be implemented by governments in the coming years. And they know more efficient engines and electric powertrains cannot carry the whole load, turning their eyes to new alternative materials to make lighter auto platforms. “Aluminum is a rational choice,” said Shashi Maudgal, president of Novelis Asia, in a recent interview with The Korea Herald. “It is more fuel efficient and three times lighter than stee
July 21, 2013
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China sales of Kia’s K3 compact top 100,000 units
Kia Motors Corp., South Korea’s second-largest automaker, said Sunday cumulative sales of its K3 compact car in China surpassed the 100,000-unit mark last week thanks to its marketability and beefed-up marketing activity.Kia Motors achieved the landmark in eight months and three weeks, the shortest period of time among the company’s passenger car models unveiled in the world’s biggest auto market.Sales of the K3 compact sedan in China had been hovering above 10,000 units per month since November
July 14, 2013
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Peugeot proposes early retirement plan in France
SA Peugeot Citroen, Europe’s second-largest carmaker, plans to offer French workers incentives to take early retirement to trim costs and return to profit, according to a union official. In talks with unions Friday, Peugeot proposed a bonus equivalent to 1.5 months salary to employees that either retire early of work part-time for lower pay, Franck Don, the leader of the CFTC union at the Paris-based company, said by phone. The plan would be available to French workers at least 57 years old, whi
July 14, 2013
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Hyundai U.S. chief: company on track to meet target
Hyundai Motor Co. is “on track” to see sales rise 4.4 percent to 734,000 vehicles in the U.S. this year, even as factory capacity constraints have limited the automaker’s sales growth to just 1.2 percent in the first half, the carmaker’s U.S. chief said. “Our year is going well if you measure it by, ‘Are you selling everything you can build?’” John Krafcik, chief executive officer of Hyundai Motor America, said Friday at a briefing in Ann Arbor, Michigan on the automaker’s 2014 Equus sedan. “It’
July 14, 2013
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Best or nothing in Korea: Mercedes-Benz CEO
Orders are pouring in. Mercedes-Benz Korea has sold more than 1,000 of the new E-Class in the first two weeks since its launch here last month. Facelift models usually don’t go too far out on a limb, but the new E-Class is barely recognizable from the original. It’s still the classy car it was, but with a bold new flavor of pizzazz to attract a new generation of car buffs. The woman behind this success is Britta Seeger, the chief executive who is aiming to sell 7,000 of these crimped new models
July 14, 2013
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Great Wall aims to be next Hyundai Motor
Wang Jiangwei recalls spending last summer sweating through a month of military drills conducted by Chinese People’s Liberation Army instructors. Wang isn’t a soldier; he’s a researcher at Great Wall Motor Co. His Baoding, China-based employer is so profitable, it generates a fatter margin than any listed carmaker in the world. Behind the success is chairman Wei Jianjun, who has built China’s biggest SUV maker with a leadership style that stands out for its emphasis on discipline and frugality.
July 7, 2013
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Hyundai joins race to cut prices
Hyundai Motor on Sunday announced additional price cuts to its top-selling vehicles, including its Grandeur flagship sedan, as part of efforts to maintain its market dominance amid the increased presence of import brands here. In its latest round of price cuts, Hyundai plans to reduce the price tag of the Grandeur by 1 million won ($875) from Monday, with reductions for three others ― the i40, i40 Saloon and Veloster ― to be 300,000 won each, the carmaker said. The move comes after Hyundai’s mo
July 7, 2013
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Grand Cherokee gives new class to SUVs
I dislike SUVs. That’s something I’ve realized test-driving a string of cars these past few months. First of all, they are physically challenging. I have to literally clamber up behind the wheel. Another reason I don’t like them is because I feel I’m about to scrape off the hood whenever I drive into an underground car park. Third and not least, because they are usually diesels, the loud purr of their engines really gets to me.But I must say, the Grand Cherokee from Jeep was a gamechanger. They
July 7, 2013
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Ferrari-fueled Maserati lures bored BMW buyers
Maserati, the Italian maker of exotic cars driven by the likes of U2 frontman Bono and designer Ralph Lauren, is shifting its focus from the elite to the merely wealthy with a mid-sized sedan called the Ghibli. The new car, which will start at $65,600 when it hits U.S. showrooms in September, represents a direct challenge to mainstay German models like the BMW 5-Series, Mercedes-Benz E-Class and Audi A6. The Fiat SpA unit is betting the car can offer something the Germans can’t: Italian sex appe
June 30, 2013
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BMW 530d, perfect for Korea
Munich, Germany ― It was through countless quintessential German villages that I maneuvered the BMW’s new 5 Series ― the 530d Sedan and the 535i Grand Turismo. Making my way on the indefinitely winding roads to a golf course near Aschheim where BMW runs its test track, I realized why the 5 Series stands as one of the most successful lineups in the world, especially the sedans: All you had to do was slip your foot on the accelerator, and off she went. The roar of the engine ― a straight four-cyli
June 30, 2013
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‘I never regretted joining Hyundai’
MUNICH, Germany ― “Hyundai Kia chairman Chung Mong-koo had a vision: how to raise the level of Korean car companies,” said Peter Schreyer, Hyundai and Kia’s chief design executive, comparing one of Korea’s top business tycoons with visionary CEOs and artists such as Steve Jobs, Jimi Hendrix and Miles Davis. Chung Mong-koo is the chairman of Hyundai Motor Group, which encompasses the Kia brand. In a rare interview, Schreyer spoke about his life at Hyundai and in Korea in a documentary aired recen
June 30, 2013
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Merkel says she blocked car carbon curbs to shield auto jobs
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that she blocked a draft European Union law aimed at reducing carbon-dioxide emissions from cars over concerns the measure would cost jobs in the auto industry. A coalition of EU states led by Germany prevented approval of the measure at a meeting of diplomats in Brussels earlier this week. Merkel said that she moved to delay the proposal ― which would cap average carbon discharges by passenger vehicles in the bloc at 95 grams a kilometer in 2020 ― to defend
June 30, 2013
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BMW’s ‘ultimate driving center’ in Korea
BMW Group’s first driving center in Asia is expected to house not only a series of driving tracks and training service centers, but also an eco-friendly sports park as well as family-friendly and children-oriented cultural arenas, according to BMW Group Korea. Scheduled to open in Incheon by mid-2014, the new driving center will take up space equal to 33 soccer fields.The leading German carmaker’s gigantic multipurpose driving center in Korea will be one of only three in the world ― the other tw
June 28, 2013
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Lexus LS tops J.D. Power quality study
Lexus’ flagship LS sedan topped the 2013 J.D. Power and Associates Initial Quality Study for the sixth year in a row, the high-end brand of Toyota said Wednesday. The LS received the best score, 59 problems per 100 vehicles, among all 33 car models that were surveyed for the J.D. Power study, the industry’s benchmark for new-vehicle quality. The 2013 version, in particular, is considered the most technologically advanced vehicle in the Lexus lineup, the Japanese carmaker said, as it offers diver
June 23, 2013
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BMW, Mercedes step up used cars push to combat slump
With fewer and fewer Germans buying new cars, Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, Daimler AG and Volkswagen AG are trying the next-best thing: pushing second-hand models. Counting on the cachet of their brands, German automakers are stepping up efforts to cash in on the growing used market as new-car demand withers. The push, which includes leasing offers and fast-track loans, helps attract new buyers for models beyond the reach of many consumers, increasing competition for mass-market nameplates. For
June 23, 2013
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Fiat said able to triple Chrysler payout after funding
Fiat SpA stands to earn three times as much from a Chrysler Group LLC dividend this year after the U.S. carmaker refinanced debt and changed the terms attached to the funding, people familiar with the matter said. The new debt covenants place lower restrictions on the size of the dividend Fiat can collect from Chrysler, which the Italian company controls with a 58.5 percent stake, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the details have not been announced. Fiat for 2013 may colle
June 23, 2013
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K5 to challenge Japanese rivals
Kia Motors on Thursday pledged to soak up market shares of not just its in-house rival Hyundai Sonata but also the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord, with the new launch of the facelifted K5. The Hyundai Motor affiliate recently unveiled the new K5, the facelift of its hot-selling family sedan, in three years. “The nation’s midsize car market last year declined 21 percent due to few new launches,” said Kim Chang-sik, executive vice president at Kia Motors, ahead of a ride event in the day. “We would
June 23, 2013
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Ford Korea shows signs of new vigor
Ford’s years of introducing new vehicles and marketing their fuel efficiency in Korea will finally pay off this year, said Jung Jae-hee, head of the U.S. automaker’s Korean unit. Ford Sales and Service Korea sold 657 Ford and Lincoln brand vehicles in May, the highest monthly figure since the company was established back in 1995. “If we continue the recent sales momentum, this year’s car sales will be strong enough to offset last year’s big investment,” Jung said in a recent interview with The K
June 23, 2013
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Porsche Korea taps ex-GM chief CEO
Kim Geun-tak, 53, is a well-known figure in the Korea’s import car industry. A big man with a big talk, he has held several conspicuous posts, including CEO of GM Korea and marketing executive at Ssangyong Motor and former DaimlerChrysler. And now, Kim has been tapped to take the helm of Porsche Korea, the Korean unit of Porsche. He was recently in Stuttgart, Germany, to receive proper training and last-minute guidance for his new job. Porsche has so far operated in Korea under Stuttgart Sports
June 16, 2013
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My kind of Jag ― the 3.0 Supercharged
When the new Jaguar XJ 3.0 Supercharged arrived, my husband and I fought viciously over who would get behind the wheel. In the end, I won because of insurance and, after all, I was the one who would be doing the writing.White and shimmering, the car looked enticing, and just waiting for someone to hop into the tastefully upholstered seats and do it justice.The first thing I noticed was that, for a vehicle measuring 5.2 meters long with a width just shy of 1.9 meters, it was extremely light to th
June 16, 2013