• February 21, 2011

Hyundai Motor America this week celebrates its 25th anniversary selling vehicles in the U.S. The company first launched in the U.S. in 1986 with the Excel, which was roundly ridiculed for having, shall we say, less than optimal build quality.

But all that changed in the late 1990's when the factories started turning out better vehicles and the U.S. sales arm launched a generous warranty program offering 10-year, 100,000 mile powertrain coverage package. Since then the automaker, which started at the bottom of the barrel, has moved in the luxury market with the Equus sedan.

The Fountain Valley, Calif. based Hyundai Motor America says 6,608,208 Americans have bought the vehicles in the past 25 years and that U.S. sales were 538,000 last year.

The automaker, which sells 12 models in the U.S., will add three more this year including a coupe called Veloster, four- and five-door versions of the Accent.