Anyone know release date for Sonata(06)

[hjr]

I read production in Alabama starts March.
Another magazine said May is release date(since these are for USA, why would it take 2 months form productionm start to release?).

My local autoshow is early April, and I am hoping the new Sonata is out , and at the show.

[megadethmartyrdethmartyr]

Full release is subject to dealer inventories of the current Sonata.

[hjr]

So that means it may be months, not a month

Did not really wanna go to our local dealership to see one.

Oh well. Keep my fingers crossed.

[megadethmartyrdethmartyr]

I would say late April, early May is a safe bet.

[Titandan]

Up to this point I always thought it would be March but I guess I was skimming through the articles. They should be more specific when mentioning when it's coming out.

I told my father to wait on buying a new car until the Sonata comes out. The Volvo's in the shop and it's getting less and less reliable. The body's as tough as nails, but the engine isn't very trustworthy. He mentioned buying a Lexus, but I don't think that would be the best investment. I also showed him a picture of the NF and he liked it.

I guess we'll just have to wait another couple of months. Hope the old(2001) Volvo lasts until then...

God bless...

-dan

[Brian Gluckman]

A friend of mine who manages a large dealership in Delaware has told me that they expect to get their first 40 Sonatas in late May, with regular supplies after that.

[thejoyof6]

Hyundai really needs some help from Honda or Toyota on how to move cars quickly off the assembly line and into the customers driveway. Honda and Toyota can do this in as little as 1 week and they still have to transport all vehicles to their required port, yet my beloved Hyundai takes 3 months. I know the plant is new and the product is new but GEEZ! Lets just hope they make some improvement in this area.

[Brian Gluckman]

Well, the goal with the new factory is to have one of the lowest JD Power scores anywhere, including versus the LS430. Hence, the long ramp-up. That said, once the cars begin arriving in dealerships, there will be a VERY steady supply.

[davidleeis14]

According to our local dealer the Sonata is being realeased in May 2005(UK only) and it will be a Korean made model.

[hjr]

not being nasty, but Hyundai is ALWAYS late. If I recall correctly, the Tibby came out later than announced(from S Korea) when the 03 came out, that is, abotu 3 months late.
The Santa Fe came out 3-4 months later than first announced.
And, like th eHCD-8(Tibby replacement, or kI'as first sporty car for 07?) heard about it once, in 2004, and then nothing else since.

I originally read in wards, detnews, tcc, AW,etc, that Hyundai had planned to roll cars off the line in Alabama after new years 05, in Jan 05.
Seems there'll be a 5 months delay?

They are missing A LOT of opportunites to catch"non-Hyundai" people with the 06 Sonata, this year, by putting back the launch dates, and MISSING a ton of local autoshows across America this year.
That's what irritates me.

I have seen people walk into the 2nd , smaller, showroom at the local autoshow(usually for Mazda, VW,Suzuki, Isuzu, and HyundaiKia vehicles, and only 2-3 for each comapny, as the room is small) and just GAWK at the Sonata, caught unawares of it,(by non-hyundai fans)...and some even like it enough to talk to the sdaleman and get a card, etc...and seriously consider a test drive.

They could , at least, make say a few that could travel around for show!
Read they built 900 since August? Pre-builds?

It's not like they're gonna start the engines up, or test drive em.
They could take some of the latter made(better?)ones and ship them to different states for show.

I know they want quality,etc...but, c'mon,ya know?
lol.

see ya.

[tmbnorm]

I work at Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama.

The new Sonata is a very nice vehicle.

We just now started "production". We are a couple of weeks late, but the ramp up of production will be pretty steep.

If I was guessing, I would say that it would be early May before the Sonata is readily available.

Hyundai wants to have enough ready to send several to each of the nearly 600 dealers in the US.

In 1 shift of production, we can make about 500 cars a day. That is a month of production to give each dealer 2 dozen cars.

Let me know if you have any questions.

[hjr]

from bloomberg news:
Hyundai Sees Factory Costs in U.S. Similar to Korea's (Update1)
March 17 (Bloomberg) -- Hyundai Motor Co., which has relied on low prices to increase U.S. sales, said it expects costs for building cars at the company's first U.S. plant to be similar to those in its home market of South Korea.

``For our U.S. operation, labor costs are very similar for South Korea as they are here,'' Bob Cosmai, chief executive of the automaker's U.S. unit, said in an interview today. ``This plant will be one of the most technologically advanced plants in the world and we'll be able to maintain our competitive edge.''

Hyundai Motor, South Korea's largest automaker, in April will start making Sonata sedans in Montgomery, Alabama. The Seoul- based company plans to become one of the world's five largest automakers by 2010 and is counting on growth in the U.S., where its sales almost tripled in the past five years to 418,615 cars and sport-utility vehicles.

The automaker has been able to hold down vehicle prices in part because of the value of South Korea's won relative to the dollar and lower wages in its home country. Cosmai said the won's value has risen against the dollar and labor costs in South Korea also have increased, narrowing the cost gap with the U.S.

Hyundai Motor followed Japanese makers such as Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co. in establishing U.S. production as sales rose. Hyundai Motor has expanded its lineup from low-priced small cars to sedans and SUVs that cost about 10 percent to 15 percent less than similar models from U.S. and Japanese rivals.

Sonata Pricing

The Sonata will be priced at less than $20,000, Cosmai said in the interview in New York. Honda's best-selling Accord models, the LX and EX, have base prices of $19,775 and $22,200, according to the company's Web site. Similar models of Toyota's Camry start at $19,295 and $20,125. The Accord and Camry are produced mainly at U.S. plants.

Wages for factory workers in South Korea have risen and are 47 percent of the U.S. average, said Harley Shaiken, a professor at the University of California at Berkeley who specializes in labor and auto-industry issues.

``In 2003 U.S. average hourly compensation for manufacturing work was $21.97, including benefits, versus $10.28 in South Korea,'' Shaiken said. ``That's not a direct comparison of Hyundai and General Motors, but there's still a big difference.''

The Alabama factory will be Hyundai's most automated, with more assembly robots and a parts-delivery system to help hold down employment should the plant expand beyond its initial annual capacity of 300,000 vehicles, Vice Chairman Kim Dong Jin said in a January interview. The plant, which will also build Santa Fe sport-utility vehicles in 2006, cost $1.1 billion to build and will employ 2,000 workers.

Hyundai Motor's shares fell 1700 won, or 3 percent, to 55,200 won in Seoul today. They have gained 6.2 percent in the past 12 months.
____________________________________________
it does say April fo rproduction.
CR was sayign April for dealerships getting them
.My brother in law and a cousin both are going to our local autoshow first weekend of April, and they(inclucindg myself0 had wanted to see the car w/o going to a lot.
I emailed BIL and he said he'll just go look at other cars, and buy whatever(Ford ) has. He needs a car Yesterday, to be honest. he was holding out after seeing my 2 sonatas(99 and 04).
He can't wait more than a month tops, or his car will end up costing him about 1 grand to kep running, for who knows how long(old taurus).
Hos cousin also wanted to look, but REFUSES to go to a dealership to look at ANY cars, unless he's gonna buy it.

LOoks Like Hyundai LOST 2 buyers.
Thanks for th einformation about Production.
You hear a lot of rumors on the net, even on "official" car sites, or "nothing" at all, just guesstimates, liek "Spring 05"...that leaves anywhere in a 90 day time frame? lol.
I had seriously hoped to get these guys to look, but neither likes any"under 200HP" Hyundai's , and yes, they do not like to deal with dealerships. they do the "net" thing, but only after going to autoshows first, then maybe a test drive, then they do the sales, Net-Style.

Oh well.

Take Care, not offense.

[hjr]

tmbnorm: is that you havce just started Pre-Production(Pre-Build) or are in the process of building Job1/cars for dealerships?

[hyundaicarman]

hi guys
i believe all of u r from the states?
the nf sonata was launched in singapore last month, and its alrady on the road. trust me, its a very nice car, i m waiting for mine and expect to register the car in may 'cos am still driving the ef sonata.
the nf sonata is bigger, bolder and better than the ef sonata. it is also quieter and feel airier. the idling noise level is even quieter than the camry.
wish u guys can view, test and own the new nf sonata soon, cheers ;D

[hjr]

hey,hyundaicarman!
Yeah, the states. I am kind of mad, because our 01 Tibby had the tranny about ready to quit late last year, and we were "forced" to buy another car, since the tranny here would have been 3,000 dollars(or more) !

we got the Sonata(ef) 04 model.
I was hoping that we coudl ahve waited, to see 05 and 06 models(ef/nf) aqnd test each one, then pick the better of the two. No such luck.

We still have tons of ef's being sold aorund here, with special offers , to get rid of stock.

We also had a 99 Sonata, and I had been told(by people riding in back of both) that the 99 felt more substantial and more quiet, form the back, at least,than the 04.
Our GLS 99 had locking glove box, for example, 04 does not.
Minor things like that, people noticed.
Anyhow, hope the nf is as good as you report!
Guess we'll find out soon enough.
Take care, and thank you for the note.