Topic: Final Drive: 1986 Hyundai Pony

[Guy]

Great Dash gauges:

Speedo to 180
No tach
A big clock so you can tell how late you'll arrive

The only way a stock Pony would hit 180 would be after it drives or falls off the ramp of a C-130 Hercules doing one of those  low altitude just-off-the-ground-cargo-drops. 



Skoda, Lada, Dacia, Chevettes, Omni, Pony, Yugo...the '80's    

Hey, don't forget the Pinto! 

[Firm]

Great article, really enjoyed. Nice work!

[jaari]

My first car was a  maroon 85 Pony and I put that thing though hell doing rural paper deliveries... Had a second one for a short while.
I wish I could find another and a Stellar, but wont catch me in any new ones since our '11 Sonata fiasco.

[dirtyjeffer]

i remember that HD Hyundai logo back in the day...kind of reminded me a bit of the DeLorean logo (DMC)...similar font.

[dkaz]

Man those were front ends were as ugly as I remembered them, even for those days. I remember driving on the Crowsnest Hwy back home back in 2002 and it was pretty dark. A car was coming pretty fast at me from behind and I somehow recognized the lights as being a Pony. It passed me and sure enough, it was a Pony.

[GS]

The only one who this is a classic car for is the scrap metal dealer - and even he's trying to find the metal between the bondo. A friend of mine owned one new and he spent more money on repairs than it would have cost to have bought something else that actually had some build quality. He abandoned it after the engine blew at the end of the first year. I'm surprised that Hyundai actually survived in the North American market after this thing - it's a piece of junk that makes a Lada look like quality.

A friend at work actually owner a Pony in the 80's and was quite proud of it.  Lasted until it rusted out.  My uncle proudly owned a Stellar for a number of years and my cousin ended up with it until it went to the rust graveyard. I'll admit to owning a Lada from '79 to '84.  It was even cheaper at about $4000 in 1979.  Damn thing rusted all over, first on the top of the front fender near the front window, then everywhere else.  I bondo'd it and painted it with Trem-Clad beige paint (which matched pretty well actually).  It never let me down over the four years I owned it, but I wisely traded it in for a new '84 Accord and turned Japanese fan.  Got $100 for it on trade.  Only recently have I turned to Hyundai/Kia after memories of the Pony finally faded into (rust)dust.

[KD]

I had a coworker years ago that bought a new Pony in 88(?) that was fire-engine red.  Within a year it was chalky pink and starting to rust...   Lots of mechanical miladies within a short time to boot.  Classic sh!tbox indeed!

Somebody mentioned Dodge Omni as a pos example.  That's what I always thought as well until I was on a training course in GTA many years back and the instructor had one that had over 400k of extreme reliability. He lived well outside the city and commuted to work in it every day.  It was also his kids' weekend beater.  According to him it had a 4-cyl version of the old Dodge slant-6. 

[PJ]

I had a coworker years ago that bought a new Pony in 88(?) that was fire-engine red.  Within a year it was chalky pink and starting to rust...   Lots of mechanical miladies within a short time to boot.  Classic sh!tbox indeed!

Somebody mentioned Dodge Omni as a pos example.  That's what I always thought as well until I was on a training course in GTA many years back and the instructor had one that had over 400k of extreme reliability. He lived well outside the city and commuted to work in it every day.  It was also his kids' weekend beater.  According to him it had a 4-cyl version of the old Dodge slant-6. 

I've heard people say the 2.2 was related to the slant six but I never saw how.  The 2.2 was an OHC engine with more in common with the 1.7 rabbit motor that powered early Omnis.

[Arthur Dent]

I had a coworker years ago that bought a new Pony in 88(?) that was fire-engine red.  Within a year it was chalky pink and starting to rust...   Lots of mechanical miladies within a short time to boot.  Classic sh!tbox indeed!

Somebody mentioned Dodge Omni as a pos example.  That's what I always thought as well until I was on a training course in GTA many years back and the instructor had one that had over 400k of extreme reliability. He lived well outside the city and commuted to work in it every day.  It was also his kids' weekend beater.  According to him it had a 4-cyl version of the old Dodge slant-6. 

I've heard people say the 2.2 was related to the slant six but I never saw how.  The 2.2 was an OHC engine with more in common with the 1.7 rabbit motor that powered early Omnis.

I believe the same guy designed both

[PJ]

I had a coworker years ago that bought a new Pony in 88(?) that was fire-engine red.  Within a year it was chalky pink and starting to rust...   Lots of mechanical miladies within a short time to boot.  Classic sh!tbox indeed!

Somebody mentioned Dodge Omni as a pos example.  That's what I always thought as well until I was on a training course in GTA many years back and the instructor had one that had over 400k of extreme reliability. He lived well outside the city and commuted to work in it every day.  It was also his kids' weekend beater.  According to him it had a 4-cyl version of the old Dodge slant-6. 

I've heard people say the 2.2 was related to the slant six but I never saw how.  The 2.2 was an OHC engine with more in common with the 1.7 rabbit motor that powered early Omnis.

I believe the same guy designed both

Really?   They were designed decades apart.  I'll have to research this one. Curious now. 

[Bubba]

I had a coworker years ago that bought a new Pony in 88(?) that was fire-engine red.  Within a year it was chalky pink and starting to rust...   Lots of mechanical miladies within a short time to boot.  Classic sh!tbox indeed!

Somebody mentioned Dodge Omni as a pos example.  That's what I always thought as well until I was on a training course in GTA many years back and the instructor had one that had over 400k of extreme reliability. He lived well outside the city and commuted to work in it every day.  It was also his kids' weekend beater.  According to him it had a 4-cyl version of the old Dodge slant-6. 

I've heard people say the 2.2 was related to the slant six but I never saw how.  The 2.2 was an OHC engine with more in common with the 1.7 rabbit motor that powered early Omnis.

I believe the same guy designed both

Really?   They were designed decades apart.  I'll have to research this one. Curious now.

Here you go.  http://www.allpar.com/mopar/22.html

[KD]

I had a coworker years ago that bought a new Pony in 88(?) that was fire-engine red.  Within a year it was chalky pink and starting to rust...   Lots of mechanical miladies within a short time to boot.  Classic sh!tbox indeed!

Somebody mentioned Dodge Omni as a pos example.  That's what I always thought as well until I was on a training course in GTA many years back and the instructor had one that had over 400k of extreme reliability. He lived well outside the city and commuted to work in it every day.  It was also his kids' weekend beater.  According to him it had a 4-cyl version of the old Dodge slant-6. 

I've heard people say the 2.2 was related to the slant six but I never saw how.  The 2.2 was an OHC engine with more in common with the 1.7 rabbit motor that powered early Omnis.

I believe the same guy designed both

Really?   They were designed decades apart.  I'll have to research this one. Curious now.

Here you go.  http://www.allpar.com/mopar/22.html

Interesting!  Good research!   

[PJ]

I had a coworker years ago that bought a new Pony in 88(?) that was fire-engine red.  Within a year it was chalky pink and starting to rust...   Lots of mechanical miladies within a short time to boot.  Classic sh!tbox indeed!

Somebody mentioned Dodge Omni as a pos example.  That's what I always thought as well until I was on a training course in GTA many years back and the instructor had one that had over 400k of extreme reliability. He lived well outside the city and commuted to work in it every day.  It was also his kids' weekend beater.  According to him it had a 4-cyl version of the old Dodge slant-6. 

I've heard people say the 2.2 was related to the slant six but I never saw how.  The 2.2 was an OHC engine with more in common with the 1.7 rabbit motor that powered early Omnis.

I believe the same guy designed both

Really?   They were designed decades apart.  I'll have to research this one. Curious now.

Here you go.  http://www.allpar.com/mopar/22.html

Thanks.  Here's another one I found.  An interview with the guy that designed both.  He had quite the career. 


http://www.allpar.com/corporate/bios/hagenbuch-interview.html

[Brendan McAleer]

A car was coming pretty fast at me from behind .... It passed me ....

I'm not entirely sure I buy this story. 

[dkaz]

A car was coming pretty fast at me from behind .... It passed me ....

I'm not entirely sure I buy this story. 

I was driving a 102HP Corolla loaded with 4 adults and camping gear.