Hyundai Pony
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- This article refers to the rear-wheel drive Hyundai Pony. For the front-wheel drive car that was sold in Europe from 1985 as the Hyundai Pony, see Hyundai Excel.
The Hyundai Pony (Hangul: 현대 포니), was a small rear-wheel drive automobile produced by the Hyundai Motor Company from 1975 to 1988.
Background
When Hyundai wanted to develop their own car, they hired George Turnbull, the former Managing Director at British Leyland. With his experience with the Morris Marina (see [Korean connection]), engines and transmissions from Mitsubishi, some parts from the Ford Cortina they were already producing, and a hatchback body styled by Italdesign Giugiaro, they developed the Hyundai Pony.1975
The Pony was presented at the Turin Motor Show in October 1974, and the car was introduced in December 1975 as a 4-door sedan. Hyundai began exporting the Pony already in 1976 to Ecuador. In 1978, Hyundai began exporting to Europe, starting with Belgium and the Netherlands. Later on, the Pony was exported to Spain and Greece. A pickup truck version was added in May 1976, a station wagon in April 1977, and a 3-door hatchback in March 1980.
1982
In January 1982, the Pony II was presented. It was a facelift from the previous model. Quoting a sales brochure: "You'll see New Pony luxury in such things as rectangular halogen headlamps, fitted in a smart new radiator grille. You'll see it in the wrap-around indicators, completely re-styled rear lamp clusters and neatly designed instrument panel with easy-to-read gauges. These new refinements are just part of many distinctive features of the New Pony." The Pony II was only available in 5-door hatchback, and 2-door pickup verisions. With the Pony II, export also began to the United Kingdom in 1982. The Pony was also exported to Canada, but not to the United States because the Pony didn't pass emissions standards there. Canadian sales greatly exceeded expectations, and it was at one point the top-selling car on the Canadian market. The Pony afforded a much higher degree of quality and refinement in the lowest price auto segment than the Eastern-bloc imports of the period then available.
Canadian-spec Pony
The Canadian version of the Pony had to be changed slightly to meet standards of that country. The Pony was released for sale in Canada for the 1984 model year and ended in 1987. Differences between the Canadian Pony versus its European counterparts were left hand drive, 8 km/h bumpers, sealed-beam headlights, different locations of marker lamps, and slight alterations in interior instrumentation and trim application. Initial projections for 1984 called for 5,000 sales, but the final total was an astounding 50,000, and it incredibly became Canada's best selling car that year.
Engine types
For 1984, the Pony came only with a 1436 cc 4G14 engine, rated at 70 hp (52 kW) and 82 lbf·ft (111 N·m) of torque. This engine was available with either a 4-speed or 5-speed manual, or a 3-speed automatic. The (1206 cc) 4G12 engine was not available in Canada. This engine remained through the line until 1986, after which only the 1597 cc 4G16, 74 hp (55 kW), 93 lbf·ft (126 N·m) of torque engine was available. In mid-1985, the door handles were blacked out, chrome was removed from the windshield wipers, and the "HD" badge was removed from the centre of the grille and replaced with the lettering "Hyundai" off to the left side. A 1.6 L engine-equipped model became available, with optional air conditioning. These powerplants were of the hemispherical-crossflow type, 2 valves per cylinder (SOHC chain-driven), a double barrel downdraft carburetor (with manual choke) and used a point-ignition system.Trim levels
From 1984 to 1986, trim levels were L, GL, and GLS. L featured vinyl seats, a fold-down rear bench seat, and usually a 4-speed manual transmission mated to a 1.4 L I4 engine. GL included vinyl/cloth seats, a standard clock (which was mounted in the instrument cluster) rear wiper, passenger-side mirror, tinted glass, lockable fuel door, standard door guards, upgraded interior trim, and an available 1.6 L engine. GLS included the above with the option of a tachometer, passenger-side vanity mirror, full cloth seats, 50/50 fold-down seats, and a standard 1.6 L engine.
L, CL, and CXL were trim levels for 1987. L and CL were the same as the previous L and GL, however the clock was now digital and the CL had a standard tachometer on models equipped with an automatic transmission. From 1986 to 1987, interior colors available were tan or blue. From 1984 to 1985, it was grey.
Options included rear window louvers, a front air dam, rear spoiler, GT package (which incuded a leather-wrapped Momo 3-spoke steering wheel), tachometer, different trim and badging, fog lamps, and extra lights in the rear. All GTs came with the more powerful 1.6 L engine.
Replacement
In Europe, the Pony was replaced in 1985 by the Hyundai Excel (in Europe the Excel was badged as the Pony), but the Pony was sold alongside the Excel in Canada for a few more years. The Pony Pickup was also sold in Europe until the end of the 1980s. The Pony ceased production in 1988.
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