Actually Korean population has been moving away from Flushing, Queens and into New Jersey and Long Island suburb instead. As the new population migrates into a given area, the older population simply move out.

> Well as you guessed eventually the Korean stores had to move out of Flushing.

Because of population migration. Same story with Italians, there are hardly any Italians left in Little Italy as Chinese took over the area. This is common phenomenon observed all around New York.

> The moral of the story is a retard Korean who calls himself “I hate China” will eventually cost your beloved Hyundai, and Kia a lot of lost business in China because the Chinese consumers will see what a racist bunch of bigots you are.

This place is not being read by Chinese mainlanders. Even the site maintainer blogging from China has to go through proxy servers to get here.

Well as you guessed eventually the Korean stores had to move out of Flushing.

The moral of the story is a retard Korean who calls himself “I hate China” will eventually cost your beloved Hyundai, and Kia a lot of lost business in China because the Chinese consumers will see what a racist bunch of bigots you are.

Ssangyong Motor Posts 2007 Net Income on Increased SUV Sales

By Seonjin Cha

Feb. 13 (Bloomberg) — Ssangyong Motor Co., the South Korean unit of China’s biggest automaker, reported a 2007 profit after boosting sales of Kyron sport-utility vehicles and other models.

Net income was 11.6 billion won ($12 million) last year, compared with a 196 billion won net loss a year earlier, the Pyeongtaek, South Korea-based automaker said in a regulatory filing. Sales rose 5.7 percent to 3.12 trillion won.

The carmaker, controlled by Shanghai-based SAIC Motor Corp., boosted 2007 vehicle sales 10 percent to 131,637.

> Now,I did OK at maths at school (yeah right) but if you could enlighten us on how Ssangyong made $300 million profit for the 3 years prior to SAIC when their total sales in that time were under $10 million?

Simple. Ssangyong Motors’s annual sales are $3~4 billion, depending on sales and exchange rate. This is a company that sells 150,000 vehicles with ASP(Average Selling Price) of $25,000 per vehicle.

> It has been getting steadily worse over the past 3 years but sales were up last year ($12 mil)

An automaker with $12 million in annual sales?

> so hopefully with the New Chairman and replacing other old designs they can start to make Ssangyong a better brand than it ever was…..

Replacing models won’t do, they need brand refreshing. Perceived “Chineseness” of Ssangyong is its biggest hurdle in marketing to local consumers, as Korean consumers have a deep mistrust of all things Chinese.

Chrysler is looking for cheap imports to make 3% gross margin on, like importing a Chery for $7,000 and then selling it for $10,000. Ssangyong doesn’t fit the bill.

I expect SAIC to launch their own “Shanghai” brand sometime in 2015. In Europe, SAIC will stay with “Ssangyong” brand for both Ssangyongs and Roewes.

Well, it looks like an older gen Mercedes to me.

> I suspect it is a very posh Chery QQ (i.e. nut and bolt copy of someone elses car!).

No it isn’t. There is no such thing as pirate car in Korea. Every Korean car ever built is either self-engineered or fully-licensed. This is the reason why there were no IP rights issue with Korean cars in the US and Europe dating back to 80s.

> Now I could be wrong, but the looks and design are just a bit too close, I am sure Nissan’s IP lawyers are preparing a case as we speak.

You clearly doesn’t understand foreigner’s problem with Chinese “piracy”. Derivative styling is not much of a problem, designers freely burrow from each other and it is hard to prove in court that one car’s styling copied another because the opinion is subjective. You have an IPR violation when you make an exact or almost identical copy of an existing item, especially mechanical parts. This is why Chery QQ6 wearing different styling but using parts from Matiz constitutes an IPR violation, while Ssangyong Chairman wearking a Mercedes derivative styling but totally new underneath the sheet metel is not and are cleared to sell in Germany.

This car was in development before SAIC took over. Ssangyong has been on a free fall ever since, going from $300 million profit a year to three years of straight losses. So far, everyone agrees SAIC take over has been a disaster.

> Why did they name it Genesis? Maybe it’s the beginning of the end…
Based on US reception of Genesis line, it’s a new beginning for Hyundai indeed.

1. New Chairman is all new, it no longer uses Mercedes W-124 chassis and is cleared for sale in the EU and US unlike previous Chairman. So you will see new Chairman in EU.

2. The powertrain is Mercdes V8 and gearbox, however.

3. Renault does not own 49% of Ssangyong, banks and individual investors do.

4. New Chairman is hurt by stigmatized as being “Chinese” by public(even though it doesn’t have any Chinese engineering) and will have a tough time going up against much hyped Hyundai Genesis.

I once went into a Ssangyong dealership in Guangzhou that actually dared to rebadge one of their POS cars as a MB S600!! I looked the car over, opened the hood (V6) and asked the salesman how could they even call it an “S600″ (it had the MB tristar on the steering wheel, trunk, hood and other strategic locations) and his retort was that it was an MB/SSangyong JV that built the cars in China and allowed them to badge as an “S600″ referring as its model name, not the engine liter capacity!!! The gall and the balls!!

Their “CEO” SUVs are all over Guangdong disguised as BMW X-5s and it’s just pathetic to know that any nouveau riche Chinese guy would settle for that crap on the road with people snickering at him. What’s scary is that some people might have actually been lured into the whole scam that it’s a “JV” approved by BMW or MB and bought on those pretenses!!

I urge ALL people universally to boycott Ssangyong with the utmost prejudice!!!

(and no, I do not work for either MB or BMW)