When you think about the car show circuit, a few notable cities immediately come to mind. There’s the Detroit Motor Show, of course, as well as exhibitions in Geneva, New York, and my hometown of Vancouver. Normally when I think about Seoul, images of crazy cell phones from Samsung and LG come to mind. You know the type: the ones that come packed with multi-megapixel cameras, DMB portable TV, huge vibrant screens, touch-sensitive controls, and all sorts of goodies that we can’t even begin to fathom here in North America. I don’t think of Korea as the cutting edge place when it comes to cars. When I think of a Hyundai, I envision cheap quality, budget-minded pricing, and a horribly ugly ride.

Hyundai and Kia have come a long way in recent years, though, and while they haven’t yet earned my respect, they are starting to come out with rather funky looking concept cars. The Kue crossover utility vehicle (CUV) is one such example.

It’s got gimongous guillotine doors, super fat fender flares, a prominent behind, super slim side mirrors, an in-wheel GPS navigation system, and front bucket seats that swivel at least 90 degrees to make it nice and easy to get out of the car. It looks pretty nutty. Check it out.

kue-500.jpg

More pictures are available at aving.net:
– Rear view mirror
– Interior
– Backside