Fountain Valley-based (and South Korean-owned) Hyundai Motor America won big, relatively speaking, in the just-concluded “Cash for Clunkers” program. Hyundai officials, betting that their economical, fuel-efficient models would be popular trade-ups, took a risk, advancing cash to dealers so they could begin moving cars several weeks before the federal government finalized reimbursement details. Hyundai claimed the first “clunker” sale—to a woman in Arlington, Va., who traded in a 1995 Ford Explorer for a Hyundai Elantra. The automaker went on to make nearly 50,000 more deals, accounting for 7.2% of all “clunker” transactions, roughly double the company’s U.S. market share. The Elantra was the fifth-most popular model among trade-in buyers. National sales veep Dave Zuchowski says, “The lift we realized from the government program led us to our second best July ever”—up 12% year-over-year, while the industry was down 12%. A similar strong report is expected for August. It’s the latest good news for Hyundai, which has been steadily gaining U.S. market share: The industry was down 32% this year through July, but Hyundai was off only 7% …
At the other end of the auto food chain, the annual Concours d’Elegance on Monterey Peninsula moved millions of dollars worth of vintage cars (without taxpayer assistance), and raised more than $1 million for charity for a fourth straight year. The usual sizable OC contingent turned out, including Gen. William Lyon and son Bill Lyon. Their Alfa Romeo TZ2 made the cover of the Pebble Beach tour guide and won the Gran Turismo award, making the car eligible to turn up in the video game of the same name. Congressman John Campbell’s 1958 Cadillac Eldorado Brougham won an award in Carmel. Developer Bob Olson (R.D. Olson) picked up a 1946 Mercury “Woodie” for $140,000. “These are car lovers,” says Resources Connec-tion chief Don Murray, who displayed his Porsche 550 Spyder. “It’s more about cars than conspicuous consumption” …
Dean Erwin Chemerinsky recalls that when he phoned Acrivi Coromelas last year to pitch her on the new UCI law school she’d been accepted to, she quickly said, “I’m coming!” “With all my restraint,” he says, “I said, ‘Really?’” Then he ran down the hall to spread the news. Coromelas, a San Gabriel high school English teacher and the first student to commit, cut the ribbon at last week’s ceremony marking the law school’s first day of class. Chemerinsky, Chapman U law dean John Eastman and former Enron prosecutor John Hueston appear this week on “Inside OC.”
