Even though it is a nice story only, the lesson always made the South Korean car company "Kia" seem like such a clunker to me. Really, in all capital letters, the logo of a fast-moving internal combustion engine vehicle says "KIA"--or "killed in action."
If "doesn't go" could have been a marketing fail, why isn't "KIA" a death sentence for the entire company brand? Surely a car that kills you is worse than a car that doesn't go.
But no, the South Koreans eventually built good cars and their brands are thriving in America (tip to Instapundit):
Hyundai and Kia have sold more vehicles to Americans than all European automakers combined through the first seven months of 2011, and they’re growing faster than any other automaker.
Despite that unfortunate company name.
The Nova did just fine, too, apparently.
