Every generation has cars that for some reason just never quite hit classic status. While popular when new, they stayed on the sidelines as flashier and more stylish cars become the poster cars. Studebakers, four-door '55 Chevrolets, four-door just about anything really. But those cars are still cool, and still classics. And many of them are now harder to find and rarer than the supercars from the same year. Like this one. It was one of the best-selling cars in Canada when it was new, but you won't see another one on the road today. It's our autoTRADER.ca Find of the Week, a 1986 Hyundai Pony.
The Pony II was launched in 1982. It wasn't a radical departure in styling or shape over the car that came before it, but it made one big move. It was the first Korean car to come to Canada, arriving in 1984. But the Pony never officially made it to the US, due to emissions rules.
It was a simple car with a choice of simple engines. Hyundai arrived expecting to sell 5,000 cars per year, and they topped 20,000 the first year. It was in the mix for best-selling car in the country in just a couple of years, capturing market share at a rate that far exceeded other foreign automakers.
The Pony offered multiple engine choices, all small four-cylinder carbureted engines. This one has the more powerful one, the 1.6L that made 74 hp. Not a big number, especially backed by a three-speed automatic, but this car only weighed 1,085 kg. So there isn't much weight to push around. And it was rear-wheel drive, for optimal handling and performance. Okay, maybe not exactly optimal, but hey. It was the early 1980s.
This was a simple car, sold for around $6,000 when new. Compare that with the average new car price that year of $14,000. It has 1980s features, like a manual choke. Which the seller recently had to explain to the young tech at the dealership, who had never seen one before. This GLS has cloth seats though. And a tape deck!
This 1986 Pony has had only two owners since it rolled off of the showroom floor of the Langley Hyundai dealer. The current owner has had it since 1998, when it was given to him by an aunt who could no longer drive it. This car doesn't have power steering, after all. It's now up for sale because the current owner is also giving up the keys.
Despite wearing Bridgestone Blizzak winter tires, this car hasn't been driven in the winter. It hasn't been driven much at all, having just 106,500 km on the odometer, and it has been stored in an underground garage. It comes with the original brochure and manual, as well as the toolkit. Everything you'll need for the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance in 2035. It does have some damage around the trunk lock, where someone tried to break in. If you can imagine that someone would try to steal a car like this.
The owner has had fun with the car over the years, prodding Mustang owners with his own Pony car. Showing that tongue in cheek ownership experience, this car wears a My Little Pony bumper sticker.
It's a once-popular car that is now nearly gone from Canadian roads. A piece of automotive history, for sale in White Rock, BC. And it could be your little Pony.
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