Daewoo Nubira

Daewoo is one of the newest auto manufacturers to enter the U.S. market. Founded in 1997, Daewoo Motor America (DMA) set the goal of establishing a network of consumer-direct, company-owned stores to distribute its cars in America. The initial marketing was done in an unusual way-hiring college students as sales representatives to spread the word of the Korean automaker's arrival. Daewoo began with just 15 company-owned retail stores in September 1998, but now boasts over 475 showrooms throughout the U.S. Strong efforts to increase consumer awareness of the brand in 2000 resulted in a new sales record of 7445 units in September 2000, with a third quarter increase of 151 percent. For 2002, the Nubira compact fits into the Daewoo lineup between the Leganza midsize sedan and the subcompact Lanos.