One on One with Mike Handy of Hyundai Canada
Interview & photos by Shaun Keenan
I’ve been photographing and writing about automobiles for almost a decade now. During the past five years or so, I’ve been doing more and more work with OEM subjects, but I’ve been a performance auto and modified tuner enthusiast for longer than I can remember. Factory performance – whether it be in complete vehicle form or upgraded parts and accessories – is middle ground for me. I always enjoy learning more about how the different car manufacturers approach this still-niche market. My latest schooling comes from Mike Handy, Parts Marketing Manager for Hyundai Canada, who sat down with me on Hyundai Sundai at his HQ in Toronto to discuss the Hyundai Performance Parts program.
RPM: Thanks for having us here today! Tell the readers what you do exactly.
Mike Handy: My department develops all of the marketing programs for our dealers’ parts and service departments throughout Canada. We also do all of the accessory development for all Hyundai vehicles, whether they be factory accessories or whether they be accessories we developed here in Canada that are unique to our climate and our individual needs.
RPM: I was at the Hyundai Performance Parts (HPP) product launch in fall 2007; can you tell more about it now?
MH: Even before then (a lot earlier in fact) we thought there was going to be a need for Hyundai performance parts. On the horizon, we knew the Genesis was coming and, of course, at that time we had the Tiburon. We started looking at what our options were as far as the performance parts were concerned, and emulated a lot of what other manufacturers had done, starting with the simple things like an exhaust system, intakes, suspension systems and so forth.
We did a lot of development work for both the Accent and Tiburon because we felt those two vehicles were the two that most enthusiasts would modify and change, and launched the performance parts program officially in the fall of 2007.
To date, we have 45 official HPP dealers across Canada out of our total of about 175. These dealers have to meet our criteria in that they’ll promote, enhance and support the HPP program.
RPM: How are HPP dealers approved?
MH: Quite simply, they must have the willingness to stock, display, actively promote and sell performance parts and accessories, and service them. Every market is a little bit different and, certainly, there are some that may not even support performance parts because of population and demographics. Typically, our HPP dealers are in major centres where there is a large population base.
RPM: Tell me more about Hyundai Canada’s relationship with Attrell Racing?
MH: Bob Attrell, who’s our dealer principal at Attrell Hyundai in Brampton, is a big performance enthusiast and has been racing for a number of years. He’s currently campaigning a couple of Genesis coupes in the Canadian Touring Car Series and is also a performance parts dealer. This is a great example – his willingness to market and sell to the enthusiast automobile owner as opposed to the owner that’s only interested in getting from A to B.
RPM: Will Attrell Racing be involved in the development of future parts for the Genesis coupe?
MH: To a certain point, yes. Most of the development work is done directly with the vendor, but certainly once we’re to a point where we need product tested, some of the products go on to the race cars and get used actively in the actual racing series.
RPM: Is there any HPP stuff available for the Genesis coupe yet?
MH: We’ve known about the coupe for a long time and have done a lot of development work before it came out. We’re very excited because it’s a true sports car! It represents a whole different segment in our vehicle offerings. We’re currently selling suspension components for the car – springs, sway bars and so forth. Our air intake adds 18 horsepower to the 3.8-litre – a significant power gain – and we have a beautiful stainless steel exhaust system as well.
RPM: I still talk about the supercharged Tiburons I experienced at the launch event. Any plans for forced induction?
MH: To be honest, no. We experimented a little with that at the beginning of the program. While they gave us significant power gains and did meet all of the emissions standards and issues we required, we just felt that the actual requirement by the public for that would be so low we decided that we wouldn’t go that far into the program. At least not at this time. Maybe down the road, though, because the two-litre four-cylinder turbo and the design of the car are open to some really interesting modifications. We’re exploring those and potentially we’ll offer something beyond the intake and exhaust – perhaps increasing the factory boost to give a little extra power via electronics. Many of these vehicles are daily drivers and so we still need to be mindful of vehicle longevity, but there is definitely some room there for some minor modifications to increase horsepower.
RPM: After deciding on which vehicles to develop parts for, how do you select which categories to invest resources into? How do you stay current with trends and on top of what people might be wanting to put on their ride(s) at any given time?
MH: We start with the obvious stuff. Enthusiasts typically like to do a lot of the work themselves, so we look at items they can literally bolt on or do themselves at home. Certainly, if they can, our dealers are prepared to let them do that. We look at the simple stuff that gives the most bang for the buck, quite frankly – air intakes, exhaust systems, suspension components and the wheels of course, which are quite popular. Even a mild performance enthusiast likes to have a nice set of wheels on their car. Given all of the emissions standards our vehicles have to comply with and to support a major mandate for the environment, we don’t typically get into modification of the computer system or internal engine components.
RPM: Who makes HPPs?
MH: A lot of the manufacturers are well-known to the performance crowd. We have AEM for our intake systems and Eibach does our suspensions. Vibrant Performance does our exhaust systems for the Accent, Tiburon and Genesis coupe – they’re Canadian! We also have B&N shifters too. Fastco Wheels from Montreal handles our official alloy wheel program coast-to-coast and we also work with Pirelli Tire.
RPM: What warranty do HPPs come with, if any?
MH: Anything we sell through the HPP program comes with a full factory accessory warranty (one year, unlimited kilometres) when you buy it over the counter at the dealership; or, for those types of accessories that are pre-installed for our dealerships, a full factory warranty.
RPM: What if I take home the part and install it in my car, in my garage?
MH: Absolutely, one year – unlimited kilometres just like any other accessory from a plastic hood protector to a trailer hitch. The accessories we’ve chosen to sell are easy to install, fit well and are well-made. If I can do it, you or anybody can do it.
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