12.5.2003
The Daewoo Challenge

A 54-year-old author from the UK will set off Monday, June 9, to drive a Kalos 10,000 miles through some of the world's most difficult terrain to the South Korean capital of Seoul, worldwide headquarters of GM Daewoo.

Richard Meredith, a 54-year-old author from Buckinghamshire will set off Monday, June 9, to drive a near-standard Kalos 10,000 miles through some of the world's most difficult terrain from GM Daewoo's UK headquarters in Luton to the South Korean capital of Seoul, worldwide headquarters of GM Daewoo.

The "Daewoo Challenge" idea was born when Meredith agreed to teach English at a university near Beijing and decided to drive the majority of the way to the assignment. Meredith contacted Daewoo's European Headquarters in Zurich who supported the idea.

A left-hand-drive 1.4 Kalos was chosen for the challenge and is currently being prepared in Belgium with equipment such as a roof-mounted luggage box, additional spare wheels, larger gas tank, strengthened suspension, extra lights, and underbody and front protection. It will also be equipped with telephone, lap top and web cam, enabling the Meredith and his co-driver to keep in touch with GM Daewoo in Zurich and Luton.

The route passes through 16 countries: the UK to Holland, Belgium, France, Italy, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Greece, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, China, North Korea and South Korea. Throughout the journey, scheduled to take 80 days, Meredith will be raising funds for the SOS-Children's Villages organization, a charity with which Daewoo has close ties.