I think this Sonata is another HUGE win for Hyundai and for the Koreans in general - the "kansai" principle they borrowed from Toyota is really paying off. Hyundai is going to be in the top 3 automakers in the world reliability and sales speaking. It's just a matter of time.
Actually the Americans introduced "Kaisen" to the Japanese after WW2. Score one for them...If Hyundai is sometimes accused of "borrowing" others great ideas, it's how Japan came out on top in the long run. This bodes well for Hyundai.
From Wikipedia
"After World War II, to help restore Japan, American occupation forces brought in American experts to help with the rebuilding of Japanese industry. The Civil Communications Section (CCS) developed a Management Training Program that taught statistical control methods as part of the overall material. This course was developed and taught by Homer Sarasohn and Charles Protzman in 1949 and 1950. Sarasohn recommended William Deming for further training in Statistical Methods. The Economic and Scientific Section (ESS) group was also tasked with improving Japanese management skills and Edgar McVoy is instrumental in bringing Lowell Mellen to Japan to properly install the TWI programs in 1951. Prior to the arrival of Mellen in 1951, the ESS group had a training film done to introduce the three TWI "J" programs (Job Instruction, Job Methods and Job Relations)- the film was titled "Improvement in 4 Steps" (Kaizen eno Yon Dankai). This is the original introduction of "Kaizen" to Japan. For the pioneering, introducing, and implementing Kaizen in Japan, the Emperor of Japan awarded the Second Order Medal of the Sacred Treasure to Dr. Deming in 1960. Consequently, the Union of Japanese Science and Engineering (JUSE) instituted the annual Deming Prizes for achievements in quality and dependability of products in Japan. On October 18, 1989, JUSE awarded the Deming Prize to Florida Power & Light Company (FPL), based in the United States, for its exceptional accomplishments in its process and quality control management. FPL was "the first company outside of Japan to win the Deming Prize."
Reference: US National Archives - SCAP collection - PR NewsWire