Minor Thoughts from me to you

Maybe I should get a Hyundai for my next car.

Engineers from General Motors Co. took apart Hyundai Motor Co.'s Elantra sedan in 2009, studying the engine and trying to predict what the Korean auto maker might do next. When the latest Elantra launched this year, GM engineers were surprised: The compact sedan beat their predictions for weight, fuel economy and cost as well.

"In terms of momentum, [Hyundai] is a bigger threat right now than anyone else," says Bob Lutz, former vice chairman of GM, who still consults for the Detroit car maker. "I worry about them a lot."

Hyundai has had a lot of success building on it’s roots of keeping costs low (especially labor costs) and being able to innovate quickly, releasing new models faster than Toyota, Honda, or Ford can.

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