To make sure they didn't forget,
Hyundai managers have kept a copy
of Power's advice on a conference-room wall - vowing to keep it
there until they are given credit for surpassing Toyota's
reputation for quality.
Listen to Hyundai's American manufacturing team, though, and
they'll tell you that new technology isn't what gives them a real
advantage.
"I think a lot of the differences are more in the cultural aspects
of it," says John Kalson, Hyundai's production director for motor
manufacturing in
Alabama. "Anybody can buy technology, and we have
some of the greatest techniques that are out there. The difference
is in that total mind-set and total philosophical belief that,
yeah, we can do it. And everybody pulls in the same direction. It's
just elevated like I've never seen before."
Hyundai's U.S. operations also have the kind of manufacturing
flexibility that the Big Three American automakers would drool
over. Sure, a lot of its workers are new to building cars, and they
need training. But they also aren't wed to tradition. When changes
are called for, adaptation comes quickly. And everyone is expected
to play a role.
"Right now, you can say people are in a honeymoon phase," adds
Kalson. "People are so excited to work here, there's
energy all
around you. Everyone wants to be a part of it."
Including the competition.
Lesson Learned
The sheer speed of Hyundai's transformation still elicits awe.
"A lot of people in the industry would like to know how they did
it," says Szakaly. "General Motors has taken years and years of
numerous product cycles, and they still can't get to that product
level."
The lesson that Hyundai knows all too well, says Power, is that
it's harder to salvage a reputation than it is to remake a car.