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Upstart Hyundai guns for Big ThreeToyota Motor Corp. may scare Detroit's automakers, but there's one rival out there that worries Toyota.It 's South Korea's Hyundai Motor Co. Already the fastest-growing major automaker, Hyundai says it wants to supplant Toyota as the industry's vehicle quality leader in three years. Such a goal sounds gutsy, coming from a carmaker that was a running gag on late-night TV not so long ago. But U.S. and Japanese auto executives take Hyundai very seriously now. "We're always looking in our rear-view mirror, and they're one that's coming up quickly," said Dennis Cuneo, senior vice president of Toyota Motor North America Inc. In just a few years, Hyundai has emerged as the industry pace-setter, after achieving huge strides in sales and quality -- and in about half the time it took Japan's leading carmakers. The family-run automaker, which also controls Kia Motors, has leapt from 16th in the global sales rankings in 1998 to seventh last year, just behind DaimlerChrysler AG. In the United States, the Hyundai Kia Automotive Group is clawing sales from the Big Three after winning customers with stylish vehicles, low prices and quality assurances backed by a 10-year powertrain warranty. Read more on Hyundai’s new idea |