Honda's CEO Takanobu Ito recently stated that he sees Hyundai as a major threat to the Japanese automakers.

"Hyundai is awesome," said Takanobu. "They are undoubtedly a threat because their products are cheap, and the quality is improving."

Hyundai's sales have been improving, while many of its other competitors have seen its sales decline in the last year. Obviously new products like the Genesis are changing the perception of the brand and it's no longer seen as the throw away car brand of the 80's.