"For us it comes out of other TV budgets, " says Steve Shannon, vice president of marketing for Hyundai Motor America.

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Hyundai vehicles are distributed throughout the United States by Hyundai Motor America and are sold and serviced through more than 820 dealerships nationwide.

ENGADGET: Hyundai unveils HCD-14 Genesis concept: suicide doors, gesture and eye controls

"I think Henry Ford had it right from the start, " said John Krafcik, chief executive of Hyundai Motor America and, coincidentally, an ex-Ford engineer.

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Hyundai Motor America, headquartered in Costa Mesa, Calif.

ENGADGET: Hyundai unveils HCD-14 Genesis concept: suicide doors, gesture and eye controls

In any event, the decision brings GM now to a nearly complete unwinding of the legacy of Joel Ewanick, its former hard-charging chief marketing officer who left last summer after jumping in 2010 to GM from Nissan, where he spent just a few weeks after leaping to Nissan from CMO of Hyundai Motor America.

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"We've departed from industry convention in many of our premium product, marketing, sales and service approaches, and it's worked out pretty well, with Genesis and Equus now delivering a nine percent retail market share in their premium segments, higher than the five percent retail share Hyundai brand achieves in the overall industry, " said John Krafcik, president and CEO, Hyundai Motor America.

ENGADGET: Hyundai unveils HCD-14 Genesis concept: suicide doors, gesture and eye controls