[Sandy G]

Not at 1st, I don't think. Back when Japanese stuff 1st started showing up, it was kinda laughed at. Then, somebody clued them into this quality control guru, a Dr. Deming. They took his principles to heart, & next thing you knew, Sony, Panasonic, Hitachi., et al had become world class builders of consumer electronics. Of course, there was a lot more to it than just that, but Dr Deming's principles should not be underestimated. The Americans were more interested in squeezing the last penny of cost out of a product, the Japs were more interested in improving the quality & reliability of their stuff. It worked undeniably well in electronics, & then in cars, virtually any industry the Japs decided to delve into. The company I worked for-Gravure printing-we were having quality problems as well, we got Dr Deming to come, he spent quite a bit of time w/us & turned our plant around, too.