The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is considering at length the changes that could be made to its 5-star crash-assessment testing. Rather than concentrate only on crash-worthiness, the NHTSA is looking into new technologies that put an emphasis on accident-avoidance. NHTSA Administrator David Strickland says, “Crash-worthiness has been the guiding star for NHTSA. But...
Continue Reading...
For the car category, the three finalists are the Hyundai Accent, Hyundai Elantra and Kia Optima, while in the utility category, they are the BMW X3, Dodge Journey and Volkswagen Touareg TDI Clean Diesel.
Continue Reading...
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced that investigations of the Honda Accord Hybrid and the Kia Sorento have both ended. The NHTSA first looked into Accord Hybrid models after initial investigations linked unintended acceleration to a fatal accident. After a thorough investigation, the agency found no evidence of defect within the Accord Hybrid. No...
Continue Reading...
2011 marked another year of success for South Korean automaker Hyundai Motor Co. and affiliate Kia. Having capitalized on its Japanese rivals’ year of challenges, sales for Hyundai and Kia have climbed like a rocket. Final global sales numbers for 2011 are 4.05 million and 2.54 million for Hyundai and Kia respectively. Boasting an increase...
Continue Reading...
With the companies current shift towards inspired design, Kia motors will produce the GT concept which was first shown at the Frankfurt auto show in 2011. The GT’s slick design is clearly aimed at competing with European luxury brands such as Audi. Kia is saying that the introduction of the GT will not be a...
Continue Reading...
Kia has formally introduced Korea’s first electric production vehicle, the Ray EV, with a range of 86-miles and an impressive fast-charging in just 25 minutes. Only 2,500 units will be produced initially, all of which will be used by government agencies. The Ray EV is a close relative to the Ray CUV, which was a...
Continue Reading...
If this is a hint of what the 2013 Kia Forte may look like, the Korean auto manufacturer might have a winner on their hands. Despite only being on the market since 2009, Kia is looking to refresh their Forte by next year, as a 2013 model. The sketch shows off the supposed new 2013...
Continue Reading...
Ward’s Auto released their 10 Best Engines List for 2012 today, and no surprise here but direct-injection and turbocharging – the two big trends for today’s automotive era – are heavily represented. The Ford Mustang Boss 302’s big 5.0L V8, with natural aspiration and good-old port injection managed to make the list, but pretty much...
Continue Reading...
According to Advertising Age, a sister publication to Automotive News, Chevrolet‘s Cruze, Kia‘s Soul and Jeep‘s Wrangler are among America’s top 25 hottest products for 2011, alongside Dove soap, Arizona Tea, Goldfish crackers, Sharpie markers and the Forever 21 clothing chain. There’s no doubting those three vehicles’ success, but we’d be willing to debate that...
Continue Reading...
Kia design boss Peter Schreyer took Automotive News reporter Ryan Beene on a tour of the Los Angeles Auto Show, outlining his favorite designs of the show floor. The big winners for Schreyer were the Range Rover Evoque (“If it wasn’t labeled a Range Rover, you’d recognize it as one”), the Porsche 911 and the...
Continue Reading...
For a long time, the only brand with a poorer reputation than Hyundai was Kia. Despite being a subsidiary of Hyundai, Kia‘s vehicles were often a grade lower in quality, using decade-old Mazda engineering and projecting an image of cheap vehicles for those with poor credit (or poor taste). Now, Kia is on a roll,...
Continue Reading...
Kia has just announced at the LA Auto Show that they’ve teamed up with Kinetic Motorsports to campaign a pair of Optima SXs in World Challenge. The pair of race cars will join the Rio 5-Door B-Spec that debuted at the SEMA Show earlier this month as part of Kia’s racing efforts with Kinetic Motorsports....
Continue Reading...
Gas, tires and insurance probably don’t matter much if you’re in the market for a 2012 Chevrolet Camaro or Ford Mustang, but safety does. The Camaro and Mustang GT come with more-or-less comparable horsepower and grunt off the line. What the test drive won’t show you is that the Camaro is the first car to...
Continue Reading...
Is the Kia Soul just a touch too big for your needs? Well if you happen to live in Kia’s home market of S. Korea, you could look into their newest offering, dubbed the Ray. While the name might sound similar to the sea creature, the Kia Ray is neither sleek or stealthy. What it...
Continue Reading...
Busey, who also starred in films such as Lethal Weapon (they call me Mr. Joshua) Under Siege and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, has been appearing in commercials for Century III Kia, alongside a guinea pig with the punch line “tell ’em Gary sent ya!”
Continue Reading...
The 2012 Chrysler Town & Country, Dodge Grand Caravan, and Volkswagen Routan all earned Top Safety Pick awards from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). These vehicles, which all share the same structure, earned high marks when it came to providing protection in rollover crashes, garnering the highest rating of Good in front-, side-,...
Continue Reading...
Kia has unveiled four custom models at the SEMA Show in Las Vegas today, with each car featuring a different sport as its theme. A custom Soul, built by West Coast Customs, is inspired by Michelle Wie, Kia’s official golf ambassador. A Rio 5-Door was built in partnership with Antenna featuring a Retro Surf theme....
Continue Reading...
As promised Kia has unveiled its Rio B-Spec race car at the 2011 SEMA Show today, based on the brand’s all-new Rio 5-Door sub-compact. More of a kit than an actual race car, this is a project for the do-it-yourselfer. On top of the $13,600 price of a Rio, Kia’s racing partner Kinetic Motorsports will...
Continue Reading...
After taking the championship in the Grand-Am Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge street tuner challenge this year, Kia is announcing further commitments to the world of motorsports. In addition to the 2012 Rio B-Spec racer, built by Kia Racing and Kinetic Motorsports, Kia has unveiled an Optima Hybrid pace car for the United States Touring...
Continue Reading...
Our friends to the north have been keeping busy by choosing their pick for the car and truck of the year, before snow takes over. So over the last week, the Automotive Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC) had assembled in the Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario to see which cars are the best in their category. The winners...
Continue Reading...
That said, both brands plan on achieving combined global sales of 7 million units next year, up from more than 6.5 million in 2011, which also marked a record total.
Continue Reading...
Kia plans on making a splash this year at the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) Show with its surf/skate-themed 2012 Rio hatchback. This gnarly Rio is the result of a partnership between Kia and Antenna Magazine, and is touted as being a “one-of-a-kind retro ride aimed at totally radical surfing enthusiasts.” To start off, Kia...
Continue Reading...
Kia has released pricing details for its 2012 Rio sedan, starting at $13,400 or $200 less than the 5-door version. That price is before the $750 destination and handling fee. The cheapest version comes with a 6-speed manual transmission, but if you aren’t willing or can’t drive stick the price jumps to $15,250 with a...
Continue Reading...
Along with the debut of a new B-Spec budget race car, Kia is looking to showcase its updated 2012 Soul at the 2011 SEMA Show. In total, the Korean automaker will display six sports-themed vehicles. The first of the group has already been teased (above) and is a colorful creation inspired by pro golfer Michelle...
Continue Reading...
sidebar...
