Archive for the ‘Kia’ Category

Tokyo (Japan) .- The Kiyora concept which Mazda unveiled at the Tokyo Motor Show, summarizes the direction the company is taking on Japan’s development of its new vehicles, in which expected consumption reductions of 30 % over current models.

Kiyora equipped one of the members of the new generation direct injection engine developed by Mazda, the Sky-G 1.3-liter gasoline, coupled with light transmission and ultra-Sky Drive, in addition to equip the i – stop already shown in the Mazda 3 and the recovery of braking energy. The reduction of consumption, therefore, is achieved without the use of an electric unit. Read the rest of this entry »

Deadwood, South Dakota: Kia Motors America unveiled its 2000 model lineup to members of the automotive press in the Black Hills of South Dakota. Gambling was a part of the culture of the Wild West and Deadwood owns a spot on the legends’ map. It was here, in Saloon 10, that “Crooked-Nosed” Jack McColl shot Wild Bill Hickock during a poker game, in 1888. The hand dealt to Hickock, now known as the famous “Dead Man’s Hand” (Two Aces, two eights with a Queen high,) was a winner, but for Wild Bill, laid to rest on nearby infamous Boot Hill, the pleasure of a winning hand was short-lived. Read the rest of this entry »

It was a dark and stormy night. No, I?m serious it was a dark and stormy night and we were camping on an island in the middle of Lake Nipissing in Northern Ontario, Canada. A south westerly wind had gained in strength as it swept across the lake and was proceeding to deluge our tents in angry force with rain, thunder and lightning. Though frightening to be in the eye of the storm, in a strange way it seemed the perfect test for our newly acquired Coleman WeatherTec? tents. Nothing like a good field trip to put new equipment through its paces!

The trip to the Near North is an annual trek for me. We had determined this year would be three days of tenting in a remote location, with only the minimal number of creature comforts at our disposal. ?Roughing it? however would happen only after we arrived at our destination. The trip up and back would be more than comfortable, as we were going to be driving the 2003 KIA Sorento. This new entry is sure to be a hit in the crowded field of midsize SUV?s. Read the rest of this entry »

With edgy and fun advertising, KIA is quickly becoming a household name in the automotive marketplace. Next to Mazda?s ?Zoom, Zoom? slogan, KIA?s infamous deep south Sportage- ?It?ll get your mojo going!? campaign is one of the most recognizable ads in recent TV history. This became apparent one day on a fishing excursion I took last fall.

On this particular day, a good friend of mine decided to stick his fingers inside the open mouth of a reasonably sized smallmouth bass he?d just landed. As the fish clamped down on his exposed appendage, he expressed his pain with a load ?Ieee!? squeal of anguish. Upon extracting his now somewhat scarred index finger, he looked at us with a very strange grin and followed up his original exclamation with a quick ?Try it honey?. While this experience speaks mostly to my fishing buddy?s rather warped sense of humour, it also shows the power of advertising and KIA is reaping the rewards of its fun marketing approach. Read the rest of this entry »

Kia Motors America chose to unveil its new sporty sedan, the Spectra on the northwest edge of Las Vegas. They’ve been getting a lot of mileage out of their Sportage SUV in the US and have increased their sales by about 30% from last year. With few products on the showroom floor, the Spectra adds some variety to the mix.

Maybe variety is the wrong word. How about variant? The Spectra shares all its critical dimensions with the Sephia. In reality the Spectra is a hatchback version of the Sephia. Hatchback you say? Didn’t they die an ugly death in the US during the 1980s? You remember all those nasty rattling hatches. Well this one doesn’t rattle.

The Europeans have known and loved hatchbacks forever and if truth be told, a hatchback adds a lot of utility to a sedan. It’s no wonder that someone is betting that people will discover the hatchback’s utility again. Leave it to Kia. Read the rest of this entry »

Well past the morning rush, traffic flows at a brisk clip along the I-35 expressway as we head north out of San Antonio on a course that will eventually reach Fredericksburg, but not before meandering through the Texas Hill Country.

Objective of this jaunt is to assess the poise and capability of a new subcompact sedan promoted as the bottom-dollar car in the country.

Out of the box with no frills attached, the Rio sedan by Kia of Korea carries a bottom-line price of $8,595. Tack on the unavoidable delivery fee of $450 and the figure bumps to $9,000 plus change.

Then add air conditioning and an audio package, the two options that would be difficult to do without in any car, and still the price seems sparse at $10,115. Read the rest of this entry »

A fast clip running north of San Francisco on the 101 freeway — teeming in multiple lanes with commuter cars and freight-hauling trucks — quickly illuminates the quiet nature of Optima, a new mid-size sedan crowning the 2001 line of Korean automaker Kia.

Optima does such a good job of damping mechanical vibrations and insulating the cabin from external noises that passengers can converse in subtle voices and still hear one another easily above the din of traffic.

And our backseat rider — B. M. Ahn, president and chief executive office of Kia Motors America — has something to say that illustrates the role of Optima in Kia’s rapidly expanding lineup of car models: “We expect Optima not only to enhance Kia’s reputation for developing well-built vehicles at high-value prices, but also move the Kia brand upward to a new level of refinement and luxury.” Read the rest of this entry »

The Kia Rio is a good choice for budget-minded buyers who want good fuel economy. A subcompact, the Rio competa against the Toyota Yaris, Nissan Versa, Honda Fit, Chevrolet Aveo, and Hyundai Accent. Read the rest of this entry »

The 2008 Kia Amanti is a nice car that delivers exceptional value in its class of larger then. The 3.8-liter V6 engine has big, smooth power, the ride quality is near-luxury, and Read the rest of this entry »

The Kia Soul is a new vehicle Invented by its young designer, catering to the wants and needs of his fellow Gen Y types. It might be said that the Soul is an extension of the boxy little Scion XB 2006, because the redesigned’07 XB afflicted off that track, and the Soul Stealer that aims to market as well as find its own.  Read the rest of this entry »