2014 Kia Forte Koup Ex on 2040-cars

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2021 Kia Sorento caught completely undisguised at a commercial shoot

Remember when Kia just sold cheap warranties wrapped in sheetmetal? After looking over these fresh spy photos of the 2021 Sorento crossover, we'd forgive you for saying no, as those days are clearly well behind the Korean automaker.  Not even a week ago, we saw leaked images of a finished example hiding out underneath a sheet, but this week's unveiling is far more comprehensive. Our spies weren't crafty enough to position themselves for any interior shots, but we have just about every angle of the new Sorento's exterior, and quite frankly, we like it a lot.  Like most newer cars, the 2021 Sorento is rocking an almost full-width grille, but we'll forgive this unfortunate bit of trendy convention because the rest of the design looks clean, contemporary and practical.  While there are plenty of details and nuances to the sheetmetal, the overall shape is fairly minimalist. It's a classic SUV silhouette with only a slight taper to the rear glass, which should allow the new Sorento to hold a good bit of cargo even with the second-row seats intact.  Also in the rear, we see that Kia has taken a page out of some European designers' playbooks with a widely spaced "SORENTO" made up of individual letters across the bottom of the tailgate. Kia has also gone for a split vertical tail light design that places interior housings on the tailgate itself and exterior housings in the quarter panels.  This Sorento also shows what appear to be integrated exhaust finishers that are mirrored by reflector housings above them, giving the whole lower rear bumper a very futuristic look.  A Kia executive confirmed that hybrid and plug-in variants are planned for the redesigned crossover, however it's not clear yet whether (or when) those variants will come to the U.S.  We're expecting to learn more about the new Sorento soon, as we've just learned it will be revealed at the Geneva Motor Show in March.  Related Video:

Autoline streaming live from Detroit Auto Show right now

As you can already see, the Autoblog team is digging deep to bring you everything from the Detroit Auto Show media days today and tomorrow, with obsessive coverage of all of the new sheetmetal, hot concepts and industry news. But we're hardly alone in Cobo Hall, and our friend John McElroy and his Autoline team have fired up a live video webcast with interviews from the show floor that you can watch right now by scrolling below. The daily streaming broadcasts start at 1:00 PM Eastern today and tomorrow, with a large number of A-list executives, designers, and product planners from both domestic and foreign automakers are expected to sit in. Interviewees scheduled to appear include Al Gardner, President and CEO of Chrysler; David Zuchowski, brand-new President and CEO of Hyundai Motor America; Doug Scott, Truck Group Marketing Manager at Ford; and Peter Schreyer, President and Chief Design Officer at Kia. For the live feed and a full list of guests for both days, scroll below. Live broadcast by Ustream [Pop-out Chat Window] Day One Al Gardner, President and CEO, Chrysler Brand Ludwig Willisch, President and CEO, BMW of North America Doug Scott, Truck Group Marketing Manager, Ford Tim Mahoney, Chief Marketing Officer, Global Chevrolet Heiko Schmidt, Head of C-Class Product Planning, Mercedes-Benz USA Filip Brabec, Product Planning Manager, Audi of America Day Two Bob Ferguson, Senior Vice President, Global Cadillac Dave Zuchowski, President and CEO, Hyundai Motor America Mike Manley, President & CEO, Jeep Brand Peter Schreyer, President and Chief Design Officer, Kia Tom Kearns, Chief Designer, Kia Design Center America Jim Lentz, COO, Toyota Motor NA Tony Nicolosi, President & CEO, Volvo Cars North America Jose Munoz, Executive VP & Chairman, Nissan Americas Auto News Detroit Auto Show Audi BMW Chrysler Ford Kia Videos Detroit Autoblog 2014 Detroit Auto Show autoline Peter Schreyer

Kia Proceed Concept is like a tiny Stinger GT

Related: We obsessively covered the Frankfurt Motor Show — here's our complete coverage After releasing a teaser recently, Kia has dropped a couple of official photos of its mysterious wagon concept, as well as its official name. It's called the Proceed Concept, and it will set the stage for the next generation of Kia C'eed compact cars, which compete with the Honda Civic, Ford Focus and Volkswagen Golf, among others. What's somewhat unusual about this Proceed Concept is that its name is akin to the current Kia Pro_cee'd (a name that's sure to have every editor pull out a few hairs), which is the two-door hatchback version of the normal Cee'd. This Proceed Concept is very clearly a four-door hatchback, bordering on traditional wagon. Based on what Kia says about the car, they've seen people are more open to alternatives to typical two-door hatches, and thus are considering something different for the future model. We certainly have no qualms with the body style since not only is it a wagon, which as journalists we're practically required to like, but it's a darn good-looking one, too. The whole car sits extremely low over the wheels, and all of the car's lines appear to be drawn back to a taper, evoking a sense of speed and sleekness at rest. It looks sleeker than the already sharp Stinger GT. Aside from the classically pretty lines, it has another very unusual styling feature. The bright outline of the car's greenhouse is not chrome, nor is it white painted trim. It's actually illuminated with something called Luminline. So even at night, the car's rakish roofline will be visible. Of course, since this is the concept for a European-only car, we likely won't see the production model in the States. But just in case someone from Kia is reading, we have a suggestion: Just put a Forte badge on it and sell it here. The average person won't know or care, and it saves you from having to develop a separate model for one market. Think about it. Related Video: