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Kia electric concept car for Geneva displays a 21-screen salute

Kia is going to show an electric concept car at the 2019 Geneva Motor Show (we got our first look last week), and the automaker has revealed some interesting and even funny details about the car ahead of time. For starters, there will be 21(!) individual high-resolution screens in this puppy. The teaser photo of the interior is showing off a lot of them, but don't fret, there are still more in there somewhere. Kia isn't exactly serious about this kind of a setup; here's a section of the press release for you as an example: "In a humorous riposte to the industry's current obsession with ever increasing dashboard screens, the concept features 21 individual ultra high-resolution screens. These curve their synchronized way across the top of the dashboard in a layout that's at the same time both casual and coordinated." So yes, it's a joke. But it's still sort of incredible a concept like this one will exist. We don't expect 21-screen interiors to be reality anytime soon, especially when the folks who designed it agree that it's completely laughable, too. What comes next in the release is also a bit confusing. Kia says this is its first pure-electric four-door passenger car — nothing wrong there. However, it then goes on to say it combines elements from "a muscular sports utility vehicle, a sleek and athletic family saloon and a versatile and spacious crossover." SUVs and crossovers are mentioned twice there, but this is meant to be a four-door passenger car? The teaser makes it look like the concept is much more car-like than a crossover, but it could be deceiving. A hint of black cladding is shown in this side profile shot as the closest hint to its intentions of being more crossover-like. Another interesting detail here is the evolution of Kia's tiger nose grille we saw introduced on the Stinger. It looks like future Kia electric cars will have a "tiger mask" (ha) instead of a traditional flow-through grille. We dig the normal design itself on the Stinger, and the teaser itself doesn't disappoint. The car/crossover/combination thereof will be revealed in Geneva on March 5, so check back then to see the full concept. Related Video:

Toyota Land Cruiser, GMC Sierra and the long-term fleet | Autoblog Podcast #558

On this week's Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Consumer Editor Jeremy Korzeniewski. They talk about driving a pair of short-term test cars, the Toyota Land Cruiser and GMC Sierra AT4, as well as two of Autoblog's long-term test cars, the 2018 Kia Stinger GT and 2018 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid. Following the test fleet talk is a discussion of a new program from Lyft and the Chinese-market Ford Territory. And of course everything is wrapped up with yet another Spend My Money segment in which we Autoblog editors help a reader choose a car to buy.Autoblog Podcast #558 Get The Podcast iTunes – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Rundown Short-term cars: Toyota Land Cruiser and GMC Sierra AT4 Long-term cars: Kia Stinger GT and Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid Lyft subscription program Ford Territory Spend My Money Feedback Email – Podcast@Autoblog.com Review the show on iTunes Related Video: Podcasts Chrysler GMC Kia Toyota toyota land cruiser chrysler pacifica chrysler pacifica hybrid kia stinger gt

Cut the Cute: The 2017 Kia Rio grows up

The last time the Kia Rio got a ground-up redesign was for the 2012 model year. That gave the Rio a crisp, modern look, but was also extremely cute-sy. For the 2017 model year, Kia tweaked the Rio with a leaner, meaner look. Relatively speaking, anyway. The South Korean automaker previously released design renderings of the Rio, and now come official photos of the car. Kia claims that much of the styling changes were made to emphasize width inside and out. The headlights are slimmer and more aggressive than the wide-eyed lamps of the previous model, and much of the gently curving sheetmetal has been removed in favor of more flat planes. Not only that, but the new Rio is slightly longer, wider, and shorter than its predecessor. Inside, Kia has spruced things up with what looks like a nicer mix of materials. The most unusual part of the interior is the infotainment system, which Kia describes as "floating." The infotainment system extends up and off the dashboard, a bit like the screen on the Honda Civic. The good news is that Kia kept physical buttons part of the interface. The bad news is that the design looks a bit odd, as some of the buttons extend up with the screen and make it look a little like Kia used a stereo that didn't quite fit in the dash. Kia didn't reveal any other specs on the car, but those details will likely come during the Paris Motor Show. This updated Rio is an important model for Kia, as last year it sold 473,000 units worldwide. While it isn't Kia's biggest seller in the US, it did have a slight increase in sales this year. Related Video: Featured Gallery 2017 Kia Rio: Paris 2016 View 15 Photos Related Gallery 2017 Kia Rio Image Credit: Live photos copyright 2016 Drew Phillips / Autoblog Design/Style Paris Motor Show Kia Hatchback Economy Cars kia rio