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Pope Francis chauffeured around Korea in a Kia Soul

Korea is not without its domestic automobiles that would be suitable for transporting a visiting head of state: the Hyundai Equus comes to mind. Failing that, a Genesis sedan would do the trick. Maybe even a Kia K900 or a Renault Samsung SM7. But those familiar with Pope Francis and his taste in transportation won't be surprised that His Holiness has chosen something decidedly more modest for his visit to South Korea.
Instead of a more luxurious sedan, the Bishop of Rome has elected to be driven in a Kia Soul, giving the high-roofed hatchback a bigger boost (in the Catholic world, at least) than any quantity of animated hamsters ever could.
The Soul, which was likely reinforced somewhat if the Swiss Guard got its way, was ready for the Holy Father upon his arrival. Francis slid into the back, rolled down the window and waved back at the welcoming party, including President Park Geun-hye. The Pope will reportedly be driven around in the Kia over the course of his five-day visit.

Recharge Wrap-up: Kia Soul EV wins Canadian Green Car of the Year, Proterra logs 1 million miles

The Kia Soul EV has been awarded the inaugural Canadian Green Car of the Year Award. It beat out three other finalists - the Honda Fit, Subaru Legacy and Toyota Camry Hybrid - to receive the honors at the Vancouver International Auto Show from the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC). Before narrowing the field to the four finalists, seven eligible cars were chosen after back-to-back testing during the AJAC's "TestFest" last fall. "This acknowledgement is testimony to Kia's ongoing commitment to deliver environmentally friendly automotive solutions and diverse powertrains to consumers without compromising on design or comfort," says Kia Canada Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Maria Soklis. Read more in the press release from the AJAC. Proterra electric buses have logged a cumulative 1 million miles of revenue service. To celebrate, Proterra held a special event at its Greenville, SC plant, wherein it recognized each of its transit agency partners with an award commemorating the milestone. Proterra President and CEO Ryan Popple say Proterra and its partners "can offer the world a million proof points to bolster the fact that electric vehicles not only offer great performance, but represent the best total cost of ownership and environmental option for transit agencies." Proterra estimates its customers have saved 250,000 gallons of fuel and 3.5 million pounds of emissions over those million miles. Read more in the press release from Proterra below. EV Connect and GE are teaming up for a joint marketing and product agreement. The agreement makes GE the preferred provider of charging stations for EV Connect, giving them access to GE's WattStation and DuraStation chargers and WattStation Connect cloud-based operating platform. Of course, the agreement also makes EV Connect GE's preferred management company. "Together with EV Connect, we will be able to provide customers with an innovative, end-to-end solution capable of meeting customers' everyday EV charging station requirements," says GE's Seth Cutler. The agreement also expands the market of both companies worldwide. Read more in EV Connect's press release.

High-performance 2019 Kia Forte spied with dual exhaust

The 2019 Kia Forte compact sedan introduced at the Detroit Auto Show earlier this year showed off a handsome, subtly aggressive exterior inspired by the Stinger. But the sporty exterior was betrayed by a simply adequate powertrain: a naturally aspirated 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine making 147 horsepower. Now, one of our spy photographers has caught a disguised Kia Forte out testing that has a number of visual changes suggesting it's a more powerful version of the Forte. It might be called the Kia Forte GT to fit the Stinger's nomenclature, or Kia Forte SX to follow the naming scheme of past punchier Fortes. The most notable of this Forte's visual enhancements is its dual exhaust outlets. All versions of the current Forte have just one exhaust outlet on the right side and more exhausts usually mean more power. Along the side, the body and side skirts are the same as regular Fortes with the more aggressive body kit. But up at the front, we can see some adjustments under the camouflage. The upper grille appears to be larger, with bottom corners that push out lower and wider than on the basic car. The lower grille also looks a bit taller, and seems to have larger fog lights mounted farther inward than the regular Forte. View 20 Photos As for what might power the newer, peppier Forte,the likeliest candidate is the 201-horsepower turbocharged 1.6-liter four-cylinder found in the Hyundai Veloster Turbo and Hyundai Elantra Sport. As discovered by The Korean Car Blog and someone going by SHM, there is information saying that the Korean version of the Forte will indeed have that turbo engine paired to either a six-speed manual or seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission. This wouldn't be surprising given that the new Forte shares its naturally aspirated engine with the base Elantra and Veloster. A version of that turbo engine was also used in the outgoing Forte SX models. Since the new Forte has been revealed and will go on sale later this year, we expect we'll hear about this high-performance version sometime early next year, with a release not too long after. Related Video: Featured Gallery 2020 Kia Forte GT spy shots News Source: The Korean Car Blog, SHMImage Credit: KGP Photography Spy Photos Kia Economy Cars Performance Sedan kia forte