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Volvo, Kia and BYD duke it out in the finals for World Car of 2024

Three electric vehicles — none produced by an American manufacturer — will compete next month for the title of 2024 World Car of the Year, it was announced Monday. The finalists are the Kia EV9, the Volvo EX30 and the BYD Seal (shown above). The latter two are built in China. The three top finalists in five other categories were also named at the Geneva Motor Show in Switzerland. The winners in all six categories will be revealed live during an awards ceremony at the New York International Auto Show on March 27. This year marks the 20th year of the World Car Awards and the partnership with the New York show. Besides car of the year, the other finalists are: Electric vehicle: BMW i5, Kia EV9, Volvo EX30; Luxury car: BMW 5 Series/i5, Mercedes Benz E-Class, Mercedes Benz EQE SUV; Performance car: BMW M2, BMW XM, Hyundai Ionia 5 N; Urban car: BYD Dolphin, Lexus LBX, Volvo EX30; World Car Design: Ford Bronco, Ferrari Purosangue, Toyota Prius. Only Ford among U.S. companies has an entry in the final selections, and only in one category, design, for the Bronco. BMW has four vehicles in the finals, Volvo has three, Kia and Mercedes have two each. BYD from China has two entries as well. The Seal went on sale in in its home market in 2022 and is now available in most of the rest of the world. The BYD Co. (which stands for Build Your Dreams) has surpassed Tesla to become the worldÂ’s biggest maker of electric vehicles, and has its sights set on the U.S. The selection process for World Cars involves 100-plus automotive journalists from 29 countries who vote, as they review and test-drive the eligible vehicles for the 2024 awards. Their journey is captured virtually on World Car TV. Design/Style Geneva Motor Show BMW Ferrari Ford Hyundai Kia Lexus Mercedes-Benz Toyota Volvo Best Cars World Car of the Year

Kia's quickest cruiser | 2018 Kia Stinger GT First Drive

The 2018 Kia Stinger is a provocatively named, turbocharged fastback sedan that arrives in America in a few months, and we've just been given a great snapshot of what to expect at Germany's notorious Nurburgring circuit. While the very final tuning is under way, the late-stage prototypes we drove are "99 percent there," says Albert Biermann, former BMW M chief engineer, now head of engineering for the Hyundai Group. Despite our first experience with the Stinger being at a famously technical track, Biermann and others stressed that the Stinger is very much a grand tourer. To be clear, just about no one will track the Stinger. So why then do we find ourselves in the Eifel region of Western Germany? Because Korea's new sports sedan signals a dramatic brand shift for Kia, and the Stinger GT is the first to reflect a new, more performance-oriented direction. Kia at the Nurburgring? If you want to make a point, this is one way to do it. Arriving this fall, the Stinger will have three powertrain options on offer globally, but only two gas-fueled turbocharged engines for North America. The entry-level Stinger 2.0T is rated at 255 hp and 260 lb-ft, but our impressions are based on the GT, motivated by Kia's brawnier 3.3-liter twin-turbo, good for 365 hp and 376 lb-ft. Peak power arrives at 6,000 rpm, and peak torque between 1,300 and 4,500 rpm. All engines — including the not-for-America 2.2-liter diesel — are mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission with shift paddles. Both rear-wheel drive and AWD configurations will be available. While the automaker has made some sporty-looking, attractive sedans such as the Optima Turbo, and Cadenza, it wants to "make them drive like they look," says Biermann. Throw the 'Ring's 73 corners, 17 percent incline, and 11 percent decline — all at speed — and you'll learn quite a bit about Kia's newest, very quickly. So how does the Stinger drive? If this was an exercise to understand the touring aspects of the car, it was lost on us. Lap one of our lead-follow drive on the 'Ring wasted no time in demonstrating this new, more dynamic direction. The pace car in front smashed the throttle and entered the 'Ring at speed, banking hard-left on the first turn. I followed suit, mashing the gas, flying into the first turn, tires screeching, the rear sliding out just a bit despite the GT's AWD. Immediately I'm surprised by the acceleration.

Trump encouraged by talk of 'a level playing field' on trade with South Korea

South Korea is a longstanding American ally, but President Donald Trump has spoken harshly about U.S. trade imbalances and threatened to tear up the bilateral trade pact. "We will do more to remove barriers to reciprocal trade and market access," Trump said, adding that the two leaders had talked about the thorny trade areas of steel and autos. Trump said he was encouraged by South Korea's President Moon Jae-in's assurances that he would seek a level playing field for American workers and businesses, particularly automakers. A joint statement said the two sides had agreed to work together to reduce over supply of basic materials such as steel and non-tariff barriers. It also said Trump had accepted an invitation from Moon to visit South Korea this year. Bonnie Glaser, senior adviser for Asia at the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank, said it was unwise for Trump to air the trade issue so publicly. "Public complaints by Trump about unfair trade and inadequate defense spending provide opportunities for China and North Korea to drive a wedge between the allies," she said. The U.S. goods trade deficit with South Korea has more than doubled since the U.S.-Korea free trade pact known as KORUS took effect in 2012. The agreement was forecast to boost U.S. exports by $10 billion a year, but in 2016 they were $3 billion lower than in 2011. At the start of Friday's talks, U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said the largest component of the deficit was automotive trade and many non-tariff barriers to U.S. auto exports to South Korea remained. "I think the way to address it is to deal product by product with what we can do to change the export side and what we can do to reduce the bad imports side," he said. Ross said later on Friday that some progress had been made in the talks. The current pact was agreed to despite protests by supporters of Moon, who was then in opposition. But analysts have suggested that given the need to preserve a unified front in the face of a hostile North Korea, there could be compromise on both sides to resolve issues. (By David Brunnstrom and Lisa Lambert. Additional reporting by Fatima Bhojani, Roberta Rampton, Tim Ahmann, David Chance, David Lawder and Eric Beech; Editing by Bill Trott and Andrew Hay) Related Video: Image Credit: Kim Hong-Ji / Reuters Government/Legal Genesis Hyundai Kia trade