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Kia says fewer than 30% of its dealers will get 2015 K900

Kia is moving into unknown territory with its $60,000 K900 luxury sedan in many ways. Not only will it act as the company's flagship model, it will be the Korean brand's first in the US with rear-wheel drive and a V8 engine. The first batch will hit showrooms in March, but according to Edmunds, it will be a soft launch in some ways, because only around 30 percent of dealers have paid a premium to sell the plush ride.
Kia has sent the selected dealers back to school to make sure they are prepared to sell the K900 to the industry's famously finicky luxury sedan buyers. The company believes its flagship model will be "a catalyst in support of our long-term strategy to elevate the ownership experience," said James Hope, Kia's National Manager for product communications, to Autoblog in an email. According to Edmunds, the dealers paid about $30,000 each in required training, tools and showroom displays. It wants the improvements to "shift the culture" in its dealers to be ready to welcome luxury buyers, according to Hope. Kia Director of Public Relations Scott McKee told Autoblog that the brand expects buyers to be "independent thinkers" from a blend of current Kia owners stepping up to the K900 and conquests from other luxury brands.
Kia has been slowly building awareness of the K900, especially with its Super Bowl ad, but it still has a long road ahead of it to prove what makes it crown jewel different. The company believes more dealers will sign up to sell it once public awareness for the new sedan grows. "There has never been a better time to challenge the status quo," said Hope. Also, a V6 model will launch in the future at a lower price, which should bring more people into the updated showrooms. Given what Kia has accomplished in the US in the last 20 years, it would be foolish to count the K900 out, but that doesn't mean it will be easy to break into the luxury sedan market.

Kia hires Morpheus from The Matrix for Super Bowl ad

News of the Kia brand's inclusion in this year's onslaught of Super Bowl ads got out in December of last year, but other than the fact that the coming K900 flagship would carry the day, we knew nothing about the spot. Now AdWeek has revealed that it is Morpheus - he of The Matrix and guru for The One - who will guide us into a previously inconceivable reality in which Kia is a luxury car maker.
What we'll get is a 60-second spot produced by David&Goliath agency, following Morpheus (played by the man who made him famous, Laurence Fishburne) as he does the thing he does best: presenting a choice to a couple at a valet stand, allowing them to choose a red key or a blue key and, Kia would certainly want us to believe by the end of an "unforgettable ride," the truth.
It's Kia's fifth straight trip to the Super Bowl so it knows what to expect, but the task Morpheus has this time - to free your mind concerning the K900 - could be a task just as large as defeating all the agents and sentinels seeking Zion.

Nissan, Kia under investigation over occupant detection systems

Kia and Nissan are facing separate investigations by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration because of alleged problems with the occupant detection systems in their vehicles' airbags. The larger investigation is NHTSA's new engineering analysis into 986,826 Nissan and Infiniti vehicles. They include the 2013 Nissan NV200 and 2013-2014 Altima, Leaf, Pathfinder, and Sentra. Among the Infinitis, there are the 2013 JX35 and 2014 Q50 and QX60. Owners allege the occupant classification system can misidentify passengers and turn off the airbag if they don't weigh enough. Nissan recalled over a million vehicles worldwide last year to fix the same problem with a software update, but NHTSA kept getting complaints about the issue after the repair. The agency opened a preliminary evaluation in March, and after 1,271 complaints it has now been updated to an engineering analysis. The Feds intend to evaluate the effectiveness of Nissan's solution. NHTSA is also opening a preliminary evaluation into the 2007-2009 Kia Spectra for the occupant classification not working properly, and it could affect an estimated 186,000 of these vehicles. The government agency has 43 complaints from people allegedly reporting the failures. According to NHTSA, the issue could result in the airbag not deploying with enough force or not activating at all in an accident. This investigation is meant to assess the scope of the potential flaw, and there's no recall yet. INVESTIGATION Subject : Occupant Classification System Fault Date Investigation Opened: SEP 01, 2015 Date Investigation Closed: Open NHTSA Action Number: PE15031 Component(s): AIR BAGS All Products Associated with this Investigation Vehicle Make Model Model Year(s) KIA SPECTRA 2007-2009 Details Manufacturer: Kia Motors America SUMMARY: The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) has received 43 complaints alleging a malfunction of the front passenger seat occupant classification system (OCS) in 2007-2009 Kia Spectra vehicles. The complaints report illumination of the SRS (air bag) warning light. All of the complaints allege the cause of the light illumination to be a malfunction of the OCS sensor mat imbedded in the passenger seat cushion, and/or report the presence of diagnostic trouble code B1448 which relates to the OCS sensor mat also. Many of the complaints note the malfunction occurred after the warranty period expired and mention high repair costs as a major deterrent to repairing the vehicle.