2012 Kia Sorento Ex. Awd on 2040-cars

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2020 Kia Telluride is an American-made SUV, for America

Given consumers' ravenous appetite for them, it's little surprise that Kia is introducing a larger, more upmarket SUV in the Telluride as the newest entry in its lineup. But the automaker turned to classic SUVs of yesteryear as influences for the intentionally boxy and very American design that it hopes will translate with consumers. Dubbed a midsize by Kia, the Telluride will slot above the entry-level, compact Sorento as the flagship of the Korean automaker's utility-vehicle lineup. Michael Cole, Kia's North America chief operating officer, said the midsize segment is forecast to grow from 1.6 million units sold in the U.S. in 2018 to 1.8 million in five years. "This was somewhere we needed to be," he said. It's also the first Kia designed specifically for the U.S. market, with its off-road features like on-demand electronic all-wheel drive transferring torque between the front and rear wheels and its strong, stiff body, further emphasized by its unveiling in Detroit on a landscaped "torque track" assembled in surplus space on the Cobo show floor. It'll also be built at Kia's plant in West Point, Ga. "It's very much a U.S.-targeted vehicle," Cole said. "We will have some export. But the message is, made in America, made for America, it's a U.S.-centric car." Designers at Kia's design center in Irvine, Calif. "wanted to get back to a traditional SUV styling," Chief Designer Tom Kearns said. "So many EVs and SUVs these days are trying to look sporty and more car-like, more sedan-like. We didn't want to go with that approach." Kearns said his design team members referenced old-school SUVs like the Ford Bronco, old Land Rovers and the original Chevrolet Blazer when creating the Telluride, Kia's largest SUV yet. "It's not retro, but we like the genuine feel and look, the purity of old-school SUVs with the long hoods, little bit more upright windshield, not a lot of glass angles, tumblehome a little more upright, just feels more purposeful and genuine to us," he said. "Our goal is very clean, very simple, not a lot of ornamentation, just a pure, nice form that's hopefully conveying a clean, functional appearance." Inside, the designers took largely the same approach, with a clean console that emphasizes horizontality and width, matte-finished wood and simulated brushed metal accents and big grab handles flanking the shifter that emphasize the vehicle's sense of adventure.

Did a US automaker blow the whistle on Hyundai, Kia fuel economy issue?

In all of the most hotly contested mainstream segments of the motoring universe, the difference of one mile per gallon averaged on a widow sticker can mean the difference between a sale and a walk-off - to say nothing of two or three mpg. So, when Hyundai and Kia were forced to reveal that many of their 40-mpg ratings were actually 38s and 37s, well, it made for big news.
It also, conceivably, made for a competitive disadvantage immediately, when the Korean automakers' products were being shopped versus the guys down the block. And it's that disadvantage that makes a recent story from Automotive News so juicy.
AN is reporting that Margo Oge, former head of the Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Transportation and Air Quality, got a tip in 2010 that Hyundai/Kia were "cheating" to get its impressive fuel economy numbers. The tip, said Oge (who retired from the EPA this past September), came from a senior vice president from a domestic automaker. The source was credible enough for Oge to launch an audit of the Hyundai figures, which ultimately lead to the debacle that we reported on a few months ago, and that the Korean company has been trying to bounce back from ever since.

Kia recalls 9,700 new Sorento models for potential front axle failures

Kia has announced a recall on the 2014 Sorento due to an issue that could lead to a broken right front driveshaft on certain models. Only models equipped with the 2.4-liter inline four-cylinder engine and front-wheel drive are affected by the campaign.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says that Sorento models built between January 7 through March 12 of this year may experience broken axle shafts that could lead to loss of power or cause the vehicle to roll if parked. According to the Detroit Free Press, a total of close to 9,700 units are being recalled, but that number is closer to 9,300 for customers in the US.
Kia says that it has had one incident with an internal vehicle that experienced a separated axle shaft in addition to 10 related warranty claims, but it says no accidents or injuries have been reported. The recall campaign will begin next month. Scroll down for the NHTSA recall notice as well as an official statement from Kia.