2012 Kia Soul Free Shipping!!! Very Low Miles Save Big$$$$$$ on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Next-gen 2021 Kia Sorento spied testing in the Alps

Kia just launched the new three-row Telluride into the world, but that doesn't mean its original seven-passenger model is going away. Far from it. The camouflaged vehicle you see here is the next-generation Sorento caught testing in the Alps while undergoing some strenuous trials. One of those happened to be towing a BMW X5, as seen in the photos. Due to the heavy amount of cladding and wrappings, it's difficult to pick out specific styling elements. However, we imagine the front fascia is going through a massive change up. It's tough to say what direction they're heading, but the openings do mimic what we see on the vehicle today. The current Sorento doesn't have an upright, tough appearance, and the prototype we see here doesn't appear to be a massive change in the status quo. Kia made the Telluride its big, butch crossover, so differentiation with that SUV is most likely necessary. Moving along the side, Kia appears to have changed up the mirror position, placing them below the window line on the doors instead of above in the A-pillar area. We can't see the door handles or body lines, but we'll assume Kia has something new and interesting cooked up under there. Finally, the most mysterious part of all is the rear end. Kia broke out the massive body armor for this one, making sure nobody can tell what's going on underneath. Perhaps the rear-end design is where we'll see the biggest changes for the Sorento. We don't imagine there will be anything extreme like a chopped and angled roof/rear window for styling purposes, though, especially if the Sorento intends to keep all three rows open for business. That said, the existence of the Telluride could prompt some changes to the vehicle's purpose in Kia's lineup. Even though Kia gave the Sorento a light refresh for 2019, this next-generation model is probably coming in the next couple years. Kia used a very light brush for that mid-cycle refresh, and this update will signal a totally new generation of the SUV. We'll expect to see new powertrains, possibly with electrification in the form of a hybrid or plug-in hybrid come into the fold. We didn't get a look inside, but given the current Sorento and luxurious new Telluride, we'd have high hopes for something quite nice.

Kia's regionally inspired concepts converge on Las Vegas [w/poll]

Kia has, over the past couple of weeks, been steadily streaming an array of concept cars it's prepared for SEMA this year. But with the doors now open at the Las Vegas Convention Center, it's now released the full monte – so to speak – including one we hadn't seen before at all. The lineup takes a geographic approach, each representing a different region in this great country of ours, and each is based on a different model in the company's product line. Arguably the most outlandish is the A1A Optima. The sedan has been converted into a four-door convertible, taking its name and inspiration from the coastal highway in Florida. The project was carried out by Lux Motorwerks, which reinforced the Optima's bodywork for the chop job, fitted suicide rear doors, and painted it a bright shade of turquoise. It rides on 20-inch HRE alloys, with an interior trimmed out in cream leather and titanium accents. A coilover suspension drops it down to the tarmac, and a new exhaust system helps with the turbo four's sound. Next up is the PacWest Adventure Sorento, inspired by the Pacific Northwest with a woodsy approach. The Sorento crossover has been customized by LGE-CTS Motorsports with a candy-effect green paint job and matte black trim, tubular bumpers, a raised suspension, off-road tires, a snorkel for fording streams, and a pop-up tent on the roof. They're joined by the Photo Safari Sedona, which is a new addition we hadn't seen until now. The minivan has been thoroughly transformed into a rolling observation point for shutterbugs in the wild. The rear section has been converted into a pickup bed, the seats have been swapped out for deploying buckets to get closer to the action, and the whole thing rides on an air suspension with off-road tires on 17-inch wheels. It's even got an iMac workstation on board for processing photos. In short, it's everything you could want to embark on a photographic adventure in the Northeast – or anywhere else for that matter. Finally there's the Mud Bogger, a Forte Koup inspired by the South. It's jacked up four inches on an off-road suspension, with an open rollback vinyl roof to let in the elements. The bodywork has been painted a deep shade of blue, offset by the white powder-coated roll cage, brush guards, and wheels. And the interior has been stripped out and fitted with Sparco racing seats. Kia has also brought the Ballast Point Sedona back to the show this year.

Hyundai sales slump in China over North Korea, standoff with Chinese partner

BEIJING/SEOUL — Hyundai is at loggerheads with its Chinese partner over efforts to cut supplier costs, as they grapple with cutthroat competition and the impact of a standoff between Beijing and Seoul. Hyundai, along with affiliate Kia, has been caught up in a political row over a missile defense system that is being deployed in South Korea, but opposed by China, as tensions grow over North Korean missile tests and last week's test of a nuclear bomb the North claims can be mounted on a missile. Sales of Hyundai cars in China have been falling, part of a backlash against South Korean brands over the missile system that China views as a threat to its own national security. On Tuesday, South Korea asked the United States to lift a limit on the explosive payloads it can use in the missile system. This as a North Korean missile, believed to be an intercontinental ballistic missile, was being tracked by intelligence services being moved on the ground toward North Korea's west coast and a possible launch site. That has come against the backdrop of ever tougher competition from local Chinese automakers. Until last year, Hyundai and Kia ranked third in China by sales. But Hyundai's sales alone have slumped 41 percent from January to July, fraying relations with local partner BAIC Motor Corp and making this the biggest crisis since Hyundai entered the Chinese market in 2002. Last month, Hyundai suspended production at its four China plants for a week after a French supplier refused to provide fuel tanks when its bills went unpaid. On Tuesday, Hyundai suspended production at one of its plants in China after a German firm went unpaid. Hyundai and BAIC — whose Beijing Hyundai joint venture is a 50:50 partnership — are divided over how to solve the issue of suppliers and tougher competition. Hyundai wants to protect its South Korean supply chain, while BAIC favors shifting to cheaper Chinese suppliers to cut costs, the people said. "BAIC wants to solve this aggressively and is ... asking Hyundai to change its sourcing strategy significantly and immediately," said the head of a Hyundai supplier based in Seoul, adding the idea was to source more locally from cheaper suppliers in China. Hyundai wants to solve this more gradually "over perhaps 5-10 years and do so in phases," the person said. BAIC declined to comment.