Kia Soul! 101k Excellent Maintenance & Great Condition on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Kia wants to keep Stinger fresh with frequent variants

Kia is apparently feeling confident enough in the early sales figures of its new Stinger sedan to be mulling ideas for future variants of its GT-inspired fastback. The brand's North American product planner tells AutoGuide it wants to keep the nameplate's lineup fresh with frequent updates and additions. "The reaction has been phenomenal to (the Stinger)," Orth Hedrick, Kia North America product planner, told AutoGuide. "We're doing great, we have a very high mix of buyers, a lot coming from Optima, so we're looking to see if we can grow that. And I think there might be other opportunities down the road." He added that it was still early in the product's lifecycle and that the brand will wait to amass more data from consumers before building out the Stinger lineup. "We're going to be very aggressive for the lifecycle of this vehicle," Hedrick added, "we're going to be very aggressive with the colors. It's a fashion statement. You have to keep the car going with powertrain variants and other stuff coming down the road." Through March, Kia has sold 3,920 Stingers in the U.S., including 1,555 in March alone and not including the 843 it sold in late 2017. That's a fraction of the 50,645 vehicles Kia sold overall during the month, and it puts Kia on pace to sell nearly 16,000 for the full year. It's hard to independently assess whether that should be seen as a successful mark for a performance sedan that starts at $32,795 for the standard 255-horsepower 2.0-liter turbo four-cylinder, much lower than many of the German competitors it's established as benchmarks. Hendrick last year told Wards the Stinger was intended to increase both sales and brand recognition and was aimed squarely at auto enthusiasts. Its U.S. sales are slightly above those of the Alfa Romeo Giulia, which has sold 3,085 through March (this Stinger owners forum thread also offers some interesting guesstimates). And as long as Kia is pleased ... Anyway, if Kia wants to release variants, we're totally cool with that. It's already announced the limited-edition Atlantica, and we're down with more colors and maybe a manual transmission. And while they're at it, why not borrow the 5.0-liter V8 from the Korean version of the K900? Related Video:

2014 Kia Sorento garners five-star NHTSA rating

The 2014 Kia Sorento has just earned a five-start crash-test rating from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, as well as a Top Safety Pick rating from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
According to Kia, the new Sorento scored well in both frontal and side-impact crash tests, while also netting high marks in rollover testing. Orth Hedrick, Kia's American director of product planning said, "Already a compelling entry in the compact CUV category, earning a five-Star rating from NHTSA makes the Sorento an even stronger contender within its segment while underscoring Kia's overall commitment to delivering safety and exceptional value to our customers."
The Sorento joins the Sportage within the Kia range, and the Honda CR-V, Hyundai Santa Fe Sport, Mazda CX-5 and Subaru Forester in netting a five-star score in the small, CUV segment. Take a look below for the official press release from Kia.

Which of these five plug-ins should win the 2017 Green Car of the Year?

It's going to be a competitive race for the 2017 Green Car Of The Year. With a minivan in the running for the first time in ages, the five finalists announced by Green Car Journal today include five very different plug-in vehicles. As Ron Cogan, the editor and publisher of Green Car Journal, said in a statement, "electrification is now considered by most automakers an essential technology for current and future high-efficiency models." Let's check out the list: Toyota Prius Prime, the updated plug-in version of the world's best-selling hybrid. Chevy Bolt, GM's all-new entry into the long-range EV game. Chrysler Pacifica, a family hauler with the ability to go 30 miles on electric power. Kia Optima. The nomination is for the full line-up, but really the hybrid and plug-in hybrid models are the green stars here. BMW 330e iPerformance, one of the automaker's many new plug-in hybrids that bring battery power to models outside the i sub-brand. Green Car Journal will announce the winners at the Los Angeles Auto Show on November 17th, along with some, "other green transportation announcements," whatever that means. Last year, the winner was the 2016 Chevy Volt, the first model to snatch up two wins. Which do you think should win this year? Related Video: News Source: Green Car JournalImage Credit: REUTERS/Kevork Djansezian Green LA Auto Show BMW Chevrolet Chrysler Kia Toyota Chevy Bolt chrysler pacifica green car of the year toyota prius prime bmw 330e