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2014 Kia Cadenza

Kia's Second Effort At Luxury Finds More Love Than The Amanti
The same recent global economic crises that have led luxury automakers to invade the small car market are also somewhat responsible for the influx of near-luxury sedans from mainstream automakers. As the likes of Mercedes-Benz and Audi are reaching down for new customers, automakers like Hyundai, Chevrolet and Toyota are reaching up to bridge the gap and fill in the white space between the industry's typical high-volume large sedans and established luxury sedans. Joining this emerging market, the 2014 Kia Cadenza is the latest sedan to blur the line between value and luxury. One of Kia's core focuses has been offering value to customers, and even with a starting price of $35,100, the Cadenza still represents plenty of that kind of thinking.
Despite what might first come to mind, the Cadenza is not named after a piece of furniture. Instead, Kia notes the name for its new front-wheel-drive flagship comes from the Italian musical term that translates as 'cadence'. The name thus fits in nicely with the brand's other musically inspired model name, Forte. Much like the Hyundai Genesis, the Cadenza will serve as a test of sorts to see how much customers are willing to pay for a Kia, and despite recent reports indicating that Kia has confirmed the Quoris for next year, the reality is that the availability of the bigger rear-wheel-drive flagship will be determined in part by how well the Cadenza strikes a chord with buyers.

Hyundai and Kia invest $110 million in UK electric van startup Arrival

Korea's Hyundai Group is backing a UK electric vehicle startup that plans to begin selling battery-powered delivery vans in 2021, the companies said on Thursday. Hyundai and sister firm Kia are making the investment of $110 million (100 million euros or 84.34 million pounds) in Arrival. Founded in 2015 and based in London, Arrival has developed a boxy, futuristic-looking shuttle bus aimed at the commercial delivery market. The company said its van will have a range between charges of 300 miles. In a statement, Arrival said it will work with Hyundai and Kia to develop a variety of electric vehicles, initially for the commercial market. Those vehicles will be built on Arrival's modular vehicle platform or "skateboard" that bundles motor, batteries and chassis components, similar to the skateboard developed by U.S. startup Rivian. Rivian is backed by Ford and Amazon, and has a contract to build 100,000 electric delivery vans for the e-commerce giant, starting in 2021. Hyundai and Kia last year invested $89 million in Rimac Automobili, a nine-year-old Croatian company aspiring to build electric supercars that is also backed by Porsche. Arrival said its vehicles will be equipped with advanced driver assist features and can be upgraded with self-driving systems. The vehicles are designed to sell for the same price as similar models powered by internal combustion engines and to be built in small "microfactories." That strategy is the opposite of U.S. electric vehicle rival Tesla which uses massive "gigafactories." Last fall, Arrival, which until now has operated largely in stealth mode, hired General Motors veteran Michael Ableson to head its new North American operations. With a small factory in Banbury, England, Arrival said it now has 800 employees in five countries, including Germany, Russia and Israel. Arrival previously said it would use BlackBerry's QNX operating system to connect safety features in its electric vehicles. Arrival said its prototype delivery vans are being tested by the Royal Mail, DHL and UPS. Related Video: Green Hyundai Kia Commercial Vehicles Electric Future Vehicles electric delivery van

2014 Kia Forte

Kia Tries Yet Again To Prove That Compact Sedans Are Its Forte
For those keeping track, the introduction of the 2014 Kia Forte sedan marks the second time in five years that Kia has completely redesigned its compact sedan offering. Put another way, car shoppers have now had three entirely different options in this category from Kia - the unloved Spectra along with two generations of the Forte - in the same period of time that Toyota has been building the current Corolla.
If nothing else, it's clear that Kia is committed to making as big of a dent in the compact class as possible. That said, none of Kia's entries have come close to challenging the dominance of the aforementioned Corolla, Honda Civic or Volkswagen Jetta, domestic offerings like the Ford Focus and Chevrolet Cruze, or even the Hyundai Elantra, its slightly older and more subdued Korean sibling, in the race for market share.