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Kia Niro Concept is the miniature Soul of the future

The Kia Niro Concept has officially made its Frankfurt Motor Show debut, and aside from the product specialist who would not get out of our photographer's way, this was our first in-person look at the Niro Concept, which first broke cover near the end of last month. The compact, rough-and-tumble crossover would slot in below the Soul were it to enter production, with Kia calling it a B-segment competitor.
The Niro sports neon accents, although both the trim and the actual color of the car itself are far lighter than they appeared in the original press photography. The cabin, meanwhile, looks like it was completely crafted from a single piece of rubber. We suppose that'd make it easy to clean out, sort of like a Jeep Wrangler.
Kia claims the Niro was designed "in Europe with European tastes" in mind, and that its production options will be based on the response of the general public. Take a look above for a full gallery of live photos, and then down below for the press release and images from Kia.

Hyundai, union reach tentative labor deal

According to Reuters, South Korea's labor unions may have reached a tentative deal with Hyundai following a compromise between the two sides on wages. Workers have staged a number of stoppages since August 20, which have cost the South Korean giant 1.02 trillion won - around $1.1B US. It also represents just over 50,000 units of production. That vehicle total sounds like a lot, but it's a small enough figure that Hyundai can apparently catch up with weekend and overtime shifts. We'd wager that this is why US inventories haven't been hit quite so hard aside from the battering already taking place. The proposal will now go before the union's rank and file.
If ratified, the new agreement will see workers getting a 5.14-percent raise in base salaries, along with 8.5-million-won (roughly $7,800) bonuses. Those concessions are a far cry compared to what the union was initially demanding, though. Early proposals included a 56.25-gram gold medal for each employee (worth about $2,400) and a 10-million won bonus (about $9,100) for employees whose children chose not to attend college. The union also sought a bonus worth two months' salary for workers that have been with the company for over 40 years, but this was negotiated down to a flat rate of six-million won ($5,464).
Based on Reuters' report, the work stoppages must have taken a real toll on Hyundai - its domestic sales dropped 20 percent last month, while exports were down nine percent. Those startling figures must have put some fire under the Hyundai bargaining team.

Kia Motors again tops J.D. Power Initial Quality Study

Image Credit: J.D. Power charts Auto News Plants/Manufacturing Hyundai Kia study JD Power