2024 Kia Forte Lx on 2040-cars

Auto blog

The Kia Sedona is the most neglected car model currently on sale

Today is a rainy day. What does a car nut do on a rainy day? After my spouse said I could have some free time, I started to wonder things. Bizarre things. Like, what happened to minivans? In addition to Ford, Chevy, and Dodge, other manufacturers jumped into the minivan pool. Remember the Mercury, Nissan, and Mazda's minivans? They stormed on the scene en masse in the 1980's and 1990's and then seemed to peter out as the crossover craze began taking full effect at the turn of the millennium. Now there are fewer minivan offerings and one in particular seems neglected. Well, it's still raining. So, I thought I would write down some of my thoughts in that vein. Today, Honda and Toyota are often seen as the minivan rivals, picking at each other in commercials and one-upping the other with little things, like an internal vacuum cleaner. But, don't forget Chrysler who has always been around in the category (they invented it if you believe their advertisements). So, they are always respected in the field, even though the Grand Caravan and Pacifica arguably aren't up to the Honda and Toyota standards. That's not to say they aren't worthy of serious consideration if you're looking for a minivan, because they are. All the products in this category have become relatively good and are far better in quality than anything from 30 years ago. There's another manufacturer out there however, making a minivan that is hardly ever heard from in automotive advertising circles. That is Kia. Their Sedona model is one of the most neglected models currently on sale. The Kia Sedona is a good product, a worthy competitor in the minivan category. It even has lots of conveniences at a price point that should appeal to minivan buyers (thousands less than Honda or Toyota). But, the parent company's limited advertising has not brought the attention to the model that it deserves. Toyota at least makes an effort to put some swagger into it's marketing campaign for their Sienna. The Swagger Wagon videos are still popular. Toyota has even made an off-road version of the Sienna to keep the Sienna top of mind, even if it is a ridiculous concept that will never go into production. So, what?! It's a fun exercise to keep their product somewhat viral. Kia, well... does anybody remember anything cool about the Sedona? Hold on... Yes! There was that Photo Safari Sedona back in 2015.

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:

Kia plans dedicated PHEV by year’s end, battery-electric crossover in 2021

Back in January, Kia announced something it called its “Plan S” strategy. The $25 billion plan broadly outlines its targets for electric vehicles, with the highlight being plans to sell 11 battery-electric models by the end of 2025, including launching its first dedicated new EV here in the U.S. in 2021. Now we have some new details on what the Korean automaker has in mind for the latter, plus a juicy new tidbit about a new plug-in hybrid coming later this year. It comes via a scripted Earth Day video message between Neil Dunlop, product and technology PR manager, whoÂ’s shown wandering around a forest, and Steve Kosowski, manager of KiaÂ’s long-range strategy, product strategy and mobility, whoÂ’s quarantined at home. Kosowski calls Plan S “a preemptive shift” away from being a traditional manufacturer of combustion vehicles to one focused on electric vehicles, electrified vehicles and mobility. First up will be a dedicated new PHEV model coming to the U.S. by yearÂ’s end. There are no real details offered, but Kosowski brings up the HabaNiro crossover and Imagine concepts as examples of KiaÂ’s design excellence and innovation. The brand has already said the Imagine will go into production within one or two years, but it was never clear whether the “large C-segment car,” as they described it, would make it here. Imagine by Kia Concept View 12 Photos More is said about KiaÂ’s first dedicated EV model, due here by the end of 2021 — possibly earlier in other markets — and riding on a dedicated new EV platform. “ItÂ’s a crossover design that really blurs the line between passenger cars, CUVs, crossovers, itÂ’s a little bit car, a little bit crossover,” Kosowski says. It will have a range of about 300 miles and sub-20-minute fast-charging time. “In the end it will be a very stunning, dramatic new Kia EV, something that youÂ’ve never seen before.” The range figure squares with what Kia advertised with the HabaNiro concept, which it unveiled at the 2019 New York Auto Show, while the automaker has described both it and the Imagine as blurring traditional vehicle segment lines. Both concepts will doubtless lose some of their more fanciful elements — bye bye, HabaNiro's lava red interior — on the way to production, however. Kia is developing a new EV platform that it will share with Hyundai.