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Buying bang for your buck: Chrysler 300 and Kia Cadenza

In today's car market a Chrysler or Kia with a base price of $30K can easily become $45K, just by checking a few random boxes. You can do the math – that extra $15K will cost you $300/month over the life (and death) of a 60-month payment book. If your goal is only to get places in a stylish sedan capable of staying with traffic, you can keep your outlay far closer to the base price of these cars. Although they may not appear on many shopping lists, there's a lot to like in the lower-spec versions of both Chrysler's 300 and Kia's upscale Cadenza. The Chrysler is relatively ancient among current product platforms, while the Cadenza was Kia's first upmarket initiative, now supplemented by the larger K900 and the fall debut of Kia's Stinger GT. But you will not find a better transportation value in a Kia showroom than its underappreciated Cadenza. Here's a closer look at both: CHRYSLER 300: This car is a testament to all that was right about the DaimlerChrysler merger of the late '90s. At the time of the 300 introduction, elements of its platform were taken from the Mercedes E-Class, and with proportions suggesting a mix of stately American and neoclassic German, the 300 continues to offer a "just right" mix of respectable accessibility. The guy owning the package store could "Dub" it, while Miss Daisy would have been eminently comfortable in its back seat. In 2017, the 300 is an outlier in the sedan landscape. This is a large four-door with rear-wheel drive (all-wheel drive is optional). But in a sea of Accord this or Avalon that, the 300 impresses as an almost-relevant update of sedans in your murky past. The attachment to Chrysler products of 50 years ago goes beyond the Hemi that might be under the hood; it's the entire vibe of a car company trying hard to distinguish itself in today's marketplace. Despite numerous updates, the Chrysler still seems last century, and that's just fine with older drivers with the cash – or credit rating – to consider a $40K car. Behind the wheel, Chrysler's 300 exhibits all we love about American motoring. You would never confuse the handling with 'crisp,' but it's competent, while the ride is almost sublime. This is a car that in fully-loaded form deserves a Hemi, but the V6 is generally unobtrusive, and might net you 30 mpg on the highway. The conventional, 8-speed automatic goes about its business exactly as an automatic should.

2020 Kia Soul shown in profile ahead of L.A. Auto Show

A week after showing just a hint of the 2020 Kia Soul, Kia has shown a shocking amount of the compact hatchback in another teaser. It reveals almost the entire profile of the Soul, and a few other teasers give us a peek at the interior. Overall, it's right between evolution and revolution of the current model. On the evolution side, the Soul retains is funky box shape and many of its most recognizable design cues. The window line at the back kicks up to form the car's distinct triangular D-pillar. The windshield is about the only raked line on the car. Plus, the taillights still run up the rear pillars, and the roof can still be painted in contrasting colors. On the revolution side, the front fascia looks much more streamlined and futuristic. The big, cute headlights of the old models have been replaced by more menacing, slender examples that almost look like the eye openings of a stormtrooper's helmet. And based on spy shots, these headlights should span the full width of the front fascia. The lights sit low in the fascia, too, and the whole front end has a smoother, more curved look than previous Souls. Additional teaser photos give us a look inside the Soul. The dashboard has been updated, and now all the center controls, vents and the screen are encompassed by a rounded square shape, rather than having some of those components spread out across the center stack. The door handle areas appear to be an area of customization, with this example showing a bright yellow trim piece with triangular accents. Kia also gave a few details on powertrains and trim levels. The Soul will be available with a naturally aspirated 2.0-liter four-cylinder, a turbo 1.6-liter four-cylinder or an electric motor. This seems to indicate the naturally aspirated 1.6-liter engine available now will be going away. The gas engines are probably carry-over, too. The 2.0-liter engine currently makes 161 horsepower, and the turbo engine makes 201 horsepower. Kia says the Soul will be available with a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission, though it didn't say whether it will be available with both engines. Also, as we've seen in spy shots, the electric model could have a range of over 200 miles. For trim levels, Kia is dropping the "+" and "!" terminology and instead offering the Soul in LX, EX, S, GT-Line, and the newest trim, X-Line.

Porsche tops J.D. Power quality index as Korean brands soar

While complaints about infotainment systems remain a thorn in the side of automakers for J.D. Power's annual Initial Quality Study, there's a lot to celebrate this year. The average number of problems reported per 100 vehicles fell to 112 in 2015 – a three-percent improvement compared to 116 in 2014. The results of this year's survey are based on the responses of over 84,000 people about problems within the first 90 days of buying or leasing a 2015 model-year vehicle. For the third consecutive year, Porsche tops the rankings with an average of 80 problems per 100 vehicles. Although, that's slightly more than the 74 the German sportscar maker scored in 2014. "While the Japanese automakers continue to make improvements, we're seeing other brands, most notably Korean makes, really accelerating the rate of improvement," Renee Stephens, vice president of US automotive quality at J.D. Power, said in the study's release. In fact, Kia ranks as one of the biggest movers in this year's list. The Korean brand jumped to second place from seventh last year. The company had an average of 86 problems per 100 vehicles, a 20-point improvement. Third place went to Jaguar with an average of 93 problems reported, versus last year's second-place finish with 87 of them. Fourth place was Hyundai, and fifth-place Infiniti also earned a gold star for improvement with 97 issues per 100 vehicles – 31-points better than last year. Fiat still anchored the bottom of the list. However, its 161 problems this year is a lot better than the 206 in 2014. Ranked by nationality, Korean brands (Hyundai and Kia) are now leading the industry in initial quality with an average of 90 problems reported per 100 vehicles. According to J.D. Power, this is the first time Europe's figure beat Japan with 113 and 114 issues, respectively. The American brands also averaged 114. Whereas General Motors dominated last year, the segment awards are spread out in 2015. GM, Hyundai, Nissan, and Volkswagen Group are all tied with four models each earning prizes. For more information, you can also see all of the graphs, here. J.D.