2013 Kia Optima Lx on 2040-cars

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Hyundai spooks investors by paying $10B for new Gangnam HQ location

Doing things Gangnam style apparently costs a serious chunk of change, because Hyundai is reportedly paying roughly $10 billion for 19.6 acres (79,342 square meters) of land in the trendy district of Seoul, South Korea, to serve as the location for its new headquarters. That eye-popping number represents the highest amount ever paid for a plot of land in South Korea, according to Reuters. The hefty price tag reportedly scared investors enough for stock prices to sink dramatically.
Shareholders were apparently upset because the massive outlay could instead have been put back into the company for research and development or other improvements. Instead, the company reportedly bid triple the land's appraised value, says Reuters. The announcement caused Hyundai's stock price to plummet a massive 9 percent, and there were losses from Kia and the company's parts arm, as well. All told, the three of them lost nearly $8 billion in value from the falling share prices - almost enough to pay for the controversial land.
Hyundai currently has its headquarters on the outskirts of Seoul, but seems keen to move to the high-end Gangnam district to show off its rising status. It plans to build a new office complex, hotel, convention center and theme park on the site. According to an analyst speaking to Reuters, that could all cost an additional $6 billion to complete.

2021 Kia Stinger engine details revealed, and it's getting more power

Powertrain details on the updated Kia Stinger are out, and the theme is more power. We got to see the revised looks a couple of weeks ago, but the information out of Korea today completes the picture of what the Stinger will soon look like. Kia is adding a new 2.5-liter turbocharged four-cylinder to the lineup that makes more power than the old 2.0-liter turbo. The 2.5-liter engine is also exclusive to the North American market. Kia didn’t explicitly say it was dropping the smaller four-cylinder here, but itÂ’s no stretch to assume the less powerful engine will disappear once the new cars begin to ship. This 2.5-liter makes 300 horsepower and 311 pound-feet of torque, which is a big step up from the 255 horses and 260 pound-feet of torque produced by the 2.0-liter. The new engine produces peak torque between 1,650 and 4,000 rpm. Kia doesnÂ’t brag about better acceleration numbers, but itÂ’s surely quicker than before. Next up is the V6 in the Stinger GT. Kia stays the course with the 3.3-liter twin-turbo V6 in this case, but itÂ’s added a new electronic exhaust valve system that unlocks more noise and three extra horsepower. This leaves the final figures at 368 horsepower and 367 (unchanged) pound-feet of torque. Kia says thereÂ’s a small butterfly valve in the exhaust that opens in Sport driving modes, but remains closed in Comfort and Eco. A better exhaust note is one thing we badly wanted out of our long-term Kia Stinger GT. Finally, Kia has an answer — we canÂ’t wait to hear it. ThereÂ’s no change in transmission for the Stinger. All models will continue to come standard with an eight-speed automatic. Both rear-wheel drive and all-wheel drive will be available for both the four-cylinder and GT models, too. In addition to the powertrain news, Kia has detailed new driver assistance systems available on the updated Stinger. Kia added its Highway Driving Assist tech, which weÂ’ve found to be extremely capable of tracing lines around corners on the highway in other Kias. The Blind-Spot Monitor that debuted in the Telluride is also onboard this year — it displays a video feed of your blind spot in the digital instrument cluster when you put your turn signal on. Other new systems include Lane Following Assist, Rear Occupant Alert and Safe Exit Warning. Several other systems are updated with enhanced functionality, too. WeÂ’re unsure of when this Stinger will make it to our shores, but sales are scheduled to commence in Korea sometime in the third quarter.

LeBron James ad claims $10M fan bet proving he drives K900

As one of the nation's most famous and top paid professional athletes, LeBron James' Kia K900 sponsorship has always left us suspicious to its sincerity. The basketball player could buy any other vehicle in the world but claimed to be a fan of Kia's rear-wheel drive sedan even before he signed up as the brand's pitchman. While no weirder than many other NBA auto ads, the idea is still hard to believe. The company now wants to challenge the cynics with a three-commercial campaign called The Truth that stars King James responding to actual tweets about him driving the K900. The first commercial titled Ten Mil (above) starts with James checking Twitter and finding a skeptic that bets $10 million that the player doesn't drive the K900 to games. Since that's not the case, James confirms that a wager on social media is a binding contract and hops in the Kia with an armored car following him to go pick up the cash. However, the spot misses the mark slightly because we still only have James' word that he really takes the Kia to games Once the spots start airing, you can bet Cleveland fans start keeping an eye on how the player arrives to Quicken Loans Arena. It better be in the K900 for this campaign to work. LEBRON JAMES TELLS "THE TRUTH" ABOUT DRIVING HIS KIA K900 LUXURY SEDAN 11-Time NBA All-Star Responds To Real Tweets in New Ad Campaign First of three spots from "The Truth" campaign will begin airing on TV tonight and can be viewed at Kia.com and YouTube.com/Kia Multiplatform campaign will run through the remainder of basketball season and includes television, digital and social media elements IRVINE, Calif., December 3, 2015 – Last year, when LeBron James Tweeted "Rolling around in my K900. Love this car!!" and later stated he was a K900 driver before becoming Kia Motors' luxury ambassador, naysayers took to social media to question the validity of his claims. Now, with sales of Kia's rear-drive luxury sedan up considerably over 2014 levels, the 11-time NBA All-Star and avid car collector is tackling that skepticism head-on to prove the K900 is in fact "Fit For A King" in a new ad campaign from Kia Motors America (KMA).