2011 Kia Sedona Lx on 2040-cars

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Dancer who portrays Kia hamster accused of disability fraud

Tsk, tsk, dancing hamster. Kia's trio of anthropomorphic rodents may be down a member, as the actor that portrays one of the dancing hamsters has been arrested on charges of disability fraud. According to The Huffington Post, 27-year-old LeRoy Barnes accepted over $51,000 in disability payments following a workplace injury in 2010. While accepting the money, he's accused of performing under aliases, in addition to his costumed work for Kia. "Fraudulently collecting disability benefits is not only illegal, it disrespects legitimately injured Californians who are unable to work," Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones said in a release obtained by HuffPo. Barnes was arrested back in March and posted $50,000 in bail the following day.

2018 Kia Stinger GT Long-term Update | Addictive power, less addictive response, fuel economy

One of the big draws of our long-term 2018 Kia Stinger GT is its twin-turbo 3.3-liter V6. With 365 horsepower and 375 pound-feet of torque hooked up to a rear-drive-based drivetrain (rear-drive is standard), it's an exciting proposition. In real life it lives up to the promise with only a few minor caveats. First the good stuff: This engine is a real ripper. It feels much, much stronger than the numbers purport. Shove the throttle down and the Kia shoves you back and doesn't let up. Your only reprieve is at redline when it shifts, then the process starts again. This sensation is accessible anywhere in the rev band, too, a benefit of peak torque arriving at just 1,300 rpm. It's an exciting and addictive feeling, and it matches the Stinger's fierce appearance. From the driver's seat, it sounds good but not great. It produces a smooth, deep growl, but it's flat. Other V6s have more of a gargle, or a howl or a shriek that provides personality. The Stinger's V6 sounds generic in contrast. Bystanders won't even get a generic growl, though, as the car is as quiet as a Camry from the outside. On the plus side, keeping the Stinger GT quiet does help it stay peaceful on commutes and road trips, but some kind of electronically adjustable exhaust would really liven up the Stinger GT's soundtrack without sacrificing refinement. In addition to some better pipes, the Stinger GT could use better throttle response. We've become accustomed to wickedly responsive turbo cars nowadays, so it's a little surprising to hop in the Stinger GT and feel a moment's pause before the revs rise and the boost hits. The slow response works the opposite way, too, with acceleration continuing for a moment after releasing the gas pedal. Sport mode helps alleviate the lag, but it never disappears entirely. Still, you can adjust to accommodate the sluggish throttle response, but the Stinger would be an altogether more confidence-inspiring car without it. Finally, when it comes to fuel economy, the Stinger GT meets expectations. The EPA rates it for 17 mpg in the city, 25 on the highway and 20 in combined driving, and almost every entry in our fuel log fits that range. There were a couple refuels that revealed numbers as low as 15 mpg, though our Green Editor John Snyder managed to break 29 mpg on a trip.

Kia builds one millionth vehicle in the US

Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia, Inc. (KMMG), the plant that produces the Kia Sorento crossover and Optima sedan, celebrated today as a Snow White Pearl 2014 Sorento SXL rolled off the assembly line at the 2,259-acre site, marking the one-millionth Kia to be produced on US soil.
Located in West Point, Georgia, KMMG was Kia Motors America's first manufacturing plant in the US and represented an initial investment of $1 billion. The plant started producing the 2011 Sorento on November 16, 2009 and is responsible for the creation of 11,000 jobs in West Point and the surrounding region. Production of the Optima sedan, Kia's best-selling car in the US for the past 18 months, started at the factory in 2011, and, in 2012, the completion of a $100 million expansion upped annual vehicle production capacity to 360,000.
"Building one million vehicles in less than four years is a tremendous achievement and one that each one of our more than 3,000 team members can take great pride in," said Byung Mo Ahn, Group President and CEO for Kia Motors America and KMMG.