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2021 Kia Telluride Cargo Area Driveway Test | The cavernous Kia

The 2021 Kia Telluride, which company reps have taken to calling the "Sell-uride" due to its incredible popularity, is one of our favorite three-row crossovers. The Telluride may have been named for a mountain town in Colorado, but one of the key features of a large crossover is its cargo area, which in this case has more in common with another geographical feature. With the second- and third-row seats folded flat, the Telluride's cargo space is positively cavernous.  That said, it's not actually the best stuff-hauler in the segment. That nod goes to GM's three-rows, as we've demonstrated previously, followed by the Volkswagen Atlas. But not being the best doesn't automatically make something bad, and the fact of the matter is that any of these large utility vehicles can accommodate quite a bit of cargo when called upon to do so. Normally, we illustrate this with a luggage test, but since I live alone and travel light, I'm ill-equipped to replicate Autoblog's usual formula. Fortunately for you, dear reader (but definitely not for me), I've had to relocate several times over the past few years, and in the process I've amassed quite the collection of U-Haul boxes. For some more conventional context, I also grabbed a hard-sided cooler (approximately 19 1/2" x 11" x 14") and my carry-on half-duffle (24" x 11" x 9"), the latter packed with some clothes to give it some structure for the purposes of this test. U-Haul's medium-sized moving boxes are conveniently (almost) cube-shaped at 18 1/8" x 18" x 16" (L x W x H), checking in at 3 cubic feet each per the company's description. That's a great figure to have on hand for this test, as it translates nicely to manufacturer specs. Kia says the Telluride has 21 cubic feet of cargo space behind the third row, 46 behind the second and a whopping 87 cubes with everything behind the first row folded flat. That should translate to seven U-Haul boxes behind the third row, 15 behind the second and 29 with everything stowed, right? Well, as often happens, reality dictates otherwise, and we had to throw the whole hypothesis out the window after putting just one box behind the Telluride's third row. While it appears at first glance that at least one box will fit back here since it sits entirely in front of the liftgate sill, we can plainly see that the interior trim on the hatch protrudes too far into the cargo area for it to close.  Seven boxes behind the third row?

Hyundai-Kia dealer offers $180k in gift cards to local residents

In many smaller communities, auto dealers are often major players in the local business and political world, and they interact with large portions of the population. Now, Grand West Hyundai and Grand West Kia in Grand Junction, CO, are putting their marketing dollars to work in a way to help the local economy, while also potentially generating some sales at the same time. Over the next six months, the dealers are contacting about 8,000 previous customers and offering them a gift card worth at least $50 to over 100 of the city's shops and restaurants (pictured above), according to Automotive News. All people need to do to receive the certificate is stop by the showrooms. Hopefully, the visitors would check out a new Hyundai or Kia at the same time. "We'd love to sell them a new car, but it is really a customer-appreciation gesture," said Ken Reeher, the dealers' marketing manager, to Automotive News. The two stores already bought about 3,600 cards with $181,000 going into the local economy. Paying people to come to the showroom isn't really new but generally works well. The Colorado dealers expect around half of the people they contact to visit for the gift card, which is still significantly more foot traffic than from traditional mailings. The decision to keep the cards local also means more money goes to small businesses, and the move gains goodwill in the community, too. News Source: Automotive News - sub. req.Image Credit: Aaron Hoffman Marketing/Advertising Hyundai Kia Car Buying Car Dealers colorado

Hyundai and Kia to invest in self-driving startup Aurora

Hyundai Motor Co said on Thursday it would invest in self-driving car software startup Aurora along with Kia Motors Corp to speed up development of autonomous vehicle technologies. "With the new investment, the companies have agreed to expand research to a wide range of models and to build an optimal platform for Hyundai and Kia's autonomous vehicles," Hyundai said. Aurora said in a blog post that Hyundai and Kia's investment is part of a series B financing round, which has now raised more than $600 million. Aurora, which just announced a partnership with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, competes with Alphabet's Waymo and General Motors' majority-owned Cruise, among others. (Reporting by Rama Venkat in Bengaluru; Editing by Leslie Adler)