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2019 Kia K900 flagship sedan debuts: Reserved luxury reimagined

After those teasers and brochure shots, the 2019 Kia K900 flagship sedan is here in the metal, presented at the New York Auto Show. Kia reminds us that the only thing carried over from the old car is the name, but the car's design is still reserved rather than ostentatious. The information withheld in Kia's K900 news to date was the available powertrain, but it's now announced to have the same 3.3-liter twin turbo V6 as the Stinger. It produces 365 horsepower and 376 pound-feet of torque, and it's paired to an eight-speed, homegrown automatic transmission like in the Stinger. The V6 is the sole engine choice, and likewise the K900 has torque-vectoring all-wheel-drive as standard. The previous generation car was rear-drive, and the Stinger has rear-drive variants, but for the new K900 it's AWD all the way. The system can distribute up to 50 percent of power to the front and as much as 80 percent to the rear. Kia performance chief Albert Biermann says the new K900 is 33 percent stiffer than the outgoing car, for improved ride and handling. In its home market, the K900 will reportedly be available with a five-liter V8, but that's not part of the U.S. portfolio. Inside, the K900's cocoon-like leather and wood interior ambience can be enhanced with its Pantone-assisted mood lighting system. There are seven color settings, which are meant to convey the feel of oceans, forests, skies — and presets can even imitate the aurora borealis. Another feature of the interior lighting is that proximity sensors can brighten the dashboard controls by 20 percent when the driver reaches for the switches. The 12.3-inch HMI touchscreen supports Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and the car's settings can be toggled using a bespoke UVO telematics system. Four cameras provide the driver with a stitched-together 360-degree view of the car's surroundings, and HUD is an option. Driver assists include smart cruise control with lane functions and a driver fatigue monitoring system. In addition to the K900, Kia is also introducing the refreshed-for-2019 Optima and Sedona. The facelifted Optima now comes with optional two-tone sport leather seats, and it shares some of the K900's driver assist systems as standard: collision avoidance and warning, lane keeping assist and driver fatigue monitoring.

Volkswagen Group, BMW Z4 top Total Value Awards by Strategic Vision

It was just nine months ago that Strategic Vision announced its 2011 Total Value Awards, but you don't have to wait until next year for the 2012 awards. The Volkswagen Group keeps its lead as the number one brand, with seven products taking top category spots: Golf, Jetta Wagon, CC, Eos and Audi A3 Wagon, Q5 and Q7. Strategic Vision says "true innovation" - "rich and impactful, intuitive, motivational, in-depth and is able to trigger description by the user in great specificity" - is the open secret of the brands with the strongest showings. Results are culled from 77,153 owners covering more than 350 new cars bought between September of 2011 and 2012 ranked in the Total Value Index (TVI).
Other notable winners are Hyundai-Kia following VW in the brand category and having the Hyundai Elantra and Kia Sorento among category winners, the BMW Z4 taking the premium roadster category and the highest overall score of any vehicle, the Chevrolet Volt continuing to gather silverware in the Special Category, nabbing the second-highest score of all and representative of "nearly perfect innovation," and Chrysler and Dodge being most improved.
Check out the press release below for your day's dose of jargon and all the winners.

New Ford Mustang incoming; driving the Tesla Model S Plaid | Autoblog Podcast #746

In this episode of the Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Road Test Editor Zac Palmer. We're fast approaching the reveal of the 2024 Ford Mustang, and we talk about what we know so far. We also discuss what's next for the Chrysler 300, McLaren is mulling an electric crossover, we've got more Civic Type R details, and Mitsubishi's Ralliart sub-brand is making its return to America. We've been driving a Tesla Model S Plaid, Kia Sportage X-Pro and Kia EV6, and we give our final thoughts on our long-term loan of a Hyundai Palisade. Finally, we dip into the mailbag to help a listener choose a new sporty car in the "Spend My Money" segment. Send us your questions for the Mailbag and Spend My Money at: Podcast@Autoblog.com. Autoblog Podcast #746 Get The Podcast Apple Podcasts – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes Spotify – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast on Spotify RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Rundown Everything we know about the 2024 Ford Mustang 2023 Chrysler 300 updated. What's next? McLaren pulls U-turn, now mulling (possibly electric) luxury crossover 2023 Honda Civic Type R power figures and more revealed Ralliart returns to America for 2023 Cars we're driving Tesla Model S Plaid (and what the interior looks like after 19,000 miles) Kia Sportage X-Pro Kia EV6 Hyundai Palisade Spend My Money Feedback Email – Podcast@Autoblog.com Review the show on Apple Podcasts Autoblog is now live on your smart speakers and voice assistants with the audio Autoblog Daily Digest. Say “Hey Google, play the news from Autoblog” or "Alexa, open Autoblog" to get your favorite car website in audio form every day. A narrator will take you through the biggest stories or break down one of our comprehensive test drives. Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Green Podcasts Chrysler Ford Hyundai Kia McLaren Mitsubishi Tesla Coupe Crossover SUV Electric Future Vehicles Luxury Performance Sedan