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Kia is bringing a fullsize SUV concept to Detroit

Hey, remember the Borrego? Kia took a stab at the fullsize SUV market in 2009 with a body-on-frame SUV, and after only one year of production, the Borrego was discontinued. Bummer. But Kia's apparently interested in rejoining the fullsize SUV segment, and will show the big concept you see here at the Detroit Auto Show next week. That's really all we know right now. Kia only offers a super short statement (that you can read below) confirming its SUV concept was designed in California and features "an abundance of advanced technology," including "state-of-the-art health-and-wellness technology" – whatever that means. It's simply meant to "[suggest] styling of a possible future premium large SUV in the brand's lineup." From this one image, the most noticeable design elements are a rear end that looks surprisingly similar to the Volvo XC90 in profile, and front and rear door handles that flank the B pillar, sort of like a minivan. Should this SUV come to production, we doubt it'll use body-on-frame architecture, since Kia doesn't have anything like that in its current portfolio. Maybe it'll ride on a version of the rear-wheel-drive platform that underpins the fullsize K900 sedan (or the upcoming Genesis G90). At this point, your guess is as good as ours. We'll know more next week. Detroit Concept Teaser #1 Kia Motors America will reveal a new concept car January 11 at the 2016 North American International Auto Show. Conceived at the automaker's California design studio, the concept offers an abundance of advanced technology – including state-of-the-art health-and-wellness technology – and takes Kia's design language in a bold new direction, suggesting styling of a possible future premium large SUV in the brand's lineup.

Weekly Recap: Kia leads Korea's quality surge

The rapid rise of Korea's auto brands in the US market has been apparent on the sales charts for several years, and now it's showing up in an area that's just as crucial: quality. Kia and Hyundai earned the highest rankings among mainstream brands in the J. D. Power Initial Quality Study released on Wednesday. The study tracks problems owners report during the first 90 days they own their car. Kia reported 86 problems per 100 vehicles, or fewer than one problem per car sold, to take second in the rankings behind luxury sportscar-maker Porsche (80). Kia's score improved by nearly 20 percent compared with the 2014 study. "The big industry story is Kia," Renee Stephens, vice president of U.S. automotive quality at J.D. Power, said in a video statement, noting Kia's infotainment systems were the key reason for its improved performance. Hyundai was fourth for the second straight year, though its score actually worsened by one, to 95. Even with Hyundai's slight dip, Korean quality increased 11 percent, according to the study, which far outpaced American and European companies' three-percent increases. Japanese brands improved one percent. Hyundai Motor Co. (parent company of the Hyundai and Kia brands) captured four individual vehicle awards, which tied for the most with General Motors, Nissan, and Volkswagen. "The Korean brands have really taken off," Stephens said. "There's movement in the industry, and the patterns are shifting." Another luxury brand, Jaguar (93 problems), slotted in between Hyundai and Kia in third place. Infiniti was fifth, followed by BMW. Chevrolet was the highest domestic brand, taking seventh place, followed by Lincoln, Lexus, and Toyota, which were all well above the industry average of 112 problems per 100 vehicles. OTHER NEWS & NOTES Kirk Kerkorian dead at 98 Kirk Kerkorian, a billionaire activist investor who wielded enormous influence on the Detroit Three car companies in the 1990s and 2000s, died Monday. He was 98 years old. Kerkorian made headlines in 1995 for trying to take over Chrysler – with the help of former chairman Lee Iacocca – before being fended off by Chrysler management. His takeover attempt ultimately pushed Chrysler to be sold to German giant Daimler. He tried to buy Chrysler again in 2007 when Daimler put Chrysler on the market, but Kerkorian fell short and the automaker was sold to private equity firm Cerberus.

Autoblog's Editors' Picks: Our complete list of the best new vehicles

It's not easy to earn an “EditorsÂ’ Picks” at Autoblog as part of the rating and review process that every new vehicle goes through. Our editors have been at it a long time, which means weÂ’ve driven and reviewed virtually every new car you can go buy on the dealer lot. There are disagreements, of course, and all vehicles have their strengths and weaknesses, but this list features what we think are the best new vehicles chosen by Autoblog editors. We started this formal review process back in 2018, so there's quite of few of them now. So what does it mean to be an EditorsÂ’ Pick? In short, it means itÂ’s a car that we can highly recommend purchasing. There may be one, multiple, or even zero vehicles in any given segment that we give the green light to. What really matters is that itÂ’s a vehicle that weÂ’d tell a friend or family member to go buy if theyÂ’re considering it, because itÂ’s a very good car. The best way to use this list is is with the navigation links below. Click on a segment, and you'll quickly arrive at the top rated pickup truck or SUV, for example. Use the back button to return to these links and search in another segment, like sedans. If youÂ’ve been keeping up with our monthly series of the latest vehicles to earn EditorsÂ’ Pick status, youÂ’re likely going to be familiar with this list already. If not, welcome to the complete list that weÂ’ll be keeping updated as vehicles enter (and others perhaps exit) the good graces of our editorial team. We rate a new car — giving it a numerical score out of 10 — every time thereÂ’s a significant refresh or if it happens to be an all-new model. Any given vehicle may be impressive on a first drive, but we wait until itÂ’s in the hands of our editors to put it through the same type of testing as every other vehicle that rolls through our test fleet before giving it the EditorsÂ’ Pick badge. This ensures consistency and allows more voices to be heard on each individual model. And just so you donÂ’t think weÂ’ve skipped trims or variants of a model, we hand out the EditorsÂ’ Pick based on the overarching model to keep things consistent. So, when you read that the 3 Series is an EditorsÂ’ Pick, yes, that includes the 330i to the M3 and all the variants in between. If thereÂ’s a particular version of that car we vehemently disagree with, we make sure to call that out.