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Kia Proceed Concept is like a tiny Stinger GT

Related: We obsessively covered the Frankfurt Motor Show — here's our complete coverage After releasing a teaser recently, Kia has dropped a couple of official photos of its mysterious wagon concept, as well as its official name. It's called the Proceed Concept, and it will set the stage for the next generation of Kia C'eed compact cars, which compete with the Honda Civic, Ford Focus and Volkswagen Golf, among others. What's somewhat unusual about this Proceed Concept is that its name is akin to the current Kia Pro_cee'd (a name that's sure to have every editor pull out a few hairs), which is the two-door hatchback version of the normal Cee'd. This Proceed Concept is very clearly a four-door hatchback, bordering on traditional wagon. Based on what Kia says about the car, they've seen people are more open to alternatives to typical two-door hatches, and thus are considering something different for the future model. We certainly have no qualms with the body style since not only is it a wagon, which as journalists we're practically required to like, but it's a darn good-looking one, too. The whole car sits extremely low over the wheels, and all of the car's lines appear to be drawn back to a taper, evoking a sense of speed and sleekness at rest. It looks sleeker than the already sharp Stinger GT. Aside from the classically pretty lines, it has another very unusual styling feature. The bright outline of the car's greenhouse is not chrome, nor is it white painted trim. It's actually illuminated with something called Luminline. So even at night, the car's rakish roofline will be visible. Of course, since this is the concept for a European-only car, we likely won't see the production model in the States. But just in case someone from Kia is reading, we have a suggestion: Just put a Forte badge on it and sell it here. The average person won't know or care, and it saves you from having to develop a separate model for one market. Think about it. Related Video:

What do J.D. Power's quality ratings really measure?

Check these recently released J.D. Power Initial Quality Study (IQS) results. Do they raise any questions in your mind? Premium sports-car maker Porsche sits in first place for the third straight year, so are Porsches really the best-built cars in the U.S. market? Korean brands Kia and Hyundai are second and fourth, so are Korean vehicles suddenly better than their US, European, and Japanese competitors? Are workaday Chevrolets (seventh place) better than premium Buicks (11th), and Buicks better than luxury Cadillacs (21st), even though all are assembled in General Motors plants with the same processes and many shared parts? Are Japanese Acuras (26th) worse than German Volkswagens (24th)? And is "quality" really what it used to be (and what most perceive it to be), a measure of build excellence? Or has it evolved into much more a measure of likeability and ease of use? To properly analyze these widely watched results, we must first understand what IQS actually studies, and what the numerical scores really mean. First, as its name indicates, it's all about "initial" quality, measured by problems reported by new-vehicle owners in their first 90 days of ownership. If something breaks or falls off four months in, it doesn't count here. Second, the scores are problems per 100 vehicles, or PP100. So Power's 2015 IQS industry average of 112 PP100 translates to just 1.12 reported problems per vehicle. Third, no attempt is made to differentiate BIG problems from minor ones. Thus a transmission or engine failure counts the same as a squeaky glove box door, tricky phone pairing, inconsistent voice recognition, or anything else that annoys the owner. Traditionally, a high-quality vehicle is one that is well-bolted together. It doesn't leak, squeak, rattle, shed parts, show gaps between panels, or break down and leave you stranded. By this standard, there are very few poor-quality new vehicles in today's U.S. market. But what "quality" should not mean, is subjective likeability: ease of operation of the radio, climate controls, or seat adjusters, phone pairing, music downloading, sizes of touch pads on an infotainment screen, quickness of system response, or accuracy of voice-recognition. These are ergonomic "human factors" issues, not "quality" problems. Yet these kinds of pleasability issues are now dominating today's JDP "quality" ratings.

Kia reveals sketches of its millennial-bait compact crossover

Kia has made the splash we had expected back during the New York Auto Show, just now releasing sketches of its coming compact crossover. This will be the production offering based on the SP Signature concept shown at the 2018 Auto Expo in India. It has been specifically "created for the millennial generation" with a "wide range of features and technologies suited to younger buyers," and is somehow promised to offer "the space and capabilities of a traditional SUV in a compact package." The sketches look like artistic versions of the actual concept, given the usual inflations of broad beam and giant wheels. Design traits left untouched from the SP concept include narrow, LED headlights that slide into a reworked "tiger nose" grille. An LED DRL runs almost the entire width of the front fascia, interrupted only by the pinch in the center of the grille. Three-lamp fog lights replace the vertical lights on the concept. In back, LED taillights grasp a chrome accent bar with caliper-like extensions. They further accentuate the already-exaggerated width of the sketch. We have a feeling the production car's plan view will be more in line with the concept, but there will be a touch of sleekness in the raked rear glass. The carmaker also says some of the design cues will show up on other products like the Sorento and Sportage. The compact crossover will launch in South Korea and supposedly India later this year, with other markets to follow. It's won't go on sale in Europe, but a U.S.-market launch should happen with the global rollout, perhaps early next year.