2013 Kia Soul on 2040-cars

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Kia and Amazon team up to sell at-home electric charging stations

Amazon really wants to be the one-and-only destination you go to for online shopping, and it's edging a little further into the car world with its latest partnership. Kia is teaming with the online retail giant to sell and install Level 2 chargers for your home. To buy the chargers on offer, you'll need to own/lease an electric or plug-in Kia, or at least have one on order. That includes the Niro EV, Soul EV, Niro PHEV and Optima PHEV. Amazon has previously partnered with Audi to offer installation services is preparation for the E-Tron rollout, but this version of the program is framed differently and meant for Kia owners. This is being done in an attempt to make buying and installing these kind of chargers easier. Most folks know and understand Amazon, so buying everything you might need to get an electric car charger up and running from them could be a comforting process. The benefit to this way of acquiring a 240-volt charger is that Amazon sets up the whole installation process. It'll call out an electrician to inspect your house to see if any changes need to be made to support it, then install the charger. A choice of three Level 2 car chargers are being sold through this partnership. The brands include Bosch, ChargePoint and JuiceBox, ranging from most to least expensive respectively. Access to a Level 2 electric car charger will make your life with an electric car all the better. The 2020 Soul EV (shown below) and 2019 Niro EV both get to a full charge in a little more than nine hours on a Level 2 plug versus a long 59-hour wait from a Level 1 charger. You can get by with Level 1 sometimes, but getting home on a depleted battery late at night then leaving early in the morning doesn't work. In these situations, juice at a faster rate is deeply needed. The chargers are available for purchase now. 2020 Kia Soul EV View 11 Photos

2018 Kia Stinger GT Long-Term Update | Shake, rattle and roll

I look forward to the Detroit Auto Show almost every year. I moved out west, so traveling back for the show offers me a chance to visit the place I grew up, to see what some automakers are bringing to the roads in the upcoming year and to drive some of the long-termers that call our Birmingham office home. This year, that meant our sporty fastback, the Kia Stinger GT. As a senior video producer, I don't pack lightly. There's tons of photo and video equipment to haul around in addition to my luggage. Although the Stinger's hatchback cargo area has plenty of space, I still needed the back seat, which isn't as spacious as I expected for such a large car. Confirming that, when I offered to drive my family around, they took one look at the back seat and instead chose to sit in the third row of their Buick. Our Stinger is also shockingly red. The exterior is a gorgeous shade named HiChroma Red, but the interior's Nappa leather is red, too. This is a bit much for me and apparently I'm not alone since this combo is no longer available for 2019. After getting over the color, though, I found the interior to be quite comfortable. Both the front seats and steering wheel are heated, which is a blessing in frigid January Michigan weather. My only gripe is that, even on freshly paved Michigan roads, the rear window tends to rattle. Speaking of unwanted noises, after only 10,000 miles, the Stinger has a creak in the front passenger side door that can only be described as painful. I had been warned ahead of time by Associate Editor Reese Counts, but I was still taken aback by how bad it is. Expect an update on a potential remedy to that soon. The roads in western Michigan look nothing like those on the state's east side, with twisty, modestly hilly roads in favor of the flat, grid-like structures typical of Metro Detroit and other eastern cities. This made driving the Stinger a real treat. Its 365 horsepower and 376 pound-feet of torque is refreshing, and the eight-speed automatic disappears into the background, almost unnoticeable, which is the way I prefer automatic transmissions to perform. The Stinger's 3.3-liter twin-turbo V6 sounds quite good, too. Starting it up every morning put a smile on my face. A price of $46,620 may seem like a lot to pay for a Kia, but the Stinger feels worth it. That said, the MSRP isn't the only high cost associated with this car.

Car dealership gives man a new car after his is tagged with racist graffiti

Update: The Facebook post from the passerby mentioned is no longer available, and has been removed from the text. A man in Arkansas who found his pride and joy broken into and covered in racist graffiti has a new set of wheels, thanks to one generous car dealership. Reshod Johnson left his car parked outside of his place of work for just 15 minutes last week while he retrieved chairs for his son's third birthday party. When he returned, he found his belongings scattered across the street and racist terms spray painted on his car. "I just don't understand it. I don't do anything to hurt anybody," Johnson told THV11. "I don't go out looking for trouble." A friend spotted two white men fleeing the scene in a red truck. He made a police report, but as a full time student and former veteran with Christmas around the corner and a three-year-old at home, money is tight. Johnson made the painful decision to continue to drive his 2006 Nissan with the hateful messages intact, though he was keeping his young son away from it. "We're supposed to have advanced past this and to serve the country and to serve for everyone and to fight for rights and freedom for everyone and for this to happen, it's like a slap in the face and makes you wonder for what," Johnson told THV. When a passerby saw the damage, she became emotional and posted about the incident on Facebook. According to 9news.com, the post drew a ton of help and attention to Johnson's story. Steve Landers Kia saw Johnson's story and decided to help. They donated a new ride to Johnson just in time for Christmas. They said it was the least they could do for a veteran who experienced horrific random hate. "Times are hard out here and he's a veteran," an employee for Steve Landers Kia told 9News.com. "We're just trying to help the community out."Related Video: Weird Car News Kia Maintenance Ownership Safety vandalism veterans graffiti racism