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Kia GT spied looking like a rakish, sexy Forte

Just over four months ago, we told you that Kia would offer a production version of its handsome GT concept. Now, we have images of the svelte new four-door testing in Germany. It looks like we're getting a sexy, rear-drive performance sedan the size of a Kia Forte. And we're pretty stoked. Judging by our spy images, Kia is going to stick pretty close to the concept car's rakish lines. That means more four-door coupe than three-box sedan, which is precisely the kind of thing Kia could use. Beyond the overall shape, the headlights retain the same interesting shape as the concept, albeit in a more production-focused look. They crown a production-spec fascia, with more conventional vertical intakes. In back, the vehicle-spanning taillight element from the concept car appears to have been replaced by a conventional set of lamps – there's camo where the lighting element should be. Speaking of the tail, look at those tailpipes. Few things shout "Rawr, I'm a performance car," like a meaty set of quad exhausts. It's hard to tell here, but the rear fascia looks much more conventional than the GT concept, too, which went with a very aero-intensive design. Under the skin, our spies tell us the GT rides on a shortened version of the rear-drive platform slated to underpin the upcoming Genesis G70 – that backs up the reports that the GT would challenge the BMW 4 Series Gran Coupe. Our most recent report pointed to a range of four and six-cylinder engines from 2.0- to 3.3-liters. Our spies suggest that twin-turbocharged V6 will put out anywhere from 365 to 400 ponies. Obviously, this would be a range-topping model, but what a range-topper it would be. It's like a budget M4. Our best intelligence points to the GT's production debut at the 2016 Paris Motor Show, with an on-sale date in just under a year.

Wards names its 2015 10 Best Interiors list

Wards Automotive has named the winners of its 10 Best Interior awards, covering a wide but affordable array of vehicles. Where last year's list contained two six-figure vehicles, including the $372,800 Rolls-Royce Wraith, this year's is, well, a whole lot more reasonable. The publication lists the Mercedes-Benz C400 at $65,000 (which seems off), making it the most expensive vehicle here. That said, we'd argue that the entire C-Class line deserves to make this year's list, owing to its varied and high-quality selection of materials. The other vehicle to break the $60,000 mark, meanwhile, is the $60,675 Ford F-150 King Ranch, which has 327,000 pounds of leather lining its interior. Only one other German car, the BMW i3, and one other pickup truck, the GMC Canyon, managed to make this year's list. Here's the full list of this year's winners: 2014 BMW i3 ($52,550) 2015 Chrysler 300C Platinum ($51,175) 2015 Ford F-150 King Ranch ($60,675) 2015 GMC Canyon SLT ($40,465) 2015 Honda Fit EX-L ($21,590) 2015 Jeep Renegade Limited ($33,205) 2015 Kia Sedona SXL ($43,295) 2016 Mazda6 Grand Touring ($33,395) 2015 Mercedes C400 ($65,000) 2015 Nissan Murano SL ($41,905) See what we mean about the mainstream vehicles? Not only is there a distinct lack of luxury brands, it's the price of some of the vehicles that surprise. The Honda Fit, Jeep Renegade and Mazda6 are very reasonably priced, especially when you compare Wards price with the starting price. The Renegade Limited starts at less than $25,000, the Mazda at less than $22K and the Fit at under $16,000. Head over to Wards for a more detailed explanation of why each vehicle won. Featured Gallery 2015 Ward's Automotive 10 Best Interiors View 10 Photos News Source: Wards Automotive BMW Chrysler Ford GMC Honda Jeep Kia Mazda Mercedes-Benz Nissan Truck Crossover Hatchback Sedan nissan murano gmc canyon Interior jeep renegade WardsAuto kia sedona wards 10 best interiors mercedes c400

Hyundai quality issues hammer quarterly profit report

SEOUL — South Korea's Hyundai said on Monday it swung to a net loss for July-September, missing market estimates by a wide margin, as costs related to engine quality issues and recalls smashed what would otherwise have been strong earnings. Hyundai, the world's fifth-biggest automaker when combined with affiliate Kia, reported a net loss of 336 billion won ($297.72 million). The average of 12 analyst estimates complied by Refinitiv was 1.2 trillion won in profit. The automaker said it booked 2.1 trillion won to cover charges related to engine defects that increased the risk of stalling and fire. The years-long quality problems have cost Hyundai and Kia nearly $5 billion and left the pair subject to a probe by U.S. authorities over the manner of their recalls. "Third-quarter results reflect engine-related provision expenses as the company took preemptive measures to ensure customer safety and cover any possible future increase in quality-related expenses," Hyundai said in a statement. "We sincerely apologize to our shareholders and investors for having repeated quality cost issues over three quarters since 2018," an executive told an earnings briefing. Operating loss for the third quarter was 314 billion won. Excluding quality costs, the figure would have been 1.8 trillion won profit. Revenue rose 2.3% on year to 27.6 trillion won. Analysts said the operating loss was not as deep as expected as Hyundai enjoyed firm sales in the quarter backed by increased demand in the United States and emerging markets such as India. Its stock rose as much as 4.2% after the announcement versus a 0.3% fall in the benchmark KOSPI in afternoon trade. Related Video: Earnings/Financials Hyundai Kia