2008 Kia Spectra Sx Manual Transmission on 2040-cars

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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.

Kia teases next-gen K5 in South Korea, foreshadows our Optima

Now that the redesigned Hyundai Sonata is down the road burning gas, Kia's loading the next-generation Optima into the chute. The automaker teased the South Korean-market K5 — our Optima — on Facebook, revealing a sedan that will bring a new attitude to the midsize competitor. The sketches largely line up with spy shots we got a couple of months ago, starting with the clamshell hood running down to a narrower, wider tiger nose grille. Two creases in the center of the hood bracket the Kia logo. We can't know what trim is on display in the rendering, but the pictured upper and lower grilles give up the mesh pattern on the current car for horizontal strakes. A pair of DRLs frame the front fascia, the Z-shaped light signature longer and more abstracted than that on the Cadenza sedan.  The profile includes a couple of signature strokes that create a wholly different impression. Moving the side mirrors to the doors emphasizes the sharp takeoff point for the greenhouse, emphasized with a chrome trim strip that could have come off a stretched Aston Martin DB11. Instead of the rear glass behind the C-pillar picking up from the edge of the backlight as on the current car and forming their own profile, the sketch show a faster glass design angled back to follow the shape of the roof. Lower down, the character line in the sketch rises from the front wheel arch to the rear door, then falls sharply to the rear wheel arch. We can't make out this line in any of the spy shots, though. The rear gets a lot edgier. It's possible the chrome greenhouse trim dips around the bottom backlight to form a single line around the car. A short decklid is backed by an integrated lip. A single taillight of dashed LEDs runs across the width, bookended by a tight V shape.  Wholesale change inside stresses the horizontal span. A slightly modified steering wheel sits ahead of a digital dash cluster. A second widescreen sits atop an instrument panel cut by wide, narrow vents and marked by fewer buttons. On the center console, the shifter's replaced with a rotary knob.  A debut could come before the end of the year, the sedan likely a 2021-model-year offering. Engines should mirror Sonata powertrains, consisting of a 1.6-liter four-cylinder and a 2.5-liter four-cylinder shifting through an eight-speed transmission, and a more powerful turbocharged four-cylinder expected to join the lineup.

South Korea assists auto industry struggling with coronavirus fallout

SEOUL —  South Korea said on Monday it would provide logistical and financial support to help its auto industry through the coronavirus crisis, warning of disruptions to supply chains from Europe and the United States. The government said it would speed up customs clearance, arrange freight transportation and provide liquidity support for the industry, which employs about 12% of South KoreaÂ’s workforce, according to official figures. The coronavirus pandemic has led to shutdowns at auto factories and dealerships in the United States and Europe, which are expected to affect South Korean automakers such as Hyundai and Kia. “ItÂ’s time to prepare for the shock of a global demand contraction and European supply issues,” Industry Minister Sung Yoon-mo said in a meeting with parts supplier executives and industry associations, according to a readout from the ministry. “Survival is the most crucial thing in this unprecedented crisis when both demand and supply contract at the same time.” The ministry gave no details on how much liquidity support the government would provide or what form it might take. The assistance is part of 50 trillion won ($39 billion) in emergency financing announced last week to boost the economy. South Korea has reported 8,961 coronavirus cases and 110 deaths from the disease. Hyundai Motor closed its Montgomery, Alabama, assembly plant on Wednesday after an employee there tested positive for COVID-19. It also suspended production at its plants in the Czech Republic and India due to the coronavirus outbreak. Europe and the United States account for about 70% of Korean automakersÂ’ exports, and 54% of Korean parts exports, government data showed. A trade ministry official said South Korean exports would deteriorate in April and May, after rising 10% year-on-year in the first 20 days of March. Car exports rose 13.7% in the period, customs agency data showed on Monday. “For the time being, a drop in exports of cars and auto-parts are inevitable as car factories and dealerships are closing,” Sung said. South Korean automakers had stocked up on inventories which could last up to two months, Sung said. Related Video: Earnings/Financials Government/Legal Plants/Manufacturing Hyundai Kia coronavirus