carscoop: Kia

Showing posts with label Kia. Show all posts

Hyundai Increases US Production by 19 Percent to Keep Up with Demand and Offset Import Losses

Having many cars on the parking lot and little or no customers is any dealer’s nightmare. On the other hand, not having enough cars to satisfy the clients that walk into your dealership is something of a problem, too.

Hyundai North America CEO John Krafcik said that the company, which currently has difficulties keeping up with demand due to a tight inventory, will increase U.S production by 19 percent from September until year’s end compared to the same period in 2011.

U Spy: Looks Like the 2014 Kia Cadenza will Receive a Facelift for North America

We are approaching the three-year mark since Kia released the K7 sedan in its home market of South Korea and in other regions as the Cadenza, and even though the mid-size saloon was slated for a North American launch at the end of 2011, it has yet to reach U.S. and Canadian showrooms.

Last year, two eagle-eyed CarScoop readers each spotted a completely undisguised version of the Cadenza on U.S. highways. While Kia officially remains silent about the car's North American debut, Autonews recently reported that the Cadenza will go on sale next summer as a 2014 model.

This brings us to these photos of a disguised Cadenza prototype nabbed on camera by CarScoop reader Sach M. in Colorado.

New Kia Carens Compact Minivan Sketched Once Again

For the second time this summer, Kia is teasing the upcoming Carens compact MPV with a set of sketches that were released in advance of the car's world premiere at the Paris Motor Show in September.

These three drawings outline the shape of the actual minivan and include realistic depictions of the lights and the front grille, all of which remind us of the Cee'd compact, which forms the base for the new Carens and will also lend its engine lineup of 1.4-liter and 1.6-liter petrol and diesel engines.

Kia Soul Hamsters Bring Down the Opera House in Brand-New Commercial

The hip-hop Hamsters are back with a new TV spot for the 2013 model year edition of the Kia Soul small crossover.

The campaign is named "Bringing Down the House" and it will make its debut on some 18,000 movie screens on Friday, August 3 with television airings to begin with MTV's Video Music Awards on September 6.

For the impatient ones, Kia has just unleashed the full-length (1 minute and 31 seconds) version on the web, which you can watch for yourself right past the break.

Crazy Slovakians Building a Rear Engine, RWD Version of the Kia Cee'd [w/Video]

We guess you can call this one of the wildest Kia Cee'd hatchback tunes in the world. Built by Mito Motorsports, this insane version of the first generation of Kia's compact model packs a rear-mounted turbocharged diesel engine that drives the rear wheels.

It's still a work in progress, but the racing specialist from Slovakia, which also happens to be the home of Kia's European assembly plant that manufactures the Cee'd, has already transferred the compact model's 2.0-lter turbo diesel engine from the front end to the rear end of the car.

Woman's Kia Sorento Gas Pedal gets Stuck Sending her on a 120mph Horror Ride

Given the sticky situation she was in, Lauri Ulvestad of Ames, Iowa, should consider herself extremely lucky for making it out alive when the accelerator pedal of her 2011 Kia Sorento crossover got jammed as she was driving up Interstate 35 in Missouri last week.

The 47-year old woman told KCCI-TV in Des Moines that she tried everything from turning off the key, to shifting out of drive and slamming on the brakes, but nothing worked.

"I knew I was going to die," said Ulvestad. "I didn't have any doubt about. I really thought I was going to die ... and no matter what I did, I couldn't slow it down."

Scoop: Kia Finishing Work on New 2014 Soul, Could be Joined by Two More Body Styles

The Soul has proved to be a major sales success for Kia, especially in the U.S. where it's the South Korean automaker's second bestselling model with 73,698 deliveries in the first seven months of the year (up 13.2 % from the same period in 2011), trailing only the Optima, which sold 86,475 cars.

One of the Soul's main selling points is its boxy looks, and that's a recipe Kia is not willing to change as proved by these fresh spy shots of the next generation of the compact model.

These images suggest that while the new Soul likely rides on a slightly longer wheelbase and has grown in length, the basic shape and styling characteristics of the urban crossover remain unchanged.

Some things that stand out on this prototype is the re-sculptured profile and the updated front and rear ends that appear to borrow certain design cues from the Track'ster Concept shown at the Chicago Auto Show earlier this year.

Kia Starts Production of New Cee’d Sportswagon in Slovakia, New 3-Door Pr_Cee'd to Follow in 2013

Mass production of Kia's all-new Cee’d Sportswagon has begun at the company's manufacturing plant in Zilina, Slovakia, with first deliveries in Europe scheduled for late September.

The new generation of the Cee’d Sportswagon was introduced alongside the five-door hatchback model that has already gone on sale, at the Geneva Motor Show this past March.

Kia Announces 2013 Sorento Facelift for Europe, Releases More Details

As anticipated, the refreshed 2013 Kia Sorento SUV will make its world premiere at the upcoming Paris Motor Show in France this September.

While Kia didn't release any new pictures this time (the ones you see here are and which accompanied the press blurb are the same as the ones shown in June), the Korean company provided information about the changes under the hood.

Kia Blows the Box Open on New 2014 Forte / K3 / Cerato Compact Sedan [Photos & Videos]

As soon as Kia placed the new K3 compact sedan at a mall in its home market of South Korea, we knew it was only a matter of time before the automaker would blow the covers or in this case, the box off the compact sedan model.

The first thing you need to know about the K3 is that it is a global model with the alphanumeric moniker used only in Korea where it goes on sale this fall.

In the first quarter of 2013, the sedan will begin arriving in North American dealerships as the 2014 Forte and in other markets as the new Cerato, with coupe and hatchback variants to follow in due time. We still do not know if Kia has plans to sell the compact saloon model in Europe.

2014 Kia Forte / K3 Sedan: New Photos, Video and Live Camera Feed

Kia is ramping up a campaign that will lead to the unveiling of the all-new Kia K3 compact saloon, which we will come to know as the 2014 Forte in North America and the new Cerato in other overseas markets.

After the release of two drawings and a batch of teaser images earlier this week, Kia has a new promotional trick up its sleeve as it brought the K3 sedan to a mall in South Korea. The compact model is enclosed in a puzzle-like box with openings to allow by passers to catch a glimpse of the car.

Real Life Pictures of the New 2014 Kia Forte / Cerato / K3 Sedan

After the release of two teaser sketches on Monday, Kia dropped the first real-life images of its upcoming compact sedan that will be sold under a trio of different names around the world.

In North America, it will be offered as the 2014 Forte, while in Australia, Brazil and other overseas markets as the new Cerato, and in Kia's home market of South Korea, as the K3 alongside the K5 (Optima), K7 (Cadenza) and K9 (Quoris)

All-New Kia Carens / Rondo Minivan to Bow at the Paris Motor Show

With the promise to combine "sporty looks with spacious functionality and an emotional appeal", Kia will perform the world premiere of the all-new Carens MPV, a successor to the minivan sold as the Rondo in North America up until 2010, at the Paris Motor Show on September 27.

The new generation of the Carens makes use of a modified version of the Cee'd's platform shared with the Hyundai i30 (called the Elantra GT in North America) and at least in Europe, it will likely be offered with 1.4-liter and 1.6-liter petrol and diesel engines.

All-New 2014 Kia Forte / Cerato Compact Sedan Closely Modeled After the Cee'd gets Teased

The Kia Forte, also known as the Cerato in some countries including Australia and Brazil, has only been in the market in sedan form since 2008, with the Coupe variant following in 2009 and the five-door hatchback in 2010, but the Korean automaker is ready to move forward and present its successor.

The new generation of the Forte sedan is teased in these official renderings ahead of a launch in its home market of Korea under the new name 'K3'(domestic market only) and possibly a U.S. debut either at the Los Angeles Auto Show in November or the Detroit Motor Show in January of 2013.

Kia said that after the Forte sedan goes on sale in Korea, it will appear in many overseas markets during the first quarter of 2013, and will be followed by the five-door hatchback and two-door coupe variants.

Kia K9 Flagship Sedan Named Quoris for Export Markets [w/Videos]

The new Kia K9 rear-wheel drive luxury sedan will be named Quoris for markets outside of South Korea when it goes on sale in select countries worldwide from the fourth quarter of 2012.

The automaker won't tell us yet which markets will get the new Quoris but it's more or less a given that it will be offered in North America and Western Europe.

Thomas Oh, Kia’s Executive Vice President, explains how the company coined the named Quoris:

"Derived from the English words ‘core’ and ‘quality’, the name of our new flagship sedan hints at the attributes at the very heart of the vehicle. The word ‘Quoris’ conveys solidity, luxury and high-technology, all resonating together as a chorus."

New Range-Topping Kia Sportage KX-4 with a More Powerful Diesel Engine for the UK

When automakers announce a new top-of-the-range edition of one of their current models, it usually translates to added equipment and perhaps some new features but nothing much else.

In the case of the new UK market Kia Sportage KX-4, however, alongside the more improved level of specification, the South Korean automaker has also added a higher output turbodiesel engine.

Listen to This Ford Festiva Running a 1,340cc V-Twin Harley Davidson Engine!

As one of the lower points in Ford Motor Corp.'s history, the first generation of the Mazda-designed Festiva hatchback built from 1986 to 1993 (also sold as the Mazda 121 and Kia Pride) is not the kind of car that you would expect to excite a petrol head at a car meet.

Unless, of course, there's something odd lurking behind its plain Jane-looking snout, as was the case of this modified Festiva that was filmed by Carscoop reader Martin B. a few years back.

2014 Kia Sorento Receives its Video Debut in South Korea, Plus First Interior Shots

As you would expect, Kia is showing more of its revamped Sorento crossover in its home market of South Korea where the current generation is marketed as the Sorento R.

While the engine range differs from country to country (for example, Europe gets a 194hp / 197PS 2.2-liter turbo diesel while North America a 276hp 3.6-liter V6 gasoline, in addition to the 2.4-liter petrol offered in both regions), the styling is more or less the same sans some very minor differences.

That said, the design changes are common for all markets, which brings us to these latest photos that afford us our first look at the facelifted Sorento's interior.

The latest iteration of the Sorento, which will be sold as a 2014MY in the States, features a redesigned LCD instrument cluster plus a new center console with a 7-inch display screen and more modern and upscale controls for the audio and air conditioning systems.

Kia Officially Reveals Refreshed 2014 Sorento SUV

Ending several months of spy shots and close ups of prototype models, Kia today officially lifted the covers off the facelifted Sorento crossover that will be sold in the U.S as a 2014 model.

The mid-cycle refresh brings a host of improvements that include styling and equipment upgrades as well as what Kia is describing as a "re-engineered bodyshell" and "a new chassis".

The exterior changes are concentrated on the two ends with Kia’s designers having created new headlamps with LED positioning lights, a re-styled tailgate with LED taillights, and re-sculptured front and rear bumpers with vertical-axis fog lights, plus a new selection alloy wheel designs up to 19-inches in size.

2014 Kia Sorento Crossover's Updated Looks are a Secret No More

The refreshed for the 2014 model year Kia Sorento has been inadvertently revealed early as a completely undisguised model was photographed (allegedly) in its home market of South Korea.

The obvious bodywork changes concern the redesigned fascia with new headlights sporting "eyebrow" accents on top, a wider upper grille that now extends to the lights and a new front bumper with different air vents and upright fog lamps.