Korean brands seek to get beyond cheap, bland

Are Americans ready to pay a premium price for a Hyundai? Can they feel cool in a Kia? 

The two Korean automakers are planning their products to ensure the answers are yes. Hyundai wants more upmarket vehicles in its lineup. Its first effort – the Veracruz crossover, with a sticker price of just over $37,000 for a fully loaded version – went on sale in the spring, so it is too early to judge its success. The second vehicle will be a big, rear-drive, V-8-powered sedan due next summer that will carry a similar price. “We’ve got to make our brand a lot more powerful than inexpensive and long warranty,” says Steve Wilhite, COO of Hyundai Motor America.

Kia, on the other hand, has a design challenge. Its cars are bland, and it wants to be youthful and sporty.“Our next step will be breakthrough design,” says Len Hunt, COO of Kia Motors America. “We’ll get overtaken by the Chinese if we keep doing value and warranty.”In November 2004, Kia snared Tom Kearns from Cadillac, where he was on the team that designed the 2008 CTS sedan. In the fall of 2006, Kia landed Peter Schreyer from Volkswagen AG. Schreyer spent eight years designing Audis, including the TT sports coupe. “Kias don’t stand out when you see them approaching you on the road,” Schreyer says. “I want to give Kia more character.”While Hyundai and Kia are owned by Hyundai Motor, each brand likely will continue to do most of its vehicle development independently. A big exception is fuel cell echnology, on which they will work together.One project apparently has died at both brands. Neither Hyundai nor Kia is considering a pickup truck,” says a Kia company source. “A truck is absolutely off the radar screen.”Here are the 2008-11 model year vehicle plans for Kia.Rio: A freshening is slated for the 2009 model year; a hybrid may arrive for the 2010 model.

Soul: Kia’s new sporty small car goes on sale as a 2009 model. The five-seat, front-drive vehicle will have a 2.0-liter, four-cylinder engine. The Soul will be 159.3 inches long, the same length as the three-door Hyundai Accent hatchback.The car was designed at the Kia design center in California and will be produced in Korea, primarily for the United States. The Soul name came from two influences: It was introduced in Detroit, the home of Motown soul music, and Seoul is the capital of South Korea.

Spectra: No changes are planned for the near future. Optima: A redesign is planned for 2010 model year.

Amanti: Freshened for the 2007 model year. No changes are due in the near future. Rondo: New for the 2007 model year; no significant changes are planned. The small, five-door vehicle comes in five- and seven-seat configurations. Sportage: No major changes are planned.

Mesa: Kia’s first crack at a large SUV is tentatively scheduled to reach U.S. showrooms in the third quarter of 2008 as a 2009 model.Korean models will get a 250-hpV-6 diesel mated with a six-speed automatic transmission. While Kia has officially released information only on the Korean model, U.S. dealers expect to get a V-8 gasoline engine, Kia’s first in the United States.The new SUV is developed on a stretched version of the platform used by the Sorento. The Mesa will have three rows of seats, but it will be shorter than the Hyundai Veracruz.Sedona: Redesigned for the 2007 model year; no major changes are planned for the minivan.Sorento: A redesign is slated for the 2010 model year.

[Source: Automotive news]