Most people would be hard-pressed to identify a Kia Amanti, Rio or Spectra in a police lineup. Now the South Korean automaker, best known for making plain vanilla economy cars, has opened a new design center in Irvine, part of a strategy to inject more style into its product line.

Unlke the twin kidney grilles of BMW or the three-barred grille of a Ford, there is no signature design cue for a Kia other than its oval badge.”We’ve got a clean sheet of paper,” said Thomas G. Kearns, chief designer at new the Kia America Design Center. “We’re creating our history now.”

Kearns offered the Register the first media tour inside the new $34 million center, which stands next to Kia Motors America’s new $85 million corporate headquarters, near the Jamboree Road exit of I-5. The new center’s grand opening was originally set for June 6, but has been postponed to accommodate the schedules of company executives.

Designed by the architectural firm of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, the center features vast halls with soaring ceilings, bright lighting and state-of-the-art technology where the 32-member design team is already planning new models.

In one room, designers hand-sketch their ideas on computer screens that translate the drawings into mathematical plans. There’s a “virtual reality room,” where the plans are projected onto three floor-to-ceiling screens during critiques.

In another room, an enormous machine uses digital instructions to sculpt full-scale clay models of new vehicle interiors and bodies. Nearby, in a sprawling workshop, red sheets cover five clay models waiting to be unveiled.

Examples of Kias designed in Orange County stand nearby under bright lights – a Borrego SUV, the Koup, Kue and Soul concept cars.

Outside is a walled courtyard, equipped with three turntables so the cars can be seen from all angles under natural light.

As other automakers have seen sales slump this year, Kia has done relatively well, thanks to modest prices, fuel efficiency and 10-year limited warrantees. The company sold a record 30,066 cars nationwide in April, but its total year-to-date sales were off 1.3 percent compared to the first four months of 2007.

Kia also has design studios in South Korea and Germany. Its Orange County team draws members from Germany, China and Korea as well as the United States. Before joining the company in 2004, Kearns worked for General Motors, designing Cadillacs.

Until now, Kia has shared Orange County design studios with its corporate parent and fellow South Korean manufacturer, Hyundai Motor America.

Toyota, Ford, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz and Mitsubishi also have design studios in Orange County, providing a pool of talent that has made Southern California a leading center for new styling, innovations in new materials and adapting vehicles to changing lifestyles.

“Being here in Southern California, you see every make of manufacturer,” Kearns said. “You’ve got the sun and the good weather. The cars look good.” [Source: Ocregister]