The multitude of Forte spy shots we have seen lately, tell us that the automaker is getting closer to a final, finished product that will most likely be unveiled very soon. As most of you already know, the new Forte is just around the corner, and it is expected to be released in Korea within the next few days.

Latest Kia models, such as cee’d and Borrego, have shown a significant progress that Kia has made not only to exterior of it’s cars, but also inside. The Korean automaker is slowly and progressively ditching it’s cheap and cheerful reputation of making unappealing car interiors and each of the new cars features more exciting design with higher quality materials used inside.

The Forte interior, as well as exterior, has been covered extensively for the past few weeks, therefore I decided to put eight most popular Forte articles up here so you can scan through the tons of Forte information.

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I just found some new Forte videos and I wanted to show them to you as well. These are probably the first videos of the Forte interior on the web.

As we already know, the Forte boasts several new features unprecedented in the compact class, including a voice-activated navigation system and a push-button start with smart key entry. Another interesting feature you can find inside the Forte are the supervision cluster gauges. You can check these videos to see the cluster gauges in daylight and at night. I hope you enjoy all of them.

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Kia Motors announced it will unveil its latest small-sized sedan model, the Forte, at its headquarters in South Korea next week. The first official images Kia released about a month ago revealed attractive exterior design that draws heavily on the style of the recently revealed Koup concept. 

So far, you could have seen plenty of exterior spy shots, but thanks to our regular blog reader from South Korea, you can now take a look inside the car. These latest spy shots reveal the cabin of the new Forte that retains many of the shapes and styling cues from the interior of the Koup concept.

The Forte will be available as a four-door sedan at first, but you can expect to see a sporty two-door model to be launched sometime in May 2009, Kia said. At the beginning customers will only have a choice of 1,6L (124 horsepower) engine, but the engine lineup will be extended to a 2.0-liter one by the end of the year, the automaker also said.

Kia expects the Forte to attract a younger target audience, and will also help the manufacturer reach its goal of doubling its global sales tally by 2010 by offering customers a more upmarket and stylish range of models.

Check out the gallery below for some great spy shots of the Forte interior.

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New images of the 2010 Kia Sorento

Last week, we showed you some great shots of the VG sedan beeing caught while testing in the Death Valley. But that was not the sole Kia vehicle that spy photographers snapped at the same location. The mysterious VG sedan had some company in American South West. It was joined by Soul and heavily camouflaged Sorento crossovers.

Next generation Sorento gets new styling and no doubtly follows the design direction boldly signposted by the Kue concept, that was first shown at Detroit Auto Show in 2007.

Unlike the current model, the 2010 Kia Sorento will not be a proper BOF SUV. In a bid of more car-like feel, the new Sorento will abandon its current body-on-frame chassis configuration in favor of a unibody platform that offers sharper driving dynamics but impacts on the vehicle’s towing capabilities. Towing capacity on the 2010 Sorento is expected to drop from 3500 kg (current Sorento) to around 2800 kg.

Our early reports suggested that Kia will debut the all-new 2010 Sorento at one of the auto shows in USA, but now, we have been confirmed that the world premiere for the new Sorento will be held at Geneva Motor Show in March next year. It is expected to arrive into the dealer’s showrooms by the end of 2009 as a 2010 model. (more…)

I see plenty of battered pickups up by Fenton, Michigan – but I don’t often catch Kia prototypes roaming the freeway. That changed the other night, when I briefly caught a 2010 Kia Soul cruising along M-23. From a long ways back, I almost didn’t recognize the Soul.  Yes, I’ve seen the photos that Kia released before its upcoming launch in Paris, and I’ve also seen the Soul concepts from the 2008 Geneva show in person.  Still, from a few car lengths away, the car looks bigger and bulkier – perhaps almost like an SUV – from behind. Read more!

The US online magazine Post-gazette had an interview with Chief Designer of Kia Design Center America, Mr. Tom Kearns, during the grand opening of the new state-of-the-art Kia Design Center America.

Prior to joining Kia, Tom worked for GM, where he oversaw the design and development of the Cadillac CTS. When he joined Kia, he was hired as a chief designer. Since then, he created some of the best looking Kia concept cars including the original Soul concept, award winning KUE crossover and the stunning Kia KOUP concept.

Here are some key points out of the interview:

- Chiefs in Korea realize that design is one of the key components that Kia needs to become one of the leading automotive brands.

- At the moment, some Kia cars lack more personality.

- The future design will be more emotional.

- The Soul has a big fun factor to it and is something that’s different. Hopefully, it’s something that you look at and find desirable to own and drive.

- The KOUP is designed to be a very affordable front-wheel-drive sporty coupe that could get a turbocharged four-cylinder engine.

Proceed here to read the interview.

The current Sportage has regularly been one of the Europe’s best selling compact SUVs. Since its introduction in 2004, more than 125,000 units have been sold to European consumers. To keep it’s sales numbers on the rise, Kia has updated the exterior and interior of its European-made Sportage SUV.

The 2009 brings a host of new changes to the exterior of 2009 Sportage. It receives a more “performance styling look” with new radiator grille, reshaped headlights and sportier bumper in front, while rear bumper and tail-lights also benefit from subtle change. Redesigned 17-inch alloy wheels make up the tweaks outside.

Power continues to come from Kia’s clean and efficient 2,0L diesel engine. The four-cylinder turbodiesel received an upgrade and now packs more horsepower, runs quieter and delivers even lower fuel consumption. The engine now produces 10 extra horsepower for a total of 150, while its previous edition “only” had 140 hp.

The freshened Sportage goes on sale shortly after it makes a European debut at the Paris Auto Show in October.

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Kia Motors Corporation announced its global sales (export sales, domestic sales and sales from overseas plants) of passenger cars, recreation vehicles (RVs) and commercial vehicles in July 2008 recorded 122,230, representing a 24.1% year-on-year increase.

So far in 2008, Kia’s best selling model in overseas markets has been the C-segment Cerato -known as Spectra in some markets- with 124,058 units sold. It is followed by a close group of three vehicles: the B-segment Rio at 94,340, the C-segment cee’d at 91,857 and Kia’s Sportage compact SUV at 87,547. Meanwhile the A-segment Picanto continues to perform well with 61,498 units sold.

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2010 Kia VG spy shots

Kia’s near luxury sedan, codenamed VG, has caught the lens of photographers while undergoing some endurance testing in the heart of Death Valley, California and these latest spy shots reveal some nice design cues at front and rear fascias of the upcoming Kia sedan.

Front of the car sports a large “tiger-nose” grille and elongated projector front lamps, while side profile promises to have a sporty look with strong side character line. This particular prototype still wears heavy camouflage, but you can clearly see some stylish (similar to Jaguar XK) LED tail lights and dual chrome exhaust pipes that nicely integrate into the bumper at the rear.

For some of our new readers that might not have seen our previous spy report, the VG sedan is an all-new near luxury Kia model, similar to Toyota Avalon or Hyundai Azera. It is based on the new FWD platform that will also be used by Hyundai Motor Company for its next generation Azera.

The upcoming Kia VG sedan will be positioned between mid-sized Optima and Amanti sedans and is not expected to replace any of existing Kia models in the range. Some sources state that VG sedan has been developed to succeed the slow-selling Amanti flagship, but future Kia product plan, that leaked to public not so long ago, reveals Kia is developing even larger model to replace its flagship (Amanti) model.

Since the VG sedan is still about a year away, Kia has not yet released any powertrain details, but we can speculate VG to have a range of engines borrowed from Hyundai Azera and Genesis RWD sedan. Expect to see the second generation 2,4L Theta as an entry-level engine option and a pair of V6 engines, ranging from 3,3L to 3,8L, under the hood. It’s sales is scheduled to commence in the second half of 2009.

Check out the latest spy shots of the 2010 Kia VG!

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Kia Motors America announced its best July ever with record sales of 28,021 units, an increase of 5.0 percent over the same period last year, and year-to-date sales of 185,640 units, an increase of 2.5 percent over the same period last year.

Sportage had its best month of the year with 4,035 units, a 6.2 percent increase over the same period last year, while Spectra had strong sales of 5,910 units. Rio and Optima both had increases of 22.1 percent and 49.1 percent respectively over the same period last year with 3,707 and 6,258 units sold.

“For the fourth month in a row Kia has achieved record sales, something rare for the auto industry in 2008. During this difficult economic time, consumers are looking for quality vehicles that are fuel efficient and offer great value – for this they are heading to Kia dealerships.” said Byung Mo Ahn, group president and CEO of KMA and Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia (KMMG). [Source: Kia Motors America] (more…)

Kia Motors hat weitere Details und Bilder des neuen Kia Soul veröffentlicht, der am 2. Oktober 2008 auf dem Pariser Salon seine Weltpremiere feiert (Pressekonferenz: 16.45 Uhr, Halle 5, Stand 520). Das auf einen städtischen Lebensstil zugeschnittene Crossover-Modell kommt im Februar 2009 europaweit in den Handel.

Das Steilheckmodell mit der hohen Dachlinie und dem großen Radstand (2,55 Meter) sticht ins Auge, nicht zuletzt wegen seiner vertikalen Maße: Der Fünftürer misst in der Höhe 1,61 Meter. Ebenfalls deutlich höher als bei einem durchschnittlichen Kompaktwagen sind beim Kia Soul die Basis der Frontscheibe (plus 13,5 Zentimeter) und die Hüftpunkte (plus 12 Zentimeter). Die Bodenfreiheit ist um 4,5 Zentimeter größer.

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