Kia pro_cee’d BTCS development completed. The stunning looking race-car hits the test track for the first time. 

Taken during the first practice sessions over the last weekend, these exclusive images prove that works and development on Kia’s BTCS pro_cee’d race-car have been finalized. The result of a hard and dedicated work, conducted by Chad Racing engineers, is this absolutely stunning Kia race car, which took engineers almost six months to develop!

During this past weekend, the pro_cee’d BTCS has hit the race-track for the first time and according to Chad Racing staff, lap-times recorded during the first practice sessions have been more than encouraging, with both pro_cee’d drivers setting very competitive lap-times.

UK based Chad Racing, which has teamed up with Kia Motors Belgium to participate in the 2009 Belgium Touring Car Series -BTCS has been developing the race car since September 2008 when the final papers between Kia and Chad have been signed.

The BTCS pro_cee’d is a light-weight sports car that weights no more than 950 kilograms and features a highly stressed, rear-mounted, racing engine with 2.0L displacement and 440 horsepower. The engine has been tuned by the company called Mountune, while the spaceframe has been designed by Pescarolo Le Mans team.

During the 2009 BTCS season, Chad Racing will manage two BTCS pro_cee’d race cars  with numbers 7 and 17 (small 1 and big 7) advertising Kia’s famous 7-year warranty. One of the cars will be driven by Raf Vanthoor and Koen Wouters who happens to be famous Belgian singer and songwriter, TV personality and also a race car driver, with racing experiences from Belgian Belcar racing series where he was driving a Porsche. He also participated in DAKAR rally for several times.

The other car will be driven by Phillip Steveny, who’s the owner of a KIA dealership in Belgium and Ian Dockerill from England. Both of them drove for the Chad team already in the last season.

The 2009 BTCS (Belgium Touring Car Series) season kicks off in early April with the opening round coming in at the very famous Spa-Francorchamps race track (April 10-12)

Let’s hope that this very unusual combination of English racing know-how applied to the Korean car and assigned for Belgium racing series will bring us some great results and hopefully, encourage Kia Motors to finally join some other racing series in the future as well!

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Kia VG (KND-5) concept image released!

Kia has today released the first official image of it’s new KND-5 concept car due to be officially unveiled during the forthcoming 2009 Seoul Motor Show, which opens it’s doors this week and runs from April 3 until 12.

The official information on Kia’s latest concept car are slim, but we have learned that this beautiful near-luxury sedan rides on 20-inch tires and that it’s headlamps and tail-lamps are featuring latest LED technology. In addition, LED technology has also been applied to the outside door mirrors, while the sporty slopping roof benefits from this huge panoramic glass roof.

The Kia KND-5 concept is roughly the same size as the current Kia Amanti, measuring 4945mm long, 1850mm wide and 1475mm high. The concept car is built on a newly developed front-wheel-drive platform with a wheelbase of 2845mm.

Perhaps the most interesting information about this near-production concept vehicle is the engine unit displaced under it’s hood. According to Kia’s official Korean press release, the KND-5 concept features a 3.5L V6 Lambda engine!

Designed under the guidance of Peter Schreyer, the KND-5 concept previews Kia’s upcoming near-luxury sedan, code-named VG, which spy pics have been seen quite oftenly on the web lately. The 2010 Kia VG will share it’s FWD platform with the next gen Hyundai Azera (codenamed HG) and is scheduled to make it’s official Korean debut in September this year.

The KND-5 concept, will be put on display at the Kia’s booth at Seoul Auto Show alongside next generation, 2010 Kia Sorento and Kia Forte hybrid electric vehicle, the world’s first hybrid car to be powered by LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gasoline) and applied with lithium polymer (Li–poly) batteries.

Click image to enlarge!

A while ago, you could have seen Kia Soul winning it’s first comparison test. Fellows from Popular Mechanics have picked the 2010 Kia Soul, Scion xB and Nissan Cube and put them side by side to find out which one’s the king of the Y-Gen car market.

With a very limited competition over the past few years, Scion xB has been the obvious choice for those consumers that wished to have a different looking vehicle parked in their front yards. But lately, Scion has gotten some company from Kia and Nissan. Both automakers have just recently introduced their own xB opponents, both targeting the same consumers as Scion had for years…

Unfortunately, the Soul has not taken victory this time, but has ended in the second spot ahead of Cube. The Soul has won the hearts and minds of Motor Trend’s jury and has been praised for it’s unique and good looking exterior design, while on the other hand, it has been criticized for not being as refined as the xB. According to the Motor Trend, with some powertrain refinement improvements, the Soul could easily push the xB to the second spot and win their comparo test.

Let’s see the verdict:

First place: SCION XB
The benchmark maintains its position based on solid execution, performance, and value. The formula needs fine-tuning, however, as competitors loom large in the mirror.

Second place: KIA SOUL SPORT
Solid A for effort. Stunning design makes it the unanimous undergraduate pick. More powertrain refinement and a couple of tweaks will easily put this at the head of the class.

Third place: NISSAN CUBE 1.8S
Awkward proportions and asymmetric styling prove big barriers that mask the Cube’s many strengths-including a lively drive, impressive interior room, and attractive details.

To read the rest of the Soul vs. Cube vs. xB comparison test, head over to Motor Trend’s website or click here.

Kia No3 (codenamed Kia YN) spy image gallery:

 Click image to enlarge!

According to the Automotive News, Kia has been considering to abandon some of the unappealing names from their current cars and replace those with more hip and fun sounding ones. Don’t worry about the Soul and Forte as those two already belong to the group of new ones, but others, including Amanti, Rondo and Sedona could soon be erased from the existence.

I have first heard of Kia’s renaming scheme in one of the UK’s car magazines a week or so ago. And while I can’t remember exactly which automobile mag that was (probably because of it’s unappealing name), I remember editors reporting Kia’s soon going to use similar alpha-numerical number nomenclatures as Hyundai does in Europe (i10, i20, i30, ix55…).

Although the new alpha-numeric nomenclatures seem to work for Hyundai, I don’t find the same to be the best idea for Kia cars. Can you imagine a Kia Soul renamed to, let’s say, Kia c20 (crossover, 2.0L engine) or something similar?? Well, I don’t.

As, Automotive news reported the company’s not going to use the alpha-numeric names but rather than that, it will name it’s future products with more attractive regular names. “We want to leave the old baggage behind,” Michael Sprague, Kia’s vice president of marketing told Automotive News. “A lot of people don’t know who we are anyway. So why not come out with new and more attractive names like Forte and Soul?”

I myself prefer the regular car names over the alpha-numeric nameplates and sincerely hope these will stay with Kia. Although I wouldn’t mind some names, such as Rondo, Amanti or Sedona replaced with new ones that will be more pleasing to our ears.

Kia has introduced Forte LPI hybrid electric vehicle (HEV), it’s first mass production hybrid car, to the South Korean consumers yesterday. In addition to that, Kia also unveiled its new eco-friendly sub-brand, Eco-Dynamics, an initiative which will bring a host of new eco-friendly technologies and models to the international markets.

The Forte LPI hybrid electric vehicle is powered by an economical mild-hybrid drive system consisting of 1.6L gasoline engine and electric motor. The Liquefied Petroleum Injected (LPI) engine generates 114 horsepower, while electric motor brings additional 20 hp. Equipped with this kind of hybrid system and continuously variable transmission, the Forte achieves a very competitive fuel economy rating of 17.2 kilometers per liter of LPG fuel (41 MPG US), which is equivalent to 21.5 kilometers per liter fuel economy in terms of gasoline, the company said.

To differentiate the Forte hybrid from it’s non-hybrid variants and improve the vehicle’s aerodynamics, some changes have been implemented to the existing exterior design. In front,  you will notice a slightly different corporate Kia grille and a restyled front bumper with larger air intake and attractive fog lights design, while at rear, Forte now features a radically redesigned rear bumper and LED equipped taillights. On the inside, Forte LPI hybrid features a Super Vision instrument cluster for hybrid system data and a navigation display.

Kia Forte hybrid will also be the world’s first hybrid vehicle to utilize the highly advanced lithium polymer (Li–poly) battery, which is lighter and smaller but has higher output than nickel-metal hydride batteries. Those will be supplied by Korean battery supplier LG Chem, the world’s fourth largest rechargeable battery producer. The LG Chem will also supply similar battery pack to GM’s Chevy Volt.

Following it’s recent announcement that the company will focus on developing of eco-friendly vehicles, Kia also revealed it plans to bring the first full-hybrid car – probably based on the next generation Optima sedan- to the market in late 2010 and it’s first hydrogen fuel cell powered car in 2012. Expected to hit the global markets in the same year is the plug-in hybrid sedan.

Together with it’s parent company Hyundai Motor Co, Kia plans to spend nearly $6 billion on research and development this year, with majority of money pumped into development of new hybrid and fuel cell electric cars such as Kia Forte LPI hybrid and Borrego FCEV.

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2010 Kia Soul and Borrego included in Kelley Blue Book’s weekly “5 Great Deals” list  

Kelley Blue Book included Kia’s brand-new 2010 Soul crossover and 2009 Borrego SUV in it’s weekly “5 Great Deals” reported Kia Motors America just recetly.

The two newest vehicles to join Kia Motors’ ever-expanding lineup were lauded for offering attractive pricing on top of an impressive combination of capabilities and value.”In economically challenging times such as these consumers are looking for vehicles that offer the total package,” said Michael Sprague, vice president of marketing, Kia Motors America.

“Our entire vehicle line offers desirable content and packaging with pricing and standard safety features that surprise and delight. We are pleased with how well the Soul and Borrego are being received by the public and the press and the recognition they are getting from a well-known consumer and industry resource like Kelley kbb.com.”

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2010 Kia Sorento: First interior images emerge

Following the official Sorento teaser shots, released by Kia Motors a few months ago, was a series of unofficial exterior images, previewing the Sorento’s front end styling. Today, we have seen the first round of candid interior images emerging on the web and revealing some parts of Sorento’s interior layout. Sure, we have seen the cabin before, but back then, it was heavily disguised.

As you can see the interior of the 2010 Kia Sorento appears to be completely redesigned. It incorporates three large chrome-accented gauge clusters, a completely redesigned and (finally) attractive-looking steering wheel with audio control buttons mounted on the right side.

The all-new interior also benefits from a revamped center stack console, which features an in-dash built LCD display, positioned in between the elongated vertical air vents and HVAC buttons mounted below. Auxiliary and USB input jacks can also be found in the center console.

A while ago, UK’s 4Car magazine issued a report from their exclusive Sorento-prototype test-drive. When sitting behind the wheel, editors have noticed the cabin received some major styling improvements and was built from higher grade materials. And these very first interior images certainly prove their claims. I’m pretty sure this is going to be one of the best looking interiors we have seen in a Kia vehicle to date!

As we reported, the 2010 Kia Sorento is scheduled to make it’s official debut at the 2009 Seoul Auto Show, and that’s when you can expect more Sorento information and images to be revealed.

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Kia Soul reviews are coming in…

Kia Motors America has invited the US automotive media and press to the hot and sunny Miami where the company has held a National Press Introduction for it’s 2010 Kia Soul crossover over the last few days.

Some 120 invited journalists has had a chance to experience the Soul first-hand and according to the Kia-buzz editors, the attendees were having lots of fun while taking test-drives and getting to know the new Soul better.

There are already plenty of Soul reviews everywhere, and many more are expected to pop up to the web over the next few days. I searched around to find some of the latest ones so I could pick up some interesting editors quotes. As you’ll see, there’s mostly the good stuff written about the Soul, so it seems like automotive media has also been impressed with the looks and driving habits of the new Kia Soul.

Now let’s take a look at some interesting quotes found in the recently published 2010 Kia Soul reviews:

Jalopnik

It’s hard to stand out in Miami given the abundance of partially undressed woman and white Lamborghinis, yet the Kia garnered a disproportionate amount of attention and not just because we were driving like tourists. It looks different. And for an economy car, with the stick shift and comically oversized 18-inch wheels, it actually drives like something just a little different, offering quicker-than-expected steering and less-than-expected lean when really pushing it.

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Have you ever heard of Red Dot design award? Well, this is the world’s most prestigious design award an industrial product can receive for it’s design. Only a few of the very best products receive the award each year and this year, Kia Soul got one.

The Red Dot design award is the first for Kia Motors and also the first for any Korean car ever! It certainly proves that Kia is on the right way towards a design-driven company that delievers the products consumers will aspire to own.

With more than 3.230 entries from 49 countries in 17 different categories, the newly-launched Kia Soul was selected from the “Automobile Transport and Caravan” category to receive this design accolade.

Welcoming the announcement of the “Red Dot” award, Kia’s Chief Design Officer, Peter Schreyer commented, “Our design teams in Korea, California and Europe can be very proud that Kia Soul has achieved this prestigious recognition. Kia’s design strategy is focusing on distinctive product solutions and the development of a unique Kia family look. This award is a clear reward for Kia’s determination to establish design as one of the key components of its corporate DNA.”

While this is being the first-ever Red Dot design award Kia Motors received, it’s already the second one that a product penned by Peter Schreyer had gotten. He got the first one with his beautiful Audi TT sportscar a few years ago. Congrats Peter!

We should not forget other designers participating in the Soul development. So, the credits for the prestigious Red Dot award also go to Mike Torpey (the designer of the original Soul sketch), Gregory Guillaumne and other Kia designers who have been working hard over the past few years to bring the final Soul form into production! Once again, congratulations to entire Kia design team from KIA-WORLD!

Various speculations on the new Kia VG sedan have been circulating on the web since first images hit the web in the summer of 2008. Despite it’s official launch approaching fast (September 09) many facts have not yet been cleared and seems like we will have to wait until it’s launch to finally place the VG sedan into the Kia’s vehicle line-up.

The all-new Kia VG sedan is expected to share a Front-Wheel-Drive architecture with the next generation Hyundai Grandeur/Azera and will replace the slow-selling Amanti sedan in the US. One of the rumors also suggests the model will be featuring an AWD system which would certainly make it much more upmarket and more attractive to buy.

Reportedly, the Korean Kia and Hyundai have partnered with Swedish Haldex experts, responsible to supply Kia with their latest all-wheel drive electronics. I guess we will have to wait until official VG’s September launch to get that rumor confirmed.

What’s more interesting, and I’d like to hear your opinions, is this question: Does Kia need this vehicle at all and will it sell in the crowded US market where consumers have been downsizing lately and focusing on buying smaller, more fuel efficient products?

You can share your thoughts and post them in the comments below but first, check out some more spy shots of the 2010 Kia VG sedan at the Worldcarfans website.

By now, all of you reading this blog must have heard about the poor sales results major automakers have been achieving lately, while in contrast to others, Hyundai and Kia continue to perform quite well in global markets. They have both posted better than expected sales results in January and their February sales performance has not been bad either.

While Toyota, GM, Ford and others have been struggling to keep their sales numbers at the same level as last year, Hyundai and Kia have managed to increase their sales. Not everywhere, but at the most important car markets such as the US, China and general markets.

Two days ago, Kia published it’s monthly sales report revealing it’s  global sales for the February 2009. The company has sold 102.664 cars and SUVs worldwide with sales increasing 13.5 percent in South Korea (27.307 units sold), 3.3 percent in China (11.126 units sold) and 0.5 percent in North America with 24.294 units sold.

February sales were particularly strong in the Middle East where Kia sold 13.922 units, representing a 80+ percent increase compared to the same period of last year.

Kia’s best selling model in the first two months has been the Cerato (soon on sale under the Forte name in the US) with 29.128 units sold. The Cerato has been followed by Rio and Sportage SUV (20,034 and 20,024 units sold last month). The European built cee’d has been fourth (13.898), while Picanto mincar rounds out the top five selling models with 11.839 units sold.

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Once again, we are bringing you a very hot and exclusive next-gen Sorento report with a series of spy pics previewing the all-new Kia Sorento in details! These latest spy shots have been taken during the official Sorento-catalogue photo shoot and are revealing us the 2010 Sorento crossover in all it’s glory.

Kia Motors will be officially taking the covers of it’s all-new Sorento at the 2009 Seoul Motor Show, which kicks of in the first days of April. More interesting for us is the official US premiere, which is rumored to happen at the upcoming New York Auto Show of the same month.

What we have learned about the 2010 Kia Sorento so far is the that fact that the next generation Sorento, codenamed XM, will deviate greatly from the current model (technically and styling-wise). Unlike the current model, the next Sorento will not be a proper body-on-frame built SUV, but rather a crossover vehicle sitting on a uni-body architecture.

The power will come from a variety of engine options including a gasoline powered 2.4L four-cylinder and a 270+ hp 3.8L V6. Gasoline engine range will be joined by newly developed 2.2L R-diesel engine and LPG powered 2.7LPi engine, which will only be available at South Korean market.

The R-diesel engine has been developed in conjunction with Hyundai and meets EURO 5 emission standards. It also boasts best-in-class 200 horsepower and achieves an impressive fuel economy of 33 MPG (14.1 km/L). All available engines will be mated to either a six-speed manual or six-speed automatic transmission.

The 2010 Kia Sorento is sporting a dynamic exterior look reminiscent of that seen on the KUE-4 concept car. It’s front features Kia’s new signature radiator grille integrated harmoniusly between black-bezel trimmed headlamps while the sporty image is further enhanced with two-tone front bumper and mesh around the fog lamps. The new Sorento will also be the first Kia vehicle to come equipped with a panoramic-glass roof! [Kia Forums]

Kia Sorento gallery: 

Click image to enlarge!

Kia Soul hamster commercial

In order to effectively promote a hot new product (such as Kia Soul) you need to launch a very cool advertising campaign to grab the attention from the media and public. And that’s just what Kia Motors did to promote it’s just recently launched Kia Soul urban crossover.

The 60-second commercial spot has been created by an independent, Los Angeles based, creative agency David&Goliath and is targeting the Gen-Y consumers. It will be aired in movie theaters served by National Cinemedia and Screenvision, with the latter buy targeting cinemas located on or near 50 college campuses.

The funny ad showcases a hot-looking Kia Soul crossover while stopping at the large crossroad, next to the giant rodent spinning the hamster wheel. The Soul fits four hamsters comfortably while rocking out to a funky house beats. The song coming from their iPod, connected to the Souls stereo unit through a USB port is called “Fort Knox” and played by the Goldfish.

The “Kia Soul hamster” ad has already become a very popular one, generating thousands of views per day on Youtube. Furthermore, world’s largest automotive media recently issued their reports on the funny ad and speaking in general, they all found it really cool. Judjing by their loyal readership reactions, the public likes it too!

Here’s one very interesting quote that caught my attention, while browsing through the comments posted by the readers of Autoblog:

Ahh the power of advertising on women. My wife who hated the Soul at the car show now wants one because of this commercial. (by: Iridium; Autoblog)

The ad campaign will include five more Kia Soul hamster spot variations, each playing a different genre of music. According to Tim Chaney, working as a director, marketing communications at Kia Motors America, the cost of the campaign is pretty significant and right up there with the most we’ve ever spent on a launch.” [Source: Kia Soul commercial songs ]. Visit this link: Kia Soul commercial to find more info on the songs played in the Kia Soul commercial.

Update: Kia Motors will launch new commercial for its 2010 Kia Soul. Called This or That, the Soul commercial will again feature loveable hamsters. It will be officially launched on May 28th.

Sales of cars and trucks in the the world’s largest automotive market has been hit hard by the recession and global economic slowdown has caused nearly one third lower demand for new vehicles this year.

That was especially evident in the first two months of the 2009 when US, Japanese and European automakers experienced some huge decreases in their sales. And while majority of carmakers have been loosing ground lately, there are some (Hyundai, Kia, Subaru) who have taken the financial crisis as an opportunity to grow.

Many car companies have cut their ad budgets during a recession, but recent study showed that increasing investment in advertising during times of economic difficulties can help boost sales and expand market-share in the long run.

And that’s exactly what Hyundai and Kia have been doing lately. None of the Korean automakers have stopped it’s advertising and it seems like both Korean carmakers, have upped their advertising budgets in America this year.

Particularly Hyundai, which has spent $ millions to present their latest range of cars to the public. Just remember their Superbowl commercial ads, aired during the Superbowl breaks, with an average cost of $3 millions (each ad). And they have aired some similar ads during the 2009 Oscars event as well.

Thanks to effective advertising campaigns, generous incentive programs and attractive product portfolio, Hyundai and Kia topped 7.6 percent market share in February 2009, which represents the highest monthly car market share Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group has ever held in the US market!

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