Kia Motors America launches “Who’s Next?” talent search on Youtube with grand prize of $10,000!!

$10,000 awaits you. Show that you’ve got Soul. Produce the coolest video themed around the funky and innovative Kia Soul crossover and get to fly to Los Angeles for free.

What do Susan Boyle, Justin Bieber and Charice Pempengco have in common? They were all YouTube sensations before they became major stars. YouTube has launched their careers to legitimate international stardom. Who’s next? Who’s going to be the next Internet sensation?

That’s exactly the question being asked by the newest Internet talent search contest, “Who’s Next?” And guess who’s asking it? American Idol production? America’s Got Talent production? Guess again.

Kia Motors America (KMA). That’s right, Kia, the car maker is asking “Who’s Next?”

Riding on the success of its hamster ad campaign for the 2011 Kia Soul, Kia Motors America is inviting everyone to join Kia Soul’s video contest. Create your own talent video based on the creative uniqueness of the funky Kia Soul for a cool $10,000 prize.

In case you have not seen the award-winning TV ad, it goes a little something like this, to give you an idea. It begins with a shot of suburban city streets inhabited by hamsters who senselessly run in place inside their exercise wheels. A Molten Red Kia Soul then pulls up. Windows roll down and voila, inside are hip-hopping hamsters in hoods with head bobbing to the beat of loud R&B music. These cool hamsters have discovered “A New Way to Roll.”

That’s the point of the Kia Soul. It’s new. It’s cool. It’s a new way to roll. And that’s also the point of KMA’s video talent search. Show your own new way to roll.

Here is how to join Kia Motors America’s “Who’s Next?” Internet talent contest.

- The contest runs until the end of September. Everyone’s invited to submit a video themed around the Kia Soul, which by the way was declared one of the top 10 coolest new cars.

· Videos will be posted on Kia Soul’s video channel on YouTube (youtube.com/kiasoul). Make sure your video captures the Soul’s unique personality features, technology, style and popular music.

· August 9, judging will begin, and on August 20, YouTube fans and viewers can start voting which ones they like best. The judges are YouTube stars SMOSH, ShayCarl and Lisa Nova, whose combined channels have more than 640 million views and 2.62 million subscribers. Now, that’s a lot of people watching how you roll.

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European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association reported recently that Kia, together with its parent Hyundai Motor Company, outsold Toyota in Europe in the first half of the year. In addition to that, Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group also beat its main Japanese rival in the fast growing China market!

According to the report, Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group was the best-selling Asian automaker in Europe during the first six months of the fiscal year. The South Korean auto giant sold nearly 3,000 automobiles more than Toyota, which saw its sales plummeting 11 percent, compared to a year ago. Speaking of decreasing Toyota sales,  sales of other Japanese carmakers, such as Honda and Suzuki, also fell sharply. Their sales plunged by 21 and 20 percent, respectively.

During the first six months, Kia Motors sold 138,357 vehicles, while Hyundai Motor Company sold 191,338 vehicles in the European market. According to European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association, the combined total of 329,695 units is 2,904 more than Toyota’s sales of 326,791.

Both South Korean carmakers also managed to increase their market shares. Hyundai’s market share rose 0,3 percent to 2,6 percent, while Kia’s market share soared 0,2 percent to 1,8 percent.

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Back-up camera is available in the 2010 Kia Soul crossover vehicle…

The hot-looking Kia Soul is a popular box-crossover vehicle, which outsells all of its competitors on sale in the US-market. The main competitor of the new Soul is Nissan Cube. While the boxy crossover vehicle features similar design philosophy and targets same consumer (younger crowd) it can hardly challenge the Soul when it comes to pricing.

The popular Kia Soul crossover starts at a base price around $13.300, while the top-ranging model costs around $17.000. Even with the inexpensive price tag, those buying the 2010 Soul crossover vehicle will probably be pleasantly surprised with the necessary amenities that the funky Kia model offers.

Those include complete safety features, including 6-airbags (front driver – passenger airbags, side airbags and curtain airbags that protect heads and necks of those seating in front of the car, as well as those seating at back), ABS, sunroof, speakers with adjustable lighting, and luxuries, such as MP3 audio unit, back up camera, which is connected to the LCD display (placed in the rear-view mirror), 18-inch alloy-wheels and leather equipped interior.

Kia Motors UK announced today that it has secured a deal to supply 120 Kia cee’d SW EcoDynamics vehicles to a leading building technologies group.

The fleet will consist of 120 cee’d SW EcoDynamics cars and will be used by engineers within security, tele-care and fire protection companies – namely, Cirrus, Interphone Security Group and Instant Fire Protection – whilst they visit clients across the United Kingdom to perform installations, upgrades and on-site maintenance.

Following a review into operating costs, the group of companies re-evaluated its existing vehicle fleet and searched the market for a new vehicle that met all the product criteria they were looking for whilst offering significant savings, in terms of contract hire rates, environmental impact and whole-life costs.

“Concerned at the rise in our fleet operating costs we researched the market for a mid-sized estate car that satisfied a number of operational requirements. We were seeking to reduce operating costs for both ourselves and our drivers, demonstrate to our customers we are taking positive steps to reduce our carbon footprint and enhance driver satisfaction by providing a fit-for-purpose vehicle that provided plenty of space, comfort and specification,” explained Ian Green, Group Fleet Manager.

“Kia clearly demonstrated how this could be achieved with the cee’d SW EcoDynamics by offering us savings on our contract hire rates, National Insurance contributions and Benefit-In-Kind. The seven year warranty was also an important factor. Combine all of this with great feedback from our drivers on the cee’d SW’s performance, fuel consumption and specification and I believe we have found the ideal fleet car for our engineers’ use” added Green.

Andrew Sellars, Head of Fleet & Remarketing for Kia Motors UK said: “I’m delighted that our EcoDynamics range has again been chosen by a group seeking a great combination of pricing, ownership costs, equipment and low emissions. Combined with our industry-leading seven year warranty it’s no wonder that many fleet managers are now adding Kia to their shopping lists.”

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Kia’s global sales in June 2010 rise 16 percent to 184.111 units. Cee’d hatchback joins the group of 5 best-selling Kia cars.

Kia Motors Corporation announced today its global sales figures for passenger cars, recreational vehicles and commercial vehicles for June 2010, recording a total of 184.111 units sold. This represents a year-on-year increase of 16,2 percent.

Cumulatively, through the first six months of the fiscal year, Kia’s overall global sales surpassed the 1-million unit mark, posting an increase of 34,1 percent year-on-year and reaching 1.004.724 units. China has experienced the highest gain of 75.6% based on sales of 170,977 units to date in 2010.

During the month of June, the South Korean carmaker experienced healthy year-on-year sales increases in all overseas sales regions. Sales in general markets rose to 39.656 units (+52 percent), while sales in China eclipsed to 26.663 units. North America sales were up 17 percent (37.770 units sold), while European sales rose 12 percent to 35.591 units.

The C-segment Cerato (sold as Forte in some markets) was Kia’s top-selling vehicle in June. Kia sold 33.803 units of Cerato worldwide. The model was followed by the B-segment Rio and Sportage SUV with sales of 18.413 and 16.827 units sold, respectively.

The 2011 Sorento crossover recorded the sales of 15.322 units last month, enough to take one spot above the Kia cee’d. Kia cee’d, which is on sale only in Europe, rounds out the top five best-selling Kia vehicles in June with sales of 12.247 units.

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New Kia car sales in June up 12 percent compared to a year ago. Kia Sorento sales break 8,600 units.

Kia Motors America announced it has sold 31,906 new vehicles in the United States last month, up 12,8 percent from year-earlier levels. June 2010 sales were led by Kia’s Georgia-made Sorento crossover with 8,608 units sold. The popular Sorento CUV also remains the company’s best-selling model in the US-market in the first six month. So far this year, Kia dealers delivered 50,021 new Sorentos to consumers across the USA.

“Kia Motors’ design-led transformation is attracting new buyers to Kia showrooms, as evidenced by our best-ever first half of the year sales,” said Byung Mo Ahn, group president and CEO of KMA and Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia (KMMG). “Consumers are taking notice of the eye-catching design and long list of comfort, convenience and technology features found in our new generation vehicles, including the Sorento, Soul and Forte, and our aggressive launch schedule will continue with the arrival of the all-new Sportage this summer followed just a few months later by the all-new Optima.”

New Kia K5/Optima sedan sales hit 10,673 units last month. The K5 dethrones Sonata as the top-selling car in Korea!

According to latest new car sales data from South Korea, the newly unveiled Kia K5 mid-size sedan (known as Kia Optima overseas) has outsold the long-time sales leader Hyundai Sonata in the domestic market. It has happened for the first time that Kia’s mid-size sedan has topped the monthly sales chart in Korea.

Last month, Kia dealers sold 10.673 units of the K5 sedan, while Hyundai sold 9.957 Sonatas. From its very first day on the market, the K5 has been in high demand. The K5 sold 3.552 units within the first five days of its debut on May 25 with the number of sales contracts rising to an average of 831 vehicles per day.

Market watchers are calling the K5′s rise above the Sonata an industry landmark. The Sonata was the invincible leader of the mid-sized sedan category for 11 years, and it continually ruled the monthly sales chart except for July 2003 when it was overtaken by the Renault Samsung SM5 due to a Hyundai labor strike.

Should I buy a Kia Soul crossover? Tell me some facts about the Soul, such as reliability – quality reports, engines, dimensions…

The Soul crossover vehicle is not a brand-new vehicle. It has been on sale in the US-market and elsewhere in the world for about two years. It has been a popular choice among younger consumers, especially those looking to purchase their very first vehicle, as well as those older ones looking to buy a comfortable daily commuter.

Until now, Kia Soul has never been recalled, which suggests that the model is quality built. There were  also no major complaints reported bout the vehicle on other automotive boards. So we can safely say the quality of Kia Soul is close to superb. We are not saying the vehicle is problem-free (any model can have some problems) but recent owners reports, based on a two year ownership,  do not reveal any major issues with the car at all.

The popular Soul crossover is available with three different engines (depending on market). Those include a 1.6L diesel (Europe only) and gasoline engines, as well as more potent 2.0L gasoline unit. Each of the powerplants mentioned here has enough power to move the vehicle fast enough to satisfy an average driver. Those are, however, no high performance engines that would take you from 0-60 mph faster than a Ferrari, but they offer decent acceleration and, on the other hand, do not consume too much fuel.

Kia Soul is about as large as the current Nissan Cube, which is the model’s main rival. According to latest Soul sales reports, the popular Kia compact crossover vehicle outsells the Cube by a large margin – check out our monthly Kia sales reports to see the latest Soul sales numbers. The Soul is the best-selling compact crossover vehicle in the US and outsells Nissan Cube, Scion XB, Hyundai Accent and Honda Fit.

There are many, many other facts why you should buy a Kia Soul crossover vehicle. We only mentioned a few of them. In order to find more information about this popular funky crossover vehicle, browse through our daily-updated Kia blog and get yourself a real picture of the new Soul.