2012 Kia Rio 5-door priced under $14000!

Kia announces pricing for the all-new 2012 Rio 5-door subcompact hatchback beginning at an impressive $13,600(3) MSRP, while the Rio 5-door A/T starts at $14.700 – both lower than the previous generation.

The top-of-the-range, SX trim starts under $18.000 and offers a plethora of consumer-friendly and upscale features, including stunning 17-inch alloy wheels and class-exclusive LED headlamp and tail light accents, a sport-tuned suspension with larger front brakes, projection headlamps, twin chrome exhaust tips, fog lamps, as well as standard UVO voice-activated infotainment system (expected to be available this fall) with a 4.3-inch color touch screen and rear camera display(6).

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Kia Motors plans plans to recruit 1.000 new employees at its European manufacturing plant to meet rising demand for the new Sportage CUV!

Due to fantastic sales results achieved during the first 8 months of 2011 (+ 18 percent) and increased demand for Kia’s recently launched Sportage CUV, the South Korean carmaker plans to significantly increase production of their European-made vehicles.

Kia’s 1-billion Euro manufacturing plant has been designed for maximum flexibility in order to accommodate new models and respond to market trend fluctuations. Currently, the Slovakia-based plant produces popular Venga mini-mpv, three versions of the C-segment cee’d (3-door, 5-door and sporty wagon) and new Sportage CUV.

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Here is your first chance to see the new face of the next-generation Kia cee’d!

Following on from the all-new Rio sub-compact car, the South Korean second largest carmaker is readying a fully-revised version of its top-selling car in the European market.

Expected to make its official public premiere at the 2012 Geneva Auto Show, the all-new Kia cee’d will boast stronger personality and more muscular stance than the current car which make us thinking the South Korean carmaker will be aiming the new cee’d at a younger audience.

Kia has yet to provide more details on the new model’s exterior lay-out, but it is likely that the next-generation cee’d will follow in the footsteps of the new Rio hatchback, bringing a more sporting face and coupe-like profile to the C segment.

So far, nothing has been confirmed about the range of engines available, but expect the next-generation cee’d to offer a mix of highly-efficient gasoline and diesel units providing segment-leading fuel efficiency and low CO2 outputs.

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Kia is preparing a battery-electric version of its TAM mini-car, scheduled to hit the Korean market already this year!

We could consider Kia and Hyundai as latecomers to the hybrid scene, but lately they both have made great strides introducing their first-ever hybrid sedans, the Optima hybrid and Sonata hybrid, which are both already on sale in the USA and as far as we know, they sell pretty well there.

Although entering the hybrid-car race late, the Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group has an ambitious plan of becoming the most eco-friendly automaker on the planet. To achieve the goal, both South Korean carmakers plan to unveil a wide range of low-pollution and zero-emission vehicles, using an in-house developed eco-friendly technologies.

Recently, Hyundai and Kia revealed their strategies and roles in the development of the forth-coming eco-friendly cars. Reportedly, Hyundai is going to focus on development of gasoline-electric hybrid cars, plug-in hybrids, as well as hydrogen-powered vehicles, while Kia will play a major role in developing of fully electric vehicles.

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Stop me if you have heard this one before, but what do you get when you cross two drivers, 48 States and a 2011 Kia Optima Hybrid?

The answer is a new Guinness World Record for lowest fuel consumption in a gas hybrid vehicle, plus another notch in the belt for the Kia Motors Corporation which continues to rack up great press to go alongside stellar sales.

The two drivers, Wayne Gerdes and Chris Bernius, set off from the Kia Motors plant in West Point, Georgia, and took a 7.899 mile trip across the US, a task that had to be completed in a 14 day period.

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With Kia GT making its official premiere earlier today we can now reveal more details about the stunning concept car that is displayed at the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show alongside 2012 Kia Rio 3-door hatchback and refreshed Kia Soul crossover .

The 4.690 mm long and 1.890 mm wide concept car, which signals Kia’s distinctive new design direction, has the classic front-engine, rear-wheel drive layout of a high performance sedan which ensures very different proportions from a front-wheel drive car.

The new concept allowed Kia to explore exciting new visual paths – with an extended bonnet, the front wheels pushed to the very front of the car, the cab-rearward stance with powerful rear shoulders and a truncated rear end.

The front doors and rear-hinged back doors open at a slight upward angle ensuring easy access to the spacious and airy interior which provides generous, uncluttered cabin accommodation for four – thanks in part to the Kia GT’s unusually long wheelbase (2.860 mm) and despite its low stance, overall height is just 1.380 mm.

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2012 Kia Rio 3-door makes its official debut at the 2011 Frankfurt Auto Show!

With the 2012 Rio 5-door just starting to arrive at Kia dealerships across Europe, Kia is celebrating the official public premiere of the all-new 2012 Rio 3-door. The long-anticipated Rio 3-door is Kia’s first-ever entry into the crowded three-door B-segment, which is currently dominated by competitors such as VW Polo and Ford Fiesta.

Designed primarily with European consumers in mind, the 2012 Rio 3-door boasts striking exterior design, comfortable interior with soft-at-touch dashboard materials and a range of fuel-efficient engines. The new Rio 3-door is available with the same engine line-up as its 5-door sibling.

This means the new model offers customers a choice of four highly efficient three-cylinder and four-cylinder engines, including the all-new 1.1L CRDI diesel engine with fuel consumption as low as 3.2 L/100 km (88.2 mpg) and industry-leading CO2 rating of just 85 grams per kilometer! Other engine options available are the 90-horsepower 1.4L CRDI diesel engine and two gasoline engines with 85 and 109 horsepower, respectively.

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Here are some new images of the all-new Kia GT rear-wheel-drive sports sedan concept vehicle!

Kia’s all-new concept car, which is scheduled to make its official premiere at the up-coming Frankfurt Motor Show, has been revealed further with some additional images that surfaced on to the world wide web yesterday.

While some automotive media previously reported that the stunning Kia concept car will be called “Verdus”, these latest shots indicate that the vehicle will bear the  GT nomenclature (as seen on the rear licence plate)! Further revealed are some unique design details such as suicide doors and B-pillar-less cabin, as well as interior layout.

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Renowned men’s lifestyle magazine Esquire names new Kia Optima “Most Gorgeous Car Under $20K”!

Everyone is aware of the mess that the economy is in, and that decline has led to many companies having to resort to budget cuts and lay-offs. Not so for Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia -KMMG, as they have bucked the trend by just completing a major expansion at their West Point factory, which has now created a total of 3000 jobs for the state.

That new addition will mean that the annual capacity will now be raised to a staggering 360,000 units, with the Sorento and the all new Kia Optima now being produced in Georgia. The first Optima’s were rolled out last week!

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Demand for newly-launched Kia vehicles continues to rise fast so it comes as no surprise that the carmaker’s overall August sales increased 13.8 percent over the same month a year ago!

The South Korean automaker announced earlier today that it has sold a total of 197.695 vehicles globally during the month of August 2011. Kia’s global sales during the first 8 months of the year increased more than 18 percent with year-to-date sales totaling 1.609.886 units.

In August, China saw the biggest sales increase, at 41 percent, followed by North America 24 percent, and Europe with 19.8 percent. Kia’s sales at home, on the other hand, declined by 5 percent.

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Kia Motors America reports best-ever August sales of 41.188 units, a 26 percent increase over the same month a year ago!

Brisk sales of new Kia vehicles, including new Sorento crossover and Optima mid-size sedan have helped Kia Motors America to set an all-time sales record for the month of August.

Kia’s total sales for the month of August 2011 stood at 41.188 units, up 26.9 percent increase over the same period last year. With year-to-date sales up 39 percent, Kia Motors America is well on track to set a new sales record in the USA.

The August 2011 sales were once again led by the 2012 Kia Sorento CUV, which posted its all-time best sales for the second-consecutive month (13.573 units sold).  The all-new Optima sedan, Soul crossover and Forte compact car also performed well last month with sales totaling 6.157, 6.885 and 6.677 units, respectively.

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A few short weeks ago, Kia wowed UK drivers by putting the latest version of the Rio hatchback through the British Driving Challenge. The goal was to drive the car around the UK, almost 800 miles, on a single tank of gas. The car passed the test with fuel to spare, and the fuel economy bar was raised in the process.

Not content to rest on their laurels, Kia is now looking to set a new record for lowest fuel consumption by sending two US drivers around the 48 contiguous states in a 2011 Kia Optima Hybrid.

Drivers Wayne Gerdes and Chris Bernius left the Kia plant in West Point, GA on August 26th, and the goal is to hit all 48 states in a clockwise direction in a mere 16 days. It’s a daunting task, but the two men have had plenty of experience in the fuel economy driving arena, and both are fully confident that the 8,000 mile trip can be achieved in the allotted time.

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