Kia has built up a solid reputation of producing quality, fuel efficient vehicles at an affordable price, and while it’s one thing for them to talk about it in their ads and press releases, it’s quite another to have that hard work and dedication recognized by a trusted, reliable source.

That recognition came this week in the form of 4 Kia vehicles being voted “Best Buys” by Consumer’s Digest, a leading consumer resource for automotive reviews. The cars which were given the honor were the 2012 versions of the Optima, Soul, Sorento and Sportage, and the news completed a great October for Kia, who once again managed to set another sales record, which now makes 14 consecutive months of upward sales trends.

Kia Motors America vice president of marketing and communications Michael Sprague expressed the company’s delight with the showing in the magazine, stating that the recognition proves that awareness of the company brand, and their commitment to quality, is very much on the rise.

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Kia Ray box-type city car revealed in South Korea!

Earlier today, Kia Motors Corporation unveiled a brand-new city-car called Ray, which will be marketed exclusively in South Korea. Known previously as Kia TAM (development codename), the all-new city-car belongs to the A-segment and is built upon the Picanto city-car platform.

As seen from the two official images, the all-new Kia Ray sports a distinctive box-type exterior design. Up-front, it boasts the brand’s H-shaped signature radiator grille and unique headlamps and LED daytime running lights. From the rear, the 2013 Ray presents a wide and stable stance, highlighted by prominent LED rear combination lamps and vertically positioned bumper reflectors.

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Kia made headlines in the sports world when basketball star Blake Griffin leaped over an Optima sedan en route to winning the slam dunk contest at the NBA All-Star Game earlier this year.

Now they are making headlines in the automotive sphere thanks to their six sports-themed vehicles, unveiled at this year’s Specialty Equipment Market Association -SEMA car show in Las Vegas. Displayed at Kia’s booth at the on-going 2011 SEMA are heavily customized 2012 Optima hybrid car, Soul crossover vehicle, Rio 5-door and Forte 5-door hatchbacks.

The one of a kind, custom cars were created in partnership with West Coast Customs, Antenna Magazine, GoGoGear.com and Kinetic Motorsports, and were designed with six specific sports in mind.

“Slam Dunk” Blake Griffin Optima Hybrid car

It’s no real surprise that the Optima would be one of the vehicles to get the custom treatment, and even less of a surprise that it was done with Griffin in mind. The Griffin Hybrid came in a basketball orange color and was accentuated by 20 inch matte black wheels, and Blake’s logo on the hood.

The interior features leather seats with Blake’s signature stitched into the headrests, not to mention basketball flooring in the front and rear. The interior was finished off with a mind-blowing sound system, complete with TV’s and an Xbox. The final kicker for hoops fans had to be the basketball hoop mounted in the trunk.

Gallery: Kia @ 2011 SEMA:

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These are the very-first interior images of the forth-coming Kia K9 luxury limousine!

Just recently, we got a fairly good look at the Kia K9′s exterior styling, but nothing on interior, unfortunately. This time around, our friends from South Korea sent us some exclusive Kia K9 spy shots allowing us to see the interior lay-out of the high-end sedan for the first time.

Set to be officially revealed in the first half of 2012, the up-coming Kia K9 is rumored to be based on the hot-selling Hyundai Genesis sedan, meaning the engine’s power will be transmitted to the car’s rear wheels. Kia K9 will be the very-first rear-wheel-drive Kia vehicle, but hopefully, not the last one!

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On the heels of record October sales, Kia reveals plans to build new manufacturing plant in China!

In order to meet fast growing demand for its latest vehicles such as Kia K2 (known as Kia Rio in USA) and Kia K5 (Chinese version of Kia Optima sedan), the South Korean second largest carmaker announced today it aims to build already its third manufacturing plant in China.

Kia’s new China plant will be build in the northeastern city of Yancheng and will be able to produce up to 300.000 new vehicles annually. Once completed, Kia will have increased its production capacity in China from the current 430.000 units at its existing two plants to a total of 730.000 units each year.

The third plant will be built just 5 kilometers from one of the existing Kia plants, which is expected to boost efficiency since the two can share production-related infrastructure.

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Kia reports best October sales, while its overall U.S. sales to date surpass 400.000 units!

Kia Motors America today reported record October U.S. sales of 37.690 vehicles, topping the 31.199 vehicles sold in October 2010.  With the record October 2011 results, the Kia brand surpassed 400.000 annual U.S. sales for the very-first time in its history!

Kia’s October 2011 result represents a 21 percent increase in sales compared to a year ago, while the carmaker’s year-to-date sales represent a 35 gain from a year earlier.

The favorable Kia sales performance in October 2011 was bolstered by consumer response to the all-new 2012 Kia Sorento and the 2012 Kia Optima mid-size sedan. Sales of the new Sorento hit 10.176 units last month, while Optima sales rose from 1.630 units in October 2010 to 8.616 units sold in October 2011.

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Over the last few years, Kia has built a solid reputation in the new car market by producing beautifully designed, fuel efficient, affordable vehicles.

That, combined by positive reviews from consumers and industry insiders has helped propel Kia to new highs in sales and service. Public perception of the Kia brand has improved dramatically during that period, and now that they have turned their attention to their used cars, we can probably expect to see it rise some more.

On October 24th, Kia Motors America announced that it had chosen Carfax to provide vehicle history reports for every car in the Kia Certified Pre-Owned -CPO program. This means that buyers can be sure than any Kia vehicle they buy through the nationwide network of dealers will have a detailed, accurate history, which will go a long way towards providing piece of mind when purchasing a used Kia car.

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Athletes have always been popular spokesperson choices for companies that want to represent their brand as strong, powerful and full of finesse, but other than sponsorship deals, it’s not too often that a product makes its way into the wide world of sports at the field level.

That all changed earlier this year, when at the NBA All-Star Game, basketball superstar Blake Griffin leapt over a Kia Optima and easily walked away as the champion of the ever popular slam dunk contest.

Shortly after the event, which garnered worldwide exposure, the slam dunk heard round the world was used in a highly effective advertising campaign for the new Optima, using the catchphrase of “not your average dunk, not your average midsize sedan.”

That one-off shot did more to raise awareness about the Kia Optima than perhaps any other advertising method used previously, and it once again highlighted the power that sports holds over the buying public.

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2012 Kia Optima goes on sale with superior combination of performance, technology and long list of convenience features!

Every automaker has one car that seems to lead the way and ends up being the flagship vehicle that defines the image and message that the maker is trying to get across with their entire line-up.

For Kia Motors America, many would argue that the Optima sedan has gone a long way towards becoming that vehicle, and with its incredible performance in the midsize market, it’s certainly the one that stands out among all the other cars in that category.

The 2011 Kia Optima wowed critics and consumers alike, picking up awards and shattering sales records in the process. It would have been easy for Kia to leave well enough alone for the 2012 version, but their approach to improving design, performance and fuel efficiency has led to the popular Optima mid-size sedan receiving some improvements that are sure to continue the trend set with the previous model.

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The all-new 2012 Kia Rio 4-door sedan with new upscale looks, 1.6L GDI engine and six-speed manual transmission priced at $13.400!

Kia Motors America has officially announced pricing for its all-new 2012 Rio 4-door sedan with 6-speed manual transmission starts at $13.600 and $14.500 for the sedan with 6-speed automatic transmission. Prices provided here exclude $750 destination and handling fee!

The all-new Rio 4-door sedan is offered in the following trims: LX, EX, and SX. The top-of-the-range 2012 Kia Rio SX starts at under $18.000 and offers a plethora of premium features including LED front accent lights and LED tail-lamps, Supervision cluster, leather-wrapped steering wheel, dual illuminated vanity mirrors, rear-view camera, sporty 17-inch alloy wheels and Kia’s voice-activated infotainment system called UVO.

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They say that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and where most automakers focus on making their vehicles beautiful to the naked eye, Kia opts to embrace all the senses, so that their cars have a beauty that is more than just skin deep.

The Kia approach to car design differs greatly from their competitors, but that has paid off in spades in recent years with sales and positive reviews growing at a stunning rate. They bring together a group of people, from all over the world who are passionate about the brand, and those engineers, designers and project managers have a say in the final product, where their passion is all to evident.

That though process was very much put into play when it came to designing the new Kia Rio. Their idea was to make a compact car that oozed luxury in every detail, yet still came in a price that would expect from a car in the compact category.

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Would you like to find out exclusive details about Kia’s near future plans, sales projections and new powertrain technologies coming to the next-generation Kia vehicles? Read further!

Automotive News Europe Editor-in-Chief Harald Hamprecht had a chance to chat with Mr. Hank Lee, Vice Chairman of Kia Motors Corporation. A very interesting  interview, which is published at Automotive News website, reveals some details on how Kia plans to enhance the perception of the brand to become a people’s choice.

Kia made huge progress in the quality of their vehicles and the company aims to further improve its up-coming vehicles. According to Mr. Hank Lee, the brand is working hard to enhance ride and handling of its cars and introduce new powertrain technologies. Reportedly, Kia is working on a series of eco-friendly cars, including a full-electric small crossover vehicle, Optima 2.0L hybrid car and fuel cell powered vehicle.  (more…)

Kia has been sweeping up the award and accolades in recent months, but may very well be the first car company to receive an award for the animals that are used to sell one of their models.

Back in 2009, the South Korean carmaker used a trio of hip-hop, funky hamsters in the TV spots for their cool new urban passenger vehicle, the Kia Soul. The hamsters helped propel the success of the Soul, and in an incredibly short time made the switch from cool marketing tool to cultural icon status.

That meteoric rise to pop icon fame hasn’t gone unnoticed in the advertising world, and earlier this week the Madison Avenue Advertising Walk of Fame presented the hamsters with their inaugural “Rookie of the Year” award.

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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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