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It is really hard and not fair to judge Korean vs. USA build quality for this car:
- Optima appeared in 2011; made in Korea; first production year; possible bugs and imperfections; owners actually have to pay to be guinea pigs and debug the vehicle; benefit - first kid on the block with new toy.
- Kia changes production to USA in second year of production; unknown quality control in USA factory; should be 'the best factory in the whole universe'; basically go back to step one;
IF they switched production in third year then you could judge which car is better.
I am glad that we will get Korean car. My Accord was made in USA. Problems, problems everywhere but 99% resolved in warranty period. It had The lousiest brakes I ever seen; like made of soap...
Optima is on the short list for the AJAC Canadian Car of the Year, the other two, Accent and Elantra, winner to be announced at the Canadian International Auto Show in Toronto on the 16th.
if you have not seen it on the Discovery Channel, here is a 45 minute video of the birth of the Optima, showing its history, design, creation by Peter Schreyer, building, testing and race track performance - worth watching.
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