http://www.kia-forums.com en Fri, 20 Nov 2009 22:51:04 GMT vBulletin 60 http://www.kia-forums.com/images/misc/rss.jpg http://www.kia-forums.com http://www.kia-forums.com/kia-news/55297-soul-special-internet-promotional-video-new-post.html Fri, 20 Nov 2009 02:40:07 GMT By Myung, SeHwan Domestics Marketing Team Mia (Han, Hyo-joo) has just come back from studying overseas and heads toward the airport parking lot. There, she discovers Yoo-gil (Kim, Dong-wook), a doctor, passed out from drinking too much. Mia helps him into her car and drives to the hotel. Romance blossoms between the two. Mia’s best friend Sehee [...]

More... ]]> Kia News administrator http://www.kia-forums.com/kia-news/55297-soul-special-internet-promotional-video.html http://www.kia-forums.com/kia-news/55130-2011-kia-sorento-national-press-introduction-new-post.html Wed, 11 Nov 2009 05:00:32 GMT By Kia Motors America Public Relations team Wave two of the 2011 Kia Sorento national press introduction has concluded, with 59 media having the opportunity to learn about the all-new Sorento CUV as well as tour the Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia (KMMG) plant and Kia Georgia Training Center in West Point, Georgia. The Sorento [...]

More... ]]> Kia News administrator http://www.kia-forums.com/kia-news/55130-2011-kia-sorento-national-press-introduction.html http://www.kia-forums.com/kia-news/55040-sema-2009-trio-tuned-kia-souls-new-post.html Fri, 06 Nov 2009 20:57:06 GMT

Kia's big news at the 2009 SEMA Show was the announcement of the brands foray into motorsports, but the track-ready Forte Koup wasn't the only car on display at the Kia Motors booth. In fact, three more traditional SEMA vehicles were on display. Competing in the youth-oriented box-car segment, the Soul is a hit with younger buyers and so it's no surprise to see three tricked-out models at SEMA.

The first of the Soul Xpression trio is the Black "Sinister" Soul featuring matte-black paint with blacked out headlights and taillights. Even the rims (20-inchers no less) are black and the car has a meaner look to it thanks to a lowered suspension. Inside, the theme is the same with black seats and some gray detailing. Other highlights include a 1,300-watt 11-speaker audio system.

Next up is the baby-blue Soul built by the folks at Antenna Magazine. Outside the car features highlights like a matte-brown roof and baby blue brake calipers. Inside, the brown and blue theme continues with an ornately decorated cockpit featuring "chocolate" brown leather and actual denim. The car also features a "pop out" display of trendy clothing from brands like Huff and Etnies.

The final car of the group is the Kia Soul Safety Car. Its not overly wild with a special aero kit, black wheels and appropriate "safety" lighting, but it will serve as the safety car in several US Touring Car Championship races, where Kia hopes to build up grassroots support for its motorsports program.

More: SEMA 2009: Trio of Tuned Kia Souls Debut in Vegas on AutoGuide.com

For more check out AutoGuide's live SEMA Show coverage here! ]]> Kia News administrator http://www.kia-forums.com/kia-news/55040-sema-2009-trio-tuned-kia-souls.html http://www.kia-forums.com/kia-news/55023-kia-taking-global-green-challenge-new-post.html Fri, 06 Nov 2009 04:50:11 GMT By Jonathan Fletcher, Public Relations ManagerKia Motors AustraliaKia is taking on the gruelling Global Green Challenge from north to south across Australia in the just-launched XM Sorento with R-series turbo diesel.Team Kia Australia’s two-car Sorento team is out to conquer the 3,000kms from Darwin to Adelaide, competing in the Eco Challenge for production cars. [...]

More... ]]> Kia News administrator http://www.kia-forums.com/kia-news/55023-kia-taking-global-green-challenge.html http://www.kia-forums.com/kia-news/54992-venga-q-new-post.html Thu, 05 Nov 2009 06:50:04 GMT David Labrosse Product Planning Manager Europe Technical Center Hello to all Kia BUZZ bloggers! The Kia BUZZ editorial team has collected questions that came up in the blogosphere related to Kia Venga. We thought what better way to answer them then through this little Q&A we cooked up for you. 1. What is Venga about? You know, in Life, nothing [...]

More... ]]> Kia News administrator http://www.kia-forums.com/kia-news/54992-venga-q.html http://www.kia-forums.com/kia-news/54985-2009-sema-show-coverage-new-post.html Wed, 04 Nov 2009 22:40:00 GMT

Held each year in Las Vegas, Nevada, the SEMA Show is an industry event for the Specialty Equipment Manufacturers Association.

Tuners and parts suppliers from across the industry and even from the realm of motorsports come to show off their wares, usually displayed on some sort of eye-catching highly-modified vehicle - be it a muscle car, hot rod or sport compact car.

And let's not forget the increasing presence of mainstream manufacturers like Hyundai, Scion, Honda, Ford, Chevrolet, Cadillac, Chrysler and Dodge. Major areas of interest at SEMA include Racing and Performance, Wheels and Tires, as well as Trucks, SUVs and Off-Road vehicles.

For more check out AutoGuide's live SEMA Show coverage here! ]]> Kia News administrator http://www.kia-forums.com/kia-news/54985-2009-sema-show-coverage.html http://www.kia-forums.com/kia-news/54970-sema-2009-kia-officially-announces-forte-new-post.html Wed, 04 Nov 2009 15:23:05 GMT

When we arrived at Kia's SEMA Show booth, PR boss Alex Fedorak told us that we had guessed correctly – the big announcement, as we correctly surmised, was that Kia is going racing in 2010.

Kia will be racing in the Grand Am Koni Challenge series in a race prepped version of its Forte Koup, taking on competitors like the Honda Civic and BMW 328i. The company is expected to field a two car effort although just one vehicle has been confirmed. The announcement marks the first time Kia will go racing on U.S. soil.

Kinetic Motorsports built the car for Kia, using the same 2.4-liter 4-cylinder motor but tuned to around 220-hp.

Kinetic is no stranger to fielding successful race cars and so Kia also went looking for some seriously talented drivers and found them in Andy Lally and Nic Jönsson. Lally has been driving in the Grand-Am Rolex series and even won the 24 Hours of Daytona in the GT Class just last year. Lally also races in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, Craftsman Truck series, ARCA and Goodies Dash. Jönsson has numerous titles to his name with a long history in Grand-Am and ALMS.

"The Forte Koup is the latest chapter in the dramatic Kia brand transformation story, and the decision to enter into the motorsports arena was an easy one to make," said Michael Sprague, VP of marketing at Kia Motors America. "The Forte Koup's performance-inspired styling and outstanding driving dynamics make it a natural fit for road racing, and competing in GRAND-AM's KONI Challenge Series enables us to reach an entirely new and passionate base of automotive enthusiasts. We expect the Forte Koup to be a strong competitor in the GRAND-AM KONI Challenge Series starting with the first race in Daytona."

Kia is looking to build itself as a performance company and the Forte Koup as a performance car and plans to use this racing initiative to do just that. In speaking to some of the people involved in the Forte Koup race car build, we should expect to see Kia offer performance parts and accessories through its dealership network in the near future.

For more check out AutoGuide's live SEMA Show coverage here!

More: SEMA 2009: Kia Officially Announces Forte Koup Motorsports Program for 2010 on AutoGuide.com ]]> Kia News administrator http://www.kia-forums.com/kia-news/54970-sema-2009-kia-officially-announces-forte.html http://www.kia-forums.com/kia-news/54935-2011-kia-sorento-national-press-introduction-new-post.html Mon, 02 Nov 2009 05:31:02 GMT By Kia Motors America Public Relations team The 2011 Kia Sorento national press introduction in Atlanta is underway with the completion of a successful wave one. On Tuesday, October 27, 62 media had the opportunity to have a behind-the-scenes look at Kia’s all-new CUV during an in-depth business presentation from a product planning, sales, marketing [...]

More... ]]> Kia News administrator http://www.kia-forums.com/kia-news/54935-2011-kia-sorento-national-press-introduction.html http://www.kia-forums.com/kia-news/54893-sema-show-preview-2009-a-new-post.html Fri, 30 Oct 2009 21:28:39 GMT

Held each year in Las Vegas, Nevada, the SEMA Show is an industry event for the Specialty Equipment Manufacturers Association.

Tuners and parts suppliers from across the industry and even from the realm of motorsports come to show off their wares, usually displayed on some sort of eye-catching highly-modified vehicle - be it a muscle car, hot rod or sport compact car.

And let's not forget the increasing presence of mainstream manufacturers like Hyundai, Scion, Honda, Ford, Chevrolet, Cadillac, Chrysler and Dodge. Major areas of interest at SEMA include Racing and Performance, Wheels and Tires, as well as Trucks, SUVs and Off-Road vehicles.

More: SEMA Show Preview 2009 on AutoGuide.com ]]> Kia News administrator http://www.kia-forums.com/kia-news/54893-sema-show-preview-2009-a.html http://www.kia-forums.com/kia-news/54884-sema-preview-kia-announce-forte-koup-new-post.html Fri, 30 Oct 2009 17:16:17 GMT

Kia appears to be readying an announcement that for 2010 it will launch a motorsports initiative using the Forte Koup.

We just received a brief (very brief) email from Kia Motors America stating that the Korean automaker will, "be accelerating its brand transformation" with an announcement at the SEMA (Specialty Equipment Manufacturers Association) Show next week. Included with that announcement was the above photo.

Don't be fooled by the badges and decals, however, as this is no SEMA show car. It appears to be a race ready Forte Koup, with the colors and badging being that of Kinetic Motorsports. Kinetic has long been involved in the Grand Am series an we suspect the announcement will be a car (or team) that will compete in next year's Koni Challenge Series.

Kinetic does also run the Kinetic Speed Shop, for street legal performance, so there is also a strong possibility that Kinetic will be offering a full line of performance parts for the Forte Koup.

If we're really lucky, Kia will announce both.

We'll find out for sure next Tuesday, November 3rd on the first day of the SEMA Show in Las Vegas. Be sure to check back for AutoGuide's live SEMA coverage starting then.

More: SEMA Preview: Kia to Announce Forte Koup Motorsports Initiative? on AutoGuide.com ]]> Kia News administrator http://www.kia-forums.com/kia-news/54884-sema-preview-kia-announce-forte-koup.html http://www.kia-forums.com/kia-news/54873-my-dad-works-kia-back-school-new-post.html Fri, 30 Oct 2009 06:40:13 GMT By Vision Strategy Team Applying for the ‘My dad works at Kia’ programSeptember 3, 2009, was the deadline for signing up for the “My dad works at Kia” program. Around 3,000 employees applied for the program during the month long sign-up period, and each applicant had their own unique reasons for wanting to take part. [...]

More... ]]> Kia News administrator http://www.kia-forums.com/kia-news/54873-my-dad-works-kia-back-school.html http://www.kia-forums.com/kia-news/54872-all-eyes-kia-new-post.html Fri, 30 Oct 2009 06:40:13 GMT By Michael ChooDeputy General ManagerOverseas Communication TeamFor those of you that missed it, Kia Motors was featured last week in a globally broadcasted CNN segment that highlighted our recent dramatic growth amidst the ongoing economic downturn that has been buoyed by our innovative marketing strategies. Live on-location filming with a CNN international crew headed by [...]

More... ]]> Kia News administrator http://www.kia-forums.com/kia-news/54872-all-eyes-kia.html http://www.kia-forums.com/kia-news/54818-kia-soul-s-movie-debut-new-post.html Tue, 27 Oct 2009 08:10:39 GMT By Pamela A. Munoz Overseas Communication Team First it was the British invasion, now it’s the French invasion?! French filmmakers Jonas & Francois, known for directing such videos as Kanye West’s ‘Good Life,’ and Madonna and Justin Timberlake’s ‘4 Minutes,’ recently lent their talents to debuting our very own Kia Soul in its first-ever short film. [...]

More... ]]> Kia News administrator http://www.kia-forums.com/kia-news/54818-kia-soul-s-movie-debut.html http://www.kia-forums.com/kia-news/54741-2010-kia-forte-sx-review-new-post.html Fri, 23 Oct 2009 21:38:51 GMT

There's one serious issue we have with the high-performance SX version of Kia's cool new Forte that keeps us from recommending it. That flaw, by all accounts a tragic flaw, is the car's suspension.

Several months back we tested the EX model and noted that the car has a rather obvious issue with soaking up road imperfections. The SX model amplifies this problem due to a nice set of 17-inch wheels and 215/45/17 tires. We have to lay the blame with the lower profile sidewall on the tires and the stiffer sports suspension.

As a result of this you feel every tiny crack in the road and more sizeable potholes will be giving you nightmares for weeks. The problem is compounded by the car's rather archaic torsion beam rear end – although other cars like the Toyota Corolla and Nissan Sentra use this setup without such issues. If you're unlucky enough (as we were) to come across a longer stretch of bad road, the two vehicle traits come together with brutal discomfort as the car's rear end just can't keep up with all the impacts and ends up getting twisted every which way.

More: 2010 Kia Forte SX Review on AutoGuide.com ]]> Kia News administrator http://www.kia-forums.com/kia-news/54741-2010-kia-forte-sx-review.html