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2015 Kia K900

Let's be honest, Rich America. When you drive your fullsize luxury sedans, you don't clock any laps of the Nürburgring. You don't view your car as an alternative to air travel, ready to wheel between countries at triple-digit Autobahn speeds. Heck, you don't even take the long way home. Instead, you commute in fender-to-fender gridlock looking to be assuaged by sybaritic luxuries, your ride serving as a four-wheeled extension of your living room. Yet when it comes time to vote with your pocketbooks, you overwhelmingly skew toward European driving values - German ones, more specifically. You favor the firm rides, firmer seats and quick steering of cars like the BMW 7 Series and Audi A8. What gives? That's what Kia is clandestinely asking with its new 2015 K900.
According to Kia PR director Scott McKee, this 200.6-inch bruiser of a sedan is all about "at-ease luxury." That's a notion that was once very much synonymous with American automakers' approach to big high-end sedans - effortless comfort above all other considerations. Sprawling room in every direction. Fine materials no matter where the hand falls. The automobile as an isolative cocoon. Once upon a time, Cadillac and Lincoln owned the Comfort First game, but these days, there's almost nobody playing - the Lexus LS and Hyundai Equus are the only cars in this end of the market, everyone else is busy aping German values.
Kia planners could claim that the K900 has been intentionally targeted at a different sort of customer - and indeed, during the press conference ahead of our first drive in Santa Barbara, there was some discussion of "a different kind of luxury" and seeking "confident individualist" buyers. But the truth is, the Korean premium car shoppers that this car was primarily designed for crave exactly the sort of plush luxury experience the K900 dispenses. In other words, Kia is hoping that there are a few thousand like-minded Americans willing to overlook the badge on its nose and give this car a chance.

Next-gen Kia Optima previewed for New York Auto Show

To say the Optima is a vital product for Kia would be an understatement. In fact, the Korean automaker reports that the sedan has been its best-selling model in America for three years running. Replacing it with an all-new model, then, would be a big move for Kia, and that's exactly what it's gearing up to do. The all-new Optima is previewed here in a pair of teaser renderings, and the car is set to debut at the New York Auto Show. Though Kia has given us little in the way of information to accompany the drawings, it's clear that the design has borrowed heavily from the Sportspace concept that debuted in Geneva earlier this month – albeit in production form, and with a trunk instead of an extended roofline. The outgoing Optima was introduced five years ago and is built at plants around the world for local consumption, including in Georgia for the North American market. This will be the fourth iteration of the breed. KIA TO UNVEIL ALL-NEW OPTIMA AT NEW YORK AUTO SHOW Following its 2010 debut at the New York International Auto Show, the Optima became a catalyst for Kia Motors' tremendous growth and has been the brand's best-selling vehicle in the U.S. for three years running. Now, five years later, Kia will return to New York on Wednesday, April 1, for the world debut of the passionately designed and obsessively crafted all-new version of its popular midsize sedan. Related Video:

2015 Sedona shows Kia hasn't given up on minivans

Is it weird that one of the most exciting vehicles to arrive at the 2014 New York Auto Show is a minivan? Well, yeah, it's pretty odd. Still, with the design direction from Peter Schreyer, not to mention Kia's traditionally aggressive pricing, excellent warranty and solid list of high-end equipment, the new, 2015 Sedona could end up being a big winner for the Korean brand.
The design, which shares a lot of the styling that's been instigated by Schreyer since he joined Kia, looks just as good when shaped like a minivan. The grille and headlights clearly tie the Sedona to the likes of the Cadenza and K900, while features like its higher beltline and simple-but-stylish back end should do well with minivan buyers.
At first glance we aren't too enthused by the interior on the largest Kia, however. The dash looks rather plasticky, although the color scheme at work is pretty attractive. Of course, we'll need to get the big van out from under the auto show lights to render a final judgment on the cabin materials. On the space and versatility fronts, though, the Sedona looks like a winner. It will be available in either seven- or eight-passenger configurations, while the Captain's chairs on the seven-seat layout offer an ottoman that should make it even easier for the kids to fall asleep on family road trips.