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Kia shows sketches of sleek new 2019 K900 sedan

Kia has released two new sketches of the upcoming redesigned K900 sedan, after showing the car's profile last month. No longer resembling a scaled-up Optima, Kia says the design is a joint effort between its global design office in Namyang and the U.S. design studio in Irvine, Calif. The new upscale K900 will gain lines that have definitely been inspired by German manufacturers' luxury offerings — perhaps its design head Peter Schreyer's touch is showing through. The current generation has been with us since 2012, and the new generation might be a strong enough design to improve the K900's modest sales. Kia says the K900's design is based on a concept called "Gravity of Prestige," which certainly has resulted in a restrained, tasteful sedan without gimmicks. Even if the sportback Stinger positioned below the K900 looks good, it's a far more aggressive and whimsical design than what we see in these images. Kia mentions the new "Quadric Pattern" front grille on the K900 as having 176 "jewel-like" cells, which create an illusion of energy much like the spindle grille on the Lexus LF-1 Limitless concept; the headlights in turn are inspired by "the trajectory of light," and are called Duplex Comet lights. These teaser images aren't far from the finished product, as Kia says the K900 will already go on sale on the second quarter of 2018 in selected markets. So a full reveal is surely happening soon. It could be a good candidate for the New York Auto Show, since it's both a U.S. location that would make sense for a car partly designed in America, and it's one of the last big shows before the second quarter of 2018. Related Video:

Kia confirms Soul EV headed to US, cue the electric hamsters

Kia has been toying with the notion of an electric vehicle for years now. In the two years since the Korean automaker revealed the Ray EV concept, rumors of a battery-powered production vehicle have persisted, evidenced most recently by spy shots showing an electric version of the Soul hatchback this past July. Now Kia has officially announced that the Soul EV is heading for production.
Although Kia has yet to reveal official photos or specifications, this is the first confirmation we've received that the Soul EV is indeed headed for a showroom near you. Set to arrive sometime next year, the Soul EV promises to pack an as-yet unspecified arrangement of electric motors and batteries and visual cues that aim to improve the vehicle's aerodynamics and differentiate it from the conventionally powered Soul.
We'll have to wait until its debut approaches at an undetermined upcoming auto show in the US for more details, but for now you can delve into the official announcement below and scope out those same spy shots in the gallery above.

Kia plans production version of Telluride full-size SUV

Kia is reportedly planning an announcement on a production version of the Telluride, a full-sized three-row SUV it unveiled as a concept at the 2016 Detroit auto show. The news comes after a year in which Kia lost sales in the hot-selling utility vehicle segment. Wards Auto reports Orth Hedrick, Kia's vice president for product planning, as saying the company will "have some announcements soon" about the seven-passenger vehicle. Sister brand Hyundai is also expected to bring a large crossover in 2019 as a 2020 model. The Telluride was built on the modified underpinnings of Kia's Sorento crossover. It featured a 270-horsepower, 3.5-liter V6 paired with a 130-hp electric motor that combined for 30 miles per gallon on the highway in all-wheel drive, though of course there's no guarantee the production version would carry identical specifications. Kia reportedly sees a need in its portfolio for a utility vehicle with more space than is offered by the Sorento, a midsize crossover now in its third generation that also offers three rows of seating. The company could use a boost in the popular segment: Sales of the Sorento slipped 13 percent in 2017 to 99,684, while sales also fell 10 percent for the Sportage, to 72,824. Kia last offered a full-size SUV with the short-lived Borrego, which it launched as a 2009 model. The brand is also developing an electric version of the Niro crossover, which it unveiled recently at CES, that gets 238 miles of range.Related Video: Featured Gallery Kia Telluride Concept View 13 Photos Plants/Manufacturing Kia Crossover SUV kia sorento kia niro Sport Utility kia telluride kia telluride concept