2014 Kia Optima Lx on 2040-cars

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Kia pulls covers off 2015 Sedona with New York as its backdrop

This, ladies and gentlemen, is the 2015 Kia Sedona. The automaker is sticking firm with its convictions in the minivan segment, but it's hedging its bets, saying the Sedona's "CUV-like styling and proportions offer all of the functional convenience of the segment while defying its design limitations."
The 2015 Sedona can be configured to seat either seven or eight occupants, and its size specifications put it right at or near the top of its class in most categories, including leg room. Kia says this is the final piece of the styling puzzle that started when design director Peter Schreyer took the helm of the Korean company's studio. We certainly see some masculine cues, especially with its high belt line and relatively small windows. We think the end result is pretty attractive though it falls clearly in minivan territory, you're welcome to draw your own conclusions after scrolling through the image gallery above.
Kia promises the new Sedona will provide "an element of desire" with "improved driving dynamics" to go along with all that room inside. To that end, the new Sedona's chassis is reportedly 36-percent stiffer than the best of its competition, due to a body shell crafted from 76-percent high-strength steel. Kia expects a five-star safety rating from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, though the van has yet to be crash tested.

Hurricane Sandy cost automakers 15,000 vehicles, may have ruined up to 200k

Hurricane Sandy was the largest Atlantic storm in US history, and its total economic impact is just now coming into view. According to Automotive News, Toyota, Chrysler, Nissan and Honda are set to scrap around 15,000 new vehicles ruined by the storm. Nissan alone accounts for about 40 percent of those, with 6,000 Nissan and Infiniti models deeded "un-saleable" due to damage. The company saw 56 dealerships shuttered due to the storm, but 51 of those have since reopened.
Toyota, meanwhile, had some 4,000 vehicles at its Newark port facility, and of those, 3,000 may be scrapped. An additional 825 were dealer inventory when they were ruined. Honda and Acura dealers are reportedly sending 3,440 vehicles to the salvage yard. By comparison, Chrysler weathered the storm fairly well with 825 units destroyed, while Hyundai suffered only 400 lost units and Kia scrapped around 200.
As you may recall, Fisker also suffered some losses, and Automotive News reports the manufacturer saw 320 Karma models damaged beyond repair. Ford and General Motors have yet to come up with estimates, and no automaker has commented on the full cost of replacing the vehicles.

Supermodel Adriana Lima kicks off World Cup fever with Kia

Americans, it has been said time and time again, will never embrace soccer. Not when we have so many other sports (like baseball, basketball, hockey and American football) to watch, cheer on and follow. But if anyone can change minds, surely it's Adriana Lima. The Latin American supermodel - best known for being a Victoria's Secret Angel - is the lust-worthy centerpiece of Kia's campaign for the FIFA World Cup, taking place this year in her native Brazil.
Kia is sponsoring this year's international soccer championship, and is kicking off its campaign with two ads in which Lima does her best to convert Americans into futbol fans and players. Which seem like a losing battle to begin with, but the least believable part of it very well might be that an international supermodel like Adriana would be driving around in an Optima or Sorento and not in a Mercedes or Maserati convertible. Of course that doesn't mean we mind watching her try, and so can you in the pair of clips below.