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2020 Kia Telluride makes surprise debut at New York Fashion Week

About two and a half years after the concept's debut in Detroit, the (mostly) production 2020 Kia Telluride has been revealed in New York for Fashion Week. The odd location for the reveal has to do with a partnership with fashion designer Brandon Maxwell who got Kia to donate to his childhood school district in Marfa, Texas, as part of the deal to display the SUV at the show. It has also been customized to fit Maxwell's Texas-themed line of fashion for spring and summer of 2019. Although the production SUV is partly obscured by custom features such as the off-road bumpers, skid plates, auxiliary lights, ladder and spare tire, this is still our best look yet at the SUV. There's clearly a lot of influence from the old concept, but there's also been quite a bit of compromise for production. It's a clean design that's still pretty squared off. The headlight and grille design borrow heavily from the concept, and the taillights are pulled right from it. It's much taller now and more rounded. The rear hatch isn't upright and vertical anymore, the front fascia has been given an arc that softens it, and the proportions between the headlights and grille seem like they may still be in flux. Kia is still keeping many of the technical details under wraps. The company says that the Telluride will have seating for up to 8 passengers, and that it's a few inches longer and wider than the current largest crossover in its line, the 7-passenger Sorento. It will also have a V6 under the hood. Availability and pricing still have yet to be announced, but we expect it to go on sale early next year. The crossover will be assembled at Kia's factory in Georgia. Related Video:

Volkswagen Group, BMW Z4 top Total Value Awards by Strategic Vision

It was just nine months ago that Strategic Vision announced its 2011 Total Value Awards, but you don't have to wait until next year for the 2012 awards. The Volkswagen Group keeps its lead as the number one brand, with seven products taking top category spots: Golf, Jetta Wagon, CC, Eos and Audi A3 Wagon, Q5 and Q7. Strategic Vision says "true innovation" - "rich and impactful, intuitive, motivational, in-depth and is able to trigger description by the user in great specificity" - is the open secret of the brands with the strongest showings. Results are culled from 77,153 owners covering more than 350 new cars bought between September of 2011 and 2012 ranked in the Total Value Index (TVI).
Other notable winners are Hyundai-Kia following VW in the brand category and having the Hyundai Elantra and Kia Sorento among category winners, the BMW Z4 taking the premium roadster category and the highest overall score of any vehicle, the Chevrolet Volt continuing to gather silverware in the Special Category, nabbing the second-highest score of all and representative of "nearly perfect innovation," and Chrysler and Dodge being most improved.
Check out the press release below for your day's dose of jargon and all the winners.

Next-generation Kia Soul spied with old box shape, new split headlights

The current Kia Soul has been around since the 2014 model year, and Kia has kept the little box fresh with the introductions of electric and turbocharged variants, the latter of which appeared for the 2017 model year. But based on these spy shots, Kia is preparing a more thorough redesign of the hatchback/quasi-crossover. Though Kia has covered the front and rear of the new Soul carefully, the middle section gives it away as the favored transportation of anthropomorphic hamsters. Also, while there are indications there will be significant design changes, the basic formula won't change. It will still have a really thick D-pillar, darkened A-pillar and a roof that gets thinner toward the front. The roof itself also looks a bit taller, although perhaps its just the rear windows that have gotten smaller. It appears the front fascia and windshield will also retain a similar amount of rake to the current models to prevent it from looking overly boxy. The front end, as camouflaged as it is, also reveals a major lighting change. Instead of the very large headlamps of the last two generations, the forward lighting will be split in two, and the primary illumination looks to be coming from the lower elements. This design follows in the footsteps of Hyundai's Kona and upcoming Santa Fe, as well as the Nissan Juke and previous Jeep Cherokee. The upper elements also look as though they sit lower in the fascia than on past models, perhaps to give the new Soul a more aggressive look. The back is also thoroughly covered up, but we can tell that the high-mounted taillights in the D-pillars will continue. It also looks like they wrap around the bottom of the rear glass this time. This is the first time we've seen the new Soul, and Kia hasn't said much about its plans for the car. We expect that it will continue to offer at least one naturally aspirated engine, if not two as it does currently, and a peppier turbo model. We would also suspect that all-wheel drive will be on the table to better compete with sub-compact SUVs like the Jeep Renegade and Honda HR-V, which have virtually the same body style as the tall, boxy Soul. Many already consider them rivals and Kia has even hinted at the possibility with its Trail'ster concept. We'll be keeping an ear to the ground, and an eye on the rear ends of Souls, to learn more in the future. Related Video: Featured Gallery Kia Soul spy shots View 11 Photos Image Credit: Brian Williams Spy Photos Kia Crossover Hatchback Economy Cars