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Sales incentive growth clustered around brands with few CUVs, trucks

While it's arguably been around the longest, the dominance of the four-door sedan has been under threat for many years. As a further sign of the hurtin' that SUVs and crossovers have put on today's four-doors, a new report from Automotive News points to the increasing use of incentives by brands reliant on cars and light on CUVs and pickups.
Honda, Toyota, Volkswagen and Kia have all been stung by double-digit increases in their incentives-to-transaction price ratio, according to AN, which cites data from TrueCar. Honda's ratio is up 14 percent, while Toyota, VW and Kia are up 18, 15 and 19 percent, respectively.
"Most of the incentive growth we have seen is in product segments with low demand - midsized or large sedans," TrueCar CEO John Krafcik told AN. "As this trend goes on, the brands with three-sedan strategies are going to be in worse shape on incentive spending than the crossover brands."

2017 Kia Sportage gets bigger and gains bulbous new duds

Anyone who's been keeping an eye on our monthly By The Numbers series of posts knows that crossovers are the kings of the automobile world in 2015. That's not likely to change any time soon, at least so long as gasoline remains relatively cheap and lenders remain willing to offer ever-longer loans with reasonable interest rates. Kia looks perfectly positioned to capitalize on the booming crossover trend with its latest Sportage. The 2017 Kia Sportage is a bit more bubbly on the outside than before, and it's got more interior room thanks to a chassis that's been stretched 1.2 inches longer than the previous model. Two powertrains will be available: a 2.4-liter four-cylinder with 181 horsepower and 175 pound-feet of torque, and a 2.0-liter turbo with impressive figures of 241 hp and 260 lb-ft. A six-speed automatic transmission is standard across the board. All-wheel drive will, of course, be optional, and Kia claims the new Sportage will be more fuel efficient than before. Kia's latest infotainment system will make its debut inside the 2017 Sportage, and it will bring both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto on a seven- or eight-inch screen, though LX models will have a lesser five-inch display. We don't yet know how much the 2017 Kia Sportage will cost, but we'd bet dollars to donuts that it will be competitive with the rest of the compact crossover segment. There's a lot more information to be gleaned from the press release below. First, though, we suggest you watch the video up above to see Kia's latest cute 'ute for yourself as it struts its stuff at the LA Auto Show. Then, Sportage fans are welcome to geek out to our high-res image gallery. All-new 2017 Kia Sportage makes North American Debut at Los Angeles Auto Show Fourth-Generation Sportage Compact CUV Boasts Sophisticated Design, a Refined Premium Interior and Significant Ride and Handling Improvements - Stiffer structure, new suspension, advanced driver assistance systems, and premium materials take Sportage to the head of the class - Cutting-edge design, engaging driving dynamics and intelligent packaging stand out in a staid compact CUV segment - First Kia to offer UVO3, featuring 14 telematics services, 8 GB of music storage, access to onscreen apps and Wi-Fi tethering capability, all free of charge Los Angeles, November 18, 2015 – Kia Motors America (KMA) today unveiled the all-new 2017 Sportage at the Los Angeles Auto Show.

Kia's promised "four-door coupe" Cub concept... isn't

Kia appears to have pulled a quick one on the world with its Cub Concept. As it turns out, the machine isn't the four-door coupe they promised at all. Instead, the little showcar is a five-door hatch with suicide rear doors. That's certainly fine by our reckoning, but it isn't quite what we were expecting to see on display at the Seoul Motor Show. The concept was penned at the company's design studio in Seoul with direction from Peter Schreyer, and it gets its thrust from a 204-horsepower, 1.6-liter direct-injection four-cylinder engine. With 195 pound-feet of torque on hand, we suspect the Cub would have little trouble hustling down the road.
Indoors, the Cub serves up black leather seats with yellow accents as well as a new Driving Information System that uses a gesture camera to control various operations. Right now, there are apparently no plans to put the Cub into production anywhere in the world, but we wouldn't be surprised to see some of the hatchback's elements make their way to the show room floor.