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Kia, Mercedes, Carmax poised to return to NBA after league bans Sterling

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver dispatched some swift justice yesterday on the bigoted owner of the Los Angeles Clippers, Donald Sterling. The 80-year-old billionaire was banned for life and fined $2.5 million for making strongly racist remarks that were recorded on tape. Commissioner Silver has also vowed to try and force Sterling to sell the Clippers in a bid to sever any and all connection between him and the NBA.
Sponsors had rapidly abandoned the Clippers, with covers like the one above going up on sponsor logos during a playoff game against the Golden State Warriors earlier this week, due to the strong and vocal public condemnation of Sterling and his views. With the punishments in place, though, the door has been opened for Kia, the southern California dealer group for Mercedes-Benz and used-car retailer CarMax (among other, less auto-related organizations like State Farm, Red Bull and Sprint) to renew their sponsorship with the team.
"We stand with the Commissioner, the league, the players and the fans condemning Mr. Sterling's views. We look forward to a positive resolution and continuing our relationships within the NBA community, including our league and team sponsorships and our personal ties to [Clippers star] Blake Griffin," Kia said in a statement obtained by Automotive News.

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.

Kia recalls 9,700 new Sorento models for potential front axle failures

Kia has announced a recall on the 2014 Sorento due to an issue that could lead to a broken right front driveshaft on certain models. Only models equipped with the 2.4-liter inline four-cylinder engine and front-wheel drive are affected by the campaign.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says that Sorento models built between January 7 through March 12 of this year may experience broken axle shafts that could lead to loss of power or cause the vehicle to roll if parked. According to the Detroit Free Press, a total of close to 9,700 units are being recalled, but that number is closer to 9,300 for customers in the US.
Kia says that it has had one incident with an internal vehicle that experienced a separated axle shaft in addition to 10 related warranty claims, but it says no accidents or injuries have been reported. The recall campaign will begin next month. Scroll down for the NHTSA recall notice as well as an official statement from Kia.