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2015 Kia K900 proves Korea's other brand has arrived

Kia entered the US market in 1993 with the Sephia, a compact economy car you probably don't (want to) remember, and two decades later it has stepped on stage at the LA Auto Show to unveil a rear-wheel-drive, fullsize luxury sedan called the K900. The achievement here isn't the car itself, its handsome styling or the incredible value it might be (pricing has yet to be announced), but rather that no one thinks it's strange for this company that once sold us the Sephia to compete head-to-head with the best luxury brands in the world. It's a testament to what 20 years of hard work can do.
No one thinks it's strange for this company that once sold us the Sephia to compete head-to-head with the best luxury brands in the world.
As for the car itself, it does indeed have handsome styling. Kia's design language wears nicely on the K900's larger frame. The large, 19-inch, multi-spoke wheels keep that big body from looking disproportionate, and the all-LED headlights give the front end a suitably high-tech appearance that's required in this class of overachievers.

2020 Kia Soul X-Line Review | At least it looks the part

The Kia Soul was always intended to be a city creature. When it was launched a decade ago, it was an answer to weird city cars like the Scion xB and Nissan Cube. It had funky styling, bright colors, and speakers with lights that pulsed to your music. The 2020 Kia Soul may be an evolution in terms style and size from that original version, but the market has changed to frame it in a different light. The JDM boxes are gone, succeeded by a variety of sub-compact SUVs like the Honda HR-V, Jeep Renegade and Hyundai Kona. The previous Soul competed very well with them, and the new version for 2020 does even better, offering a compelling recipe of value, space and style. It still doesn't offer all-wheel drive, but then, neither does the Nissan Kicks or Toyota C-HR. Nevertheless, all of these vehicles are supposed to be able to leave town once in a while, to perhaps get dirty (or carry things that might, like a mountain bike or kayak). That’s part of the appeal of the segment, to enable an Instagram-friendly lifestyle. ThatÂ’s why the 2020 Kia Soul X-Line was hatched. To find out how it does at satisfying its mission, I set out on a road trip from Portland into Central Oregon toward the towns of Redmond and Bend. ItÂ’s a trek made daily by countless Subaru Crosstreks, a vehicle Kia almost certainly hopes to poach some customers from. I even brought a current Crosstrek owner along for the ride. Outside, the Subaru playbook was consulted and the requisite black plastic body cladding applied to the fascias, rocker and doors. The grille has a more rugged mesh insert accented by foglights and tasteful alloy-look trim, which is also used on the rocker panels, mirror caps and roof rails that are only available from the factory on the X-Line. The halogen headlights are in the same place as they are on lower Soul trim levels, but the alloy-look trim draws more attention to them – they look a bit like big, old-school driving lights. In total, it does indeed make the Soul look like a little SUV – and an attractive one at that, especially when painted Undercover Green. Sadly, our test car was Gravity Gray. The interior, by contrast, isnÂ’t any more special than the base trim. There's handsome, textured silver plastic trim on the doors and it comes with "Black Woven Cloth" that's actually quite nice for a car that costs $21,000. There are no Jeep-like rugged details or decals.

Hyundai And Kia Penalized $350 Million For Overstated MPG Claims

Nearly two years after Hyundai and Kia announced they exaggerated fuel economy numbers for several of their most popular models, the two Korean automakers have paid a heavy penalty for the transgressions. The Department of Justice and Environmental Protection Agency announced a settlement Monday that will cost the two car companies approximately $350 million. The financial sum includes a $100 million fine, the largest ever levied under the Clean Air Act, and about $200 million in forfeited greenhouse-gas emissions credits. At a time when car buyers rank fuel economy as a top concern when they head to dealerships and the federal government has mandated increased efficiency, Attorney General Eric Holder said the settlement should serve as a warning to automakers not to fudge their numbers. "This will send a strong message that cheating is not profitable," he said. The settlement ends a federal lawsuit filed against the automakers in U.S. District Court, but it's important to note that it doesn't end a class-action lawsuit filed on behalf of consumers. A preliminary settlement in that case, based in Los Angeles, was approved last month, but final approval isn't expected until July 2015. Officials with the EPA said the $100 million figure roughly equals the economic benefits the two companies received from exaggerating the mileage claims on the window stickers of new cars. Fuel-efficient boasts helped Hyundai and Kia establish a strong foothold in the U.S. marketplace. Advertisements for the Hyundai Elantra stated the vehicle achieved 40 miles per gallon in highway driving, and helped the car win the prestigious North American Car Of The Year honors at the Detroit Auto Show for its 2012 model. In July 2011, the advocacy group Consumer Watchdog began receiving complaints from consumers that the Elantra and other Hyundai models fell short of their stated mileage claims in real-world driving. The group wrote to the EPA and Hyundai, asking both to investigate. Government officials said Kia had overstated the mileage on its popular Kia Soul crossover by 6 miles per gallon, and more than a dozen overall models were affected. On Monday, EPA administrator Gina McCarthy said the violations were "egregious." Based on the exaggerations, the EPA calculated that Hyundai and Kia had underreported the greenhouse gas emissions of their fleets by about 4.75 metric tons over the estimated lifetime of the vehicles. That figure aided in the $200 million credit forfeiture.