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Did a US automaker blow the whistle on Hyundai, Kia fuel economy issue?

In all of the most hotly contested mainstream segments of the motoring universe, the difference of one mile per gallon averaged on a widow sticker can mean the difference between a sale and a walk-off - to say nothing of two or three mpg. So, when Hyundai and Kia were forced to reveal that many of their 40-mpg ratings were actually 38s and 37s, well, it made for big news.
It also, conceivably, made for a competitive disadvantage immediately, when the Korean automakers' products were being shopped versus the guys down the block. And it's that disadvantage that makes a recent story from Automotive News so juicy.
AN is reporting that Margo Oge, former head of the Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Transportation and Air Quality, got a tip in 2010 that Hyundai/Kia were "cheating" to get its impressive fuel economy numbers. The tip, said Oge (who retired from the EPA this past September), came from a senior vice president from a domestic automaker. The source was credible enough for Oge to launch an audit of the Hyundai figures, which ultimately lead to the debacle that we reported on a few months ago, and that the Korean company has been trying to bounce back from ever since.

Kia decides on Mexico plant location for small car assembly

Mexico has long been a hot spot for auto manufacturing, but the country's fortunes have been boosted lately, with Honda, Mazda and Nissan recently adding factories there, and BMW is said to be poised to join them soon. Now, new reports indicate that Kia might start building south of the border to keep up with demand.
Insiders speaking to Reuters claim that the Korean automaker is very close to striking a deal to build a factory for two small models in Monterrey, Mexico, with a 300,000-vehicle annual capacity. Assembly could reportedly begin as soon as 21 months after ground is broken.
If true, Kia has done a fantastic job of keeping the deal under wraps. The only hint at anything like this brewing was a rumor last year that Hyundai may have investigation building a factory in Mexico. The company currently operates a factory in Georgia that builds the Optima and Sorento.

Kia Cub Concept wanders over from Seoul

The little machine you see above is the Kia Cub. The Cub first debuted at the Seoul Motor Show, but this is the first time we've been able to see it ourselves in person, so we pointed our camera lenses its way and got to snapping.
According to our men on the show floor, the Kia Cub Concept is "quite good looking," with a squat and funky shape that looks mostly ready for production. With a five-door hatchback shape featuring reverse-opening doors (we'll resist calling them suicide doors... whoops...), this machine doesn't seem to share much design DNA with current Kia products. And that's fine. As much as we like Kia's swoopy line of cars and 'utes, a little shakeup every now and then never hurts.
We're sure the diminutive hatchback would be a fun car to pilot, with 204 horsepower and 195 pound-feet of torque coming from its turbocharged and direct injected 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine. Kia quotes a 0-62 time of 7.7 seconds and a top speed of 143 miles per hour. Sounds to us like it could be a worthy competitor to such successful sporting hatchbacks as the Mini Cooper S and Fiat 500 Abarth.