2009 Kia Rondo Lx Cruise Ctrl Cd Audio Alloy Wheels 68k Texas Direct Auto on 2040-cars

Auto blog

2015 Kia K900

Let's be honest, Rich America. When you drive your fullsize luxury sedans, you don't clock any laps of the Nürburgring. You don't view your car as an alternative to air travel, ready to wheel between countries at triple-digit Autobahn speeds. Heck, you don't even take the long way home. Instead, you commute in fender-to-fender gridlock looking to be assuaged by sybaritic luxuries, your ride serving as a four-wheeled extension of your living room. Yet when it comes time to vote with your pocketbooks, you overwhelmingly skew toward European driving values - German ones, more specifically. You favor the firm rides, firmer seats and quick steering of cars like the BMW 7 Series and Audi A8. What gives? That's what Kia is clandestinely asking with its new 2015 K900.
According to Kia PR director Scott McKee, this 200.6-inch bruiser of a sedan is all about "at-ease luxury." That's a notion that was once very much synonymous with American automakers' approach to big high-end sedans - effortless comfort above all other considerations. Sprawling room in every direction. Fine materials no matter where the hand falls. The automobile as an isolative cocoon. Once upon a time, Cadillac and Lincoln owned the Comfort First game, but these days, there's almost nobody playing - the Lexus LS and Hyundai Equus are the only cars in this end of the market, everyone else is busy aping German values.
Kia planners could claim that the K900 has been intentionally targeted at a different sort of customer - and indeed, during the press conference ahead of our first drive in Santa Barbara, there was some discussion of "a different kind of luxury" and seeking "confident individualist" buyers. But the truth is, the Korean premium car shoppers that this car was primarily designed for crave exactly the sort of plush luxury experience the K900 dispenses. In other words, Kia is hoping that there are a few thousand like-minded Americans willing to overlook the badge on its nose and give this car a chance.

2014 Kia Cadenza goes on sale this month priced from $35,100*

Kia's sedan lineup is about to get much more luxurious with the addition of the new Cadenza and range-topping Quoris models, but the Amanti-replacing 2014 Cadenza will be the first to hit dealers this month with a starting price of $35,100 (*not including $800 for destination). For those keeping record, that's more expensive than Hyundai's version of this car, the Azera, and about $1,000 more than the Genesis, but it sounds like the new front-wheel-drive Kia will be getting a few more advanced features than its Hyundai counterpart.
In base form, the Cadenza comes standard with leather seating, navigation and a premium Infinity 12-speaker audio system, and the $3,000 Luxury Package adds nappa leather seats with a ventilated driver's seat, a seven-inch thin-film transistor (TFT) display, heated rear seats, power tilt and telescoping steering column, adaptive HID headlights and a panoramic sunroof. On models already equipped with the Luxury Package, buyers can also add on the Technology Package, which includes adaptive cruise control, blind spot detection, lane departure warning and hydrophobic glass on the front doors - previously, Kia stated that the Cadenza would be getting this water-repelling technology on the windshield, but this press release specifies that it will be applied to the front side windows. And if these two packages aren't enough luxury for you, Kia's cherry on top is a no-cost White Package that adds white nappa leather seats, woodgrain trim and a premium headliner.
All in, the 2014 Cadenza will run $41,100 with every option box checked, so we can only imagine how much the Qurois is going to cost when it makes its debut. Scroll down for the press release detailing the pricing for the new Cadenza.

Hyundai/Kia's Prius rival to arrive by 2017

The Toyota Prius is the undisputed king of the hybrid market, but Hyundai and Kia are hoping to challenge its reign in the coming years with their own dedicated model. However, in all likelihood this is the same technology being shared between them. "We will take the lead in the future by raising the competitiveness of our environment-friendly cars like hybrid-only cars, plug-in hybrid cars and fuel cell hydrogen cars," Hyundai Motor CEO Kim Choong-ho said to Reuters, during the launch of another vehicle in South Korea.
While Kim didn't say when the model would be ready, Autocar in Europe spoke to people at Kia, who said that the company's own hybrid was two years away and codenamed the DE. The initial vehicle is reportedly a five-door hatchback that's about 169-inches long, with more conventional styling than the Prius. Its powertrain is reportedly based around a 1.6-liter engine with electric assist. A plug-in version might follow later, and other bodystyles on the platform are possible. A recently spotted test mule might show the current state of development on the project (pictured above).
According to Reuters, the decision for the new vehicle comes in order to meet tighter emissions in some markets. However, it seems like a challenging move for the US market. Hyundai already sells its Tucson fuel cell in limited quantities and the Sonata hybrid, and Kia has the Optima hybrid and Soul EV. Industry analysts are also predicting that hybrids might have a hard time versus internal combustion engines in the coming years. In addition, Toyota is rumored to get fuel economy close to 60 miles per gallon for some versions of the next Prius. All of these factors make selling the models here a potentially difficult undertaking.