11 Sorento Lx V6 Awd 3rd Row Bluetooth Siriusxm Radio 41k Miles 1 Owner Video on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Kia confirms Cub "four-door coupe" concept for Seoul

Kia has announced it is headed to the Seoul Motor Show with a new sedan concept. Details are still scarce, but the Kia CUB Concept should be small, at under 13 feet long and come with coupe-like proportions. Kia wants the vehicle to "appeal to trend-setting urban dwellers," a notoriously car-hungry market. The automaker says the Cub has a cheerful face decorated with two-point LED headlamps just like those found on the Quoris flagship, but the teaser image above looks a bit more sinister than happy to us. Kia plans to give the Cub a proper unveiling on March 28.
Hyundai has also given us a glimpse at what the company has planned for Seoul with its HND-9 luxury sports coupe. You can refresh yourself on that machine by checking out the post here. You can also take a closer look at the brief press release below.

Kia America shuffles executives

Kia announced a sudden and massive shuffle of its most senior executives in North America, including the resignation of its CEO and new roles for some of his top lieutenants. The biggest change is the departure of Byung Mo Ahn, who had until now served as both CEO of Kia Motors America and head of the company's manufacturing operations in Georgia, as well as a group vice chairman. Ahn is stepping down from all three positions with immediate effect, but will stay on in an advisory capacity. In his place, Jang Won Sohn moves from his previous post as a senior vice president at the home office to take over Kia Motors America. The task of running Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia will fall to Hyun Jong Shin, currently the plant's executive vice president and chief operating officer. Along with those replacements, Kia promoted Michael Sprague (pictured) to the newly created position of COO and executive vice president for Kia Motors America – a step up from his current title as EVP of sales and marketing. He reports directly to Sohn and takes over responsibility for product planning as well as sales, marketing and service. KIA MOTORS AMERICA STATEMENT REGARDING ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGES Effective immediately, the Group Vice Chairman and CEO of Kia Motors America (KMA) and Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia (KMMG), Byung Mo Ahn, has left these positions and will become a company advisor. Jang Won Sohn, formerly a Senior Vice President at KMC, assumes the position of President and CEO of KMA, and Hyun Jong Shin, formerly KMMG's Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, assumes the position of President and CEO of KMMG. Michael Sprague, formerly KMA's Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing, has been appointed to the newly created position of Chief Operating Officer and EVP of KMA, reporting directly to Mr. Sohn, and will serve as the central point of contact for all sales, marketing, service and product planning functions.

Kia Trail'ster Concept brings traction for the Soul in Chicago

Kia teased its hybrid all-wheel drive Trail'ster concept prior to the 2015 Chicago Auto Show debut, but the company kept some of this off-road Soul's biggest features a secret. Designed both to go off the beaten path and drive efficiently in the city, the company's designers in California added 2.5-inches of extra ground clearance and aluminum skid plates to give the hatchback a more rugged appearance. Drivers can also let the weather into the cabin thanks to a retractable canvas roof. However, the Trail'ster's most intriguing feature is its drivetrain. With a platform still based on the production Soul, up front there's a 1.6-liter turbocharged four-cylinder with stop/start churning out 185 horsepower and 185 pound-feet of torque through a six-speed automatic gearbox. The gas engine exclusively runs the front axle; at the rear there's an electric motor with 35 hp and 100 lb-ft with a 1.2-kWh lithium-ion polymer battery under the cargo floor providing assistance. The whole system produces a total output of 220 hp and 285 lb-ft of twist, and the Kia claims, the concept could even run two or three miles purely on electric power. There's no physical connection between the internal combustion engine at the front and electric in the rear. Under low-throttle situations, the electric motor runs exclusively, but under most driving conditions, the all-wheel drive system provides extra traction and a bit more acceleration. Kia claims that if it put this layout into production it would offer 25-30 percent better city fuel economy and a 5-10 percent improvement on the highway compared to the current 2.0-liter powertrain in the Soul. That works about to about 30 miles per gallon city and 34 mpg highway, based on the maximum figures. The automaker isn't saying anything official yet, but it's at least hinting that a system like this could end up in the Soul one day. "The Trail'ster concept is a near-future look at how the production Kia Soul would logically evolve into an AWD-capable version that's built to escape the city streets and roam into the mountain wilderness," Tom Kearns, chief designer at the Kia Design Center of America, said in the model's announcement.