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2014 Kia Forte Koup bows with new look, new engine

Third time's the charm. The final member of Kia's Forte trio has been revealed here at the New York Auto Show, and this new coupe Koup will join the sedan and five-door models when it goes on sale near the end of this year.
The two-door Forte looks sharp, and we like the way Kia's new design language for its compact car has translated onto this coupe model. LED running lights are found up front, matching the LED taillmaps at the rear. EX models will ride on 16-inch alloy wheels, while the upgraded SX model will use 18-inch rollers.
Two powertrains will be offered in the Forte Koup: a 2.0-liter naturally aspirated inline-four in the EX, producing 173 horsepower and 154 pound-feet of torque, mated exclusively to a six-speed automatic transmission; and a turbocharged 1.6-liter four in the SX, rated at 201 horsepower and 195 pound-feet of torque, available with either a six-speed manual or automatic transmission. The five-door Forte also gets this turbocharged mill, and if its specs sound familiar, it's because this engine is also found under the hood of the Hyundai Veloster Turbo.

2016 Kia Cee'd GT Line brings new 1.0-liter engine to Geneva

The Kia Sportspace Concept might exhibit the future of the Korean brand's styling, but the Cee'd GT Line at the Geneva Motor Show is the first glimpse at two of the company's powertrain innovations – at least for the European market. The GT Line is meant as a compromise between the sporty Cee'd GT and the regular model. By taking this path, buyers get slightly angrier styling on the outside but more efficient engines under the hood. Offered in the three-door, five-door and wagon bodies, these models get LED running lights up front, lower side sills, an updated rear bumper, a revised exhaust design and 17-inch wheels. However, what really makes the GT Line something special is this is the first opportunity for European buyers to get Kia's new 1.0-liter turbocharged three-cylinder engine and separately its seven-speed dual-clutch transmission. The tiny mill with stop/start makes 118 horsepower and 127 pound-feet of torque in the Cee'd and is only available with a six-speed manual. Conversely, customers that want the new gearbox need to order the upgraded 1.6-liter diesel four-cylinder with 131 horsepower and 210 pound-feet of torque. All versions of this slightly warmer hatch go on sale in the fourth quarter across the pond. SPORTY KIA CEE'D GT LINE LAUNCHED WITH NEW ENGINE AND DUAL-CLUTCH TRANSMISSION GT Line model blends the looks of sporty cee'd GT and versatility of the conventional cee'd , inside and out Debut for Kia's all-new three-cylinder 1.0-litre T-GDi engine More power and torque and fewer emissions form new seven-speed DCT Kia cee'd GT Line available across Europe in Q4 2015 Kia Motors Europe will unveil a new Kia cee'd 'GT Line' specification at the 85th Salon International de l'Automobile in Geneva on 3 March 2015. In addition to a range of visual upgrades, the new cee'd GT Line signifies the arrival of Kia's all-new downsized 1.0-litre T-GDi (turbo gasoline direct injection) engine and new seven-speed dual-clutch transmission in Europe. The look of the GT, the versatility of a conventional cee'd The new GT Line offers buyers the sporty looks of the high performance Kia cee'd GT and pro_cee'd GT and the versatility of the conventional cee'd model family. The GT Line specification is available on all three cee'd body types – five-door cee'd, three-door pro_cee'd and cee'd Sportswagon.

What do J.D. Power's quality ratings really measure?

Check these recently released J.D. Power Initial Quality Study (IQS) results. Do they raise any questions in your mind? Premium sports-car maker Porsche sits in first place for the third straight year, so are Porsches really the best-built cars in the U.S. market? Korean brands Kia and Hyundai are second and fourth, so are Korean vehicles suddenly better than their US, European, and Japanese competitors? Are workaday Chevrolets (seventh place) better than premium Buicks (11th), and Buicks better than luxury Cadillacs (21st), even though all are assembled in General Motors plants with the same processes and many shared parts? Are Japanese Acuras (26th) worse than German Volkswagens (24th)? And is "quality" really what it used to be (and what most perceive it to be), a measure of build excellence? Or has it evolved into much more a measure of likeability and ease of use? To properly analyze these widely watched results, we must first understand what IQS actually studies, and what the numerical scores really mean. First, as its name indicates, it's all about "initial" quality, measured by problems reported by new-vehicle owners in their first 90 days of ownership. If something breaks or falls off four months in, it doesn't count here. Second, the scores are problems per 100 vehicles, or PP100. So Power's 2015 IQS industry average of 112 PP100 translates to just 1.12 reported problems per vehicle. Third, no attempt is made to differentiate BIG problems from minor ones. Thus a transmission or engine failure counts the same as a squeaky glove box door, tricky phone pairing, inconsistent voice recognition, or anything else that annoys the owner. Traditionally, a high-quality vehicle is one that is well-bolted together. It doesn't leak, squeak, rattle, shed parts, show gaps between panels, or break down and leave you stranded. By this standard, there are very few poor-quality new vehicles in today's U.S. market. But what "quality" should not mean, is subjective likeability: ease of operation of the radio, climate controls, or seat adjusters, phone pairing, music downloading, sizes of touch pads on an infotainment screen, quickness of system response, or accuracy of voice-recognition. These are ergonomic "human factors" issues, not "quality" problems. Yet these kinds of pleasability issues are now dominating today's JDP "quality" ratings.