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Kia Sorento spotted high-altitude testing after 'Ring run

Some models stick around the market longer than others. The Kia Sorento, for example, lasted for a good eight years in its first iteration, and the second-generation model has been around for five years now. Sure, it had a facelift a couple of years ago, but if it's going to make it in the highly competitive midsize crossover market, Kia is going to have to do better than that.
And that appears to be just what it has in store. Following the previous spy shots we brought you from the Nürburgring the better part of a year ago, the next-generation Sorento has now been spotted shlepping a trailer up a mountain.
Expected to debut as soon as the Paris Motor Show in October, the third-generation Kia Sorento appears to have grown longer in order to better accommodate third-row passengers. You can also expect the latest technologies on board and maybe, just maybe, a plug-in hybrid powertain option. Watch this space for more and scope out the spy shots in the gallery above for a closer look.

Volkswagen Group, BMW Z4 top Total Value Awards by Strategic Vision

It was just nine months ago that Strategic Vision announced its 2011 Total Value Awards, but you don't have to wait until next year for the 2012 awards. The Volkswagen Group keeps its lead as the number one brand, with seven products taking top category spots: Golf, Jetta Wagon, CC, Eos and Audi A3 Wagon, Q5 and Q7. Strategic Vision says "true innovation" - "rich and impactful, intuitive, motivational, in-depth and is able to trigger description by the user in great specificity" - is the open secret of the brands with the strongest showings. Results are culled from 77,153 owners covering more than 350 new cars bought between September of 2011 and 2012 ranked in the Total Value Index (TVI).
Other notable winners are Hyundai-Kia following VW in the brand category and having the Hyundai Elantra and Kia Sorento among category winners, the BMW Z4 taking the premium roadster category and the highest overall score of any vehicle, the Chevrolet Volt continuing to gather silverware in the Special Category, nabbing the second-highest score of all and representative of "nearly perfect innovation," and Chrysler and Dodge being most improved.
Check out the press release below for your day's dose of jargon and all the winners.

Hyundai will launch 26 green models through 2020

Hyundai Motor Group, which comprises both Hyundai and Kia, believes that launching a blitz of 26 green models through 2020 could place the Korean automaker among the leaders in the segment. Only Toyota would be larger in the electrified vehicle market, if Hyundai Motor's plan works, Automotive News reports. The 26 models run the gamut of the green car field, and they include at least 12 hybrids, six PHEVs, two EVs, and two hydrogen fuel cells, according to Automotive News. If customers latch onto them, Hyundai and Kia could move as many as 300,000 electrified vehicles a year by 2020 versus about 43,000 in 2015. Kia is responsible for at least 11 of these vehicles like the upcoming Niro crossover. Meanwhile, Hyundai wants the upcoming Ioniq (above) to challenge the Toyota Prius, and the Korean company has hybrid, PHEV, and EV versions on the way. To save money on the development of so many electrified vehicles, Hyundai Motor uses shared components. "For example, all our electric motors have the same diameter," Lee Ki-Sang, Hyundai's green powertrain boss, told Automotive News. "The power output is different, but we can just adjust the width of the core winding. Or for the motor controller, we standardized to use the same printed circuit boards." Trying to go from a relatively small player to a market leader is an audacious move, but it's especially risky right now. Gas prices are the cheapest in 12 years in the US, and green car sales are down in the US and in Europe. Toyota even predicts the inexpensive fuel could cut into Prius sales, and it's far more established than Hyundai's models. The South Korean company could have an even tougher time because these efficient vehicles still lose money for now. "Our target is before 2020, we would like to make profits on these eco-friendly vehicles," Lee told Automotive News. Related Video: