2009 Kia Spectra Lx, Automatic, 2.0l, 76k Miles, on 2040-cars

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Recharge Wrap-up: Kia Soul EV wins Canadian Green Car of the Year, Proterra logs 1 million miles

The Kia Soul EV has been awarded the inaugural Canadian Green Car of the Year Award. It beat out three other finalists - the Honda Fit, Subaru Legacy and Toyota Camry Hybrid - to receive the honors at the Vancouver International Auto Show from the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC). Before narrowing the field to the four finalists, seven eligible cars were chosen after back-to-back testing during the AJAC's "TestFest" last fall. "This acknowledgement is testimony to Kia's ongoing commitment to deliver environmentally friendly automotive solutions and diverse powertrains to consumers without compromising on design or comfort," says Kia Canada Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Maria Soklis. Read more in the press release from the AJAC. Proterra electric buses have logged a cumulative 1 million miles of revenue service. To celebrate, Proterra held a special event at its Greenville, SC plant, wherein it recognized each of its transit agency partners with an award commemorating the milestone. Proterra President and CEO Ryan Popple say Proterra and its partners "can offer the world a million proof points to bolster the fact that electric vehicles not only offer great performance, but represent the best total cost of ownership and environmental option for transit agencies." Proterra estimates its customers have saved 250,000 gallons of fuel and 3.5 million pounds of emissions over those million miles. Read more in the press release from Proterra below. EV Connect and GE are teaming up for a joint marketing and product agreement. The agreement makes GE the preferred provider of charging stations for EV Connect, giving them access to GE's WattStation and DuraStation chargers and WattStation Connect cloud-based operating platform. Of course, the agreement also makes EV Connect GE's preferred management company. "Together with EV Connect, we will be able to provide customers with an innovative, end-to-end solution capable of meeting customers' everyday EV charging station requirements," says GE's Seth Cutler. The agreement also expands the market of both companies worldwide. Read more in EV Connect's press release.

Kia Cee'd GT and Pro_cee'd GT are Korean for "hot hatch" [w/video]

Kia has pulled back the curtain on its sportiest offerings to date at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show. The Cee'd GT and Pro_cee'd GT benefit from a direct-injection, turbocharged 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine good for 204 horsepower and 195 pound-feet of torque. Those numbers are up 51 percent and 61 percent over the models' base engine, respectively. A six-speed manual transmission puts power to the front wheels, and Kia says the hatches can spring to 60 mph in 7.7 seconds. Top speed for both sits at 143 miles per hour. Penned by design guru Peter Schreyer, the cars wear tweaked front fascias complete with new grilles, headlamps and fog lamps.
Out back, dual-exit exhaust separate GT models from their common kin, and 18-inch alloy wheels are standard equipment. Indoors, buyers can expect to find a set of Recaro sport buckets and a specially designed TFT instrument cluster. Take a peek at a brief video of the Pro_cee'd GT and the official press release below.

Kia may produce all-electric version of the Niro crossover

Kia is considering producing an all-electric version of the Niro, the crossover vehicle that was the first from the South Korean company to be designed as a dedicated hybrid vehicle. Kia Motors operating chief Tae-Hyun Oh told the UK's Car Dealer magazine that the Niro's size, utility, and hybrid pedigree, along with stricter worldwide emissions mandates, may push the automaker to make a Niro EV. Kia, whose sister company Hyundai sells the hydrogen fuel-cell Tucson crossover in limited numbers, is also considering making a fuel-cell car in order to boost its green-vehicle pedigree further. Kia has sold more than 1,000 Niro hybrid vehicles since that model debuted in August. An all-electric Niro would be based on the same platform as the Kia Ioniq. That model has hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and battery-electric variants, reflecting what Kia said earlier this year was a three-pronged attack to broaden the Ioniq's exposure. The all-electric version of the Ioniq, which debuted in South Korea earlier this year and is slated to start sales in the US by the end of 2016, has a 28-kilowatt-hour battery pack that provides a single-charge range of about 110 miles. Currently, Kia sells an all-electric version of the Soul crossover. That model can go 93 miles on a full charge, though reports surfaced in September that the Kia Soul will get a refresh in 2018 that will boost its single-charge range in order to better compete with longer-range models such as the Chevrolet Bolt and Tesla Model 3. The Niro was first shown off as a concept model at the 2013 Frankfurt Motor Show, while a production version was unveiled at the Chicago Auto Show this February. Related Video: Featured Gallery 2017 Kia Niro View 18 Photos News Source: Car Dealer via Hybrid Cars Green Kia Crossover Electric kia niro