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2014 Kia Forte

Kia Tries Yet Again To Prove That Compact Sedans Are Its Forte
For those keeping track, the introduction of the 2014 Kia Forte sedan marks the second time in five years that Kia has completely redesigned its compact sedan offering. Put another way, car shoppers have now had three entirely different options in this category from Kia - the unloved Spectra along with two generations of the Forte - in the same period of time that Toyota has been building the current Corolla.
If nothing else, it's clear that Kia is committed to making as big of a dent in the compact class as possible. That said, none of Kia's entries have come close to challenging the dominance of the aforementioned Corolla, Honda Civic or Volkswagen Jetta, domestic offerings like the Ford Focus and Chevrolet Cruze, or even the Hyundai Elantra, its slightly older and more subdued Korean sibling, in the race for market share.

Hyundai and Kia introduce new predictive transmission tech

Hyundai and Kia have announced that the two have developed a new transmission control system that optimizes shift logic to both improve efficiency and reduce "gear hunting." The system utilizes real-time traffic data, built-in 3D navigation and the same sensors that feed the cars' advanced safety and driver assist tech to proactively choose the right gear — even neutral in some cases — to reduce both fuel consumption and wear-and-tear. The Korean sister brands call it the "Information Communication Technology Connected Shift System," or "ICT" for short, and Hyundai says it delivers not just improved frugality, but a better all-around driving experience. ICT programming allows the transmission control unit to collect and interpret traffic, camera, sensor, navigation route, elevation and topographical data.  "Using all of these inputs, the TCU predicts the optimal shift scenario for real-time driving situations through an artificial intelligence algorithm and shifts the gears accordingly," the announcement said. "For example, when a relatively long slow down is expected and radar detects no speed irregularities with the car ahead, the transmission clutch temporarily switches to neutral mode to improve fuel efficiency." While this sounds like a primarily green play, there are quality-of-life improvements too. For example, ICT can also optimize gear selection and shift points for safer highway merges, effectively implementing the equivalent of a "Sport Mode" driving profile when a little extra punch is called for.  Hyundai says the resulting decrease in shifts was significant; in some test scenarios, such as roads with lots of curves, the number of shifts executed by the transmission was reduced by almost half. As an added bonus, these vehicles also utilized their brakes less often (11%), which would reduce wear (and accompanying maintenance costs) over time.  ICT is somewhat future-proof, too, as it was developed to incorporate vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) data should such networks improve down the line.  The announcement did not say when the new tech would reach customers, committing only to introducing the technology "on future vehicles." If we're betting, the smart money says it will probably on a new Genesis model and trickle down from there. Related Video:

Kia GT4 Stinger gets top-down teaser

Kia has issued another teaser for its hotly anticipated GT4 Stinger Concept, which is set to debut at the 2014 Detroit Auto Show early next week. Our third teaser for the new car is from above, showing a squat, compact sports car form that makes us rather hopeful for the upcoming debut.
All signs point to the GT4 being a looker, with noticeable vents in the hood, a small back window and rather meaty C-pillars and rear haunches. When Kia calls this "sculpted" in the press release, we're certainly inclined to agree.
As we told you when revealing the GT4's last teaser, a 2.0-liter turbo will be responsible for motivating the rear-drive 2+2. If it held on to the concept's 315 horsepower, a production version of the Stinger Concept would certainly seem like it could have the potential to keep pace with the new EcoBoost-powered Ford Mustang, as well as the Genesis Coupe, from Kia's favorite corporate frenemy, Hyundai.