Kia Sorento Base 4 Dr Suv Manual Gasoline 2.4l 4 Cyl Engine Dark Cherry on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Hyundai, Kia to temporarily close U.S. plants in path of Irma

SEOUL — South Korea's Hyundai and sister car maker Kia said on Monday they planned to temporarily shut down plants in the United States to avoid potential damage from Hurricane Irma. The shut down comes at a time Hyundai's U.S. sales have fallen more than the market average, and after it recently announced plans to expand its SUV lineup and launch a pickup truck in the market in an attempt to reverse the slide. In a statement, Hyundai Motor said it would suspend operation of its Alabama plant for two days - between Monday and Wednesday — while Kia Motors will stop operation of its Georgia plant for one day - between Monday and Tuesday. The suspension is expected to result in lost production of about 3,000 vehicles for both, the Yonhap news agency earlier said on Monday, citing a Hyundai Motor group spokesman. A Hyundai spokeswoman declined to comment on the number. Hurricane Irma took aim at heavily populated areas of central Florida on Monday as it carved a path of destruction through the state with high winds and storm surges that left millions without power, ripped roofs off homes and flooded city streets. Hyundai's U.S. sales are down nearly 11 percent this year through July 31, worse than the overall 2.9 percent decline in U.S. car and light truck sales. Sales of the Sonata, once a pillar of Hyundai's U.S. franchise, have fallen 30 percent through the first seven months of 2017. In contrast, sales of Hyundai's current SUV lineup are up 11 percent for the first seven months of this year. Reporting by Joyce LeeRelated Video: Plants/Manufacturing Hyundai Kia alabama

Kia to show widebody custom Stinger at SEMA

Kia will take to the SEMA Show later this month with a modified version of its Stinger fastback sedan that it developed with West Coast Customs. This tuned version gets a number of high-performance enhancements, including a widened body, lowered front and rear suspension, gloss black front grille, carbon fiber aero kit, 21-inch forged wheels, widebody fender flares, rear diffuser and squared-off exhaust tips. The Stinger is a fastback sedan and the brand's first GT offering, inspired by the grand touring cars of the '60s and '70s, designed in Frankfurt and developed on the Nurburgring circuit. When it goes on sale in December, it'll come in a choice of two engines: a base 2.0-liter turbocharged four pushing out 255 horsepower and 260 pound-feet of torque, and a GT version with a 3.3-liter twin-turbo V6 generating 365 hp and 376 lb-ft that's also found in the Genesis G90. It also comes in rear- and all-wheel-drive configurations, with standard Nappa leather interior and plenty of passenger and cargo space. You can read our First Drive impressions of the GT version here. Kia also promises upgrades to the tuned Stinger's cockpit. It'll be unveiled Oct. 31 alongside two other custom Kia vehicles, with more news to come in the days ahead.Related Video: Featured Gallery Kia Stinger GT Widebody by West Coast Customs: SEMA 2017 View 9 Photos Image Credit: Copyright 2017 Drew Phillips / Autoblog.com SEMA Show Kia Sedan kia stinger gt west coast customs

Trump encouraged by talk of 'a level playing field' on trade with South Korea

South Korea is a longstanding American ally, but President Donald Trump has spoken harshly about U.S. trade imbalances and threatened to tear up the bilateral trade pact. "We will do more to remove barriers to reciprocal trade and market access," Trump said, adding that the two leaders had talked about the thorny trade areas of steel and autos. Trump said he was encouraged by South Korea's President Moon Jae-in's assurances that he would seek a level playing field for American workers and businesses, particularly automakers. A joint statement said the two sides had agreed to work together to reduce over supply of basic materials such as steel and non-tariff barriers. It also said Trump had accepted an invitation from Moon to visit South Korea this year. Bonnie Glaser, senior adviser for Asia at the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank, said it was unwise for Trump to air the trade issue so publicly. "Public complaints by Trump about unfair trade and inadequate defense spending provide opportunities for China and North Korea to drive a wedge between the allies," she said. The U.S. goods trade deficit with South Korea has more than doubled since the U.S.-Korea free trade pact known as KORUS took effect in 2012. The agreement was forecast to boost U.S. exports by $10 billion a year, but in 2016 they were $3 billion lower than in 2011. At the start of Friday's talks, U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said the largest component of the deficit was automotive trade and many non-tariff barriers to U.S. auto exports to South Korea remained. "I think the way to address it is to deal product by product with what we can do to change the export side and what we can do to reduce the bad imports side," he said. Ross said later on Friday that some progress had been made in the talks. The current pact was agreed to despite protests by supporters of Moon, who was then in opposition. But analysts have suggested that given the need to preserve a unified front in the face of a hostile North Korea, there could be compromise on both sides to resolve issues. (By David Brunnstrom and Lisa Lambert. Additional reporting by Fatima Bhojani, Roberta Rampton, Tim Ahmann, David Chance, David Lawder and Eric Beech; Editing by Bill Trott and Andrew Hay) Related Video: Image Credit: Kim Hong-Ji / Reuters Government/Legal Genesis Hyundai Kia trade