• By Mike Spinelli
    May 22, 2007 11:36 AM 781
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    #ceed

    Kia cee'd Hybrid Concept Heading To Paris

    Kia Cee'd Grows Into A Mini MPV; Right Size For U.S. Market?

    Another Side to the C'eed: Kia Reveals Back of Hatch
    read more: #xtother, #ceed, #kia, #rio, #rondo, #supercharger, #xr

    Kia to Designate Performance Models "XR"

    It may be cliché to stick a bunch of Xs and Rs on a tweaked econobox and call it a performance brand, but some clichés are just fine for getting the job done. For Kia, XR will mean performance — that is, turbocharging in Europe, supercharging for US-bound cars. Kia told Autocar it's calling that strategy "glocal" — offering a global brand but localized for the specifics of individual markets. The company telegraphed its plans by way of a tricked-out, XR-badged C'eed hatch (above), revealed at a press function in Korea last week. It's all part of a plan to expand Kia sales in the US from 315,000 units last year to 627,000 by 2010. And that's just fine, because cheap, supercharged hatchbacks make us daydream of new ideas for a racing series. – Mike Spinelli

    Hot Kias to be called XR [Autocar]

    Related:
    Droptop C'eed: Kia to Show Concept Cabrio in Geneva [internal]


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