Jalopnik: Kia

Ryan Reynolds Is Officially Better Than Tom Cruise

Matt Hardigree — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 10:30:00 EST

British motoring show Top Gear is a popular stop on the U.K. interview circuit for two reasons: 1.) It's the most watched show... in the world; 2.) Entertainers get to measure up against their peers on a race track. In last night's episode, Ryan Reynolds takes on Tom Cruise's time. It's charming. More »

Kia Optima SX Limited Is One Way To Spend $34,900

Matt Hardigree — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 14:30:00 EST

America's most sort of exciting mid-sizer — the Kia Optima SX — just got better! Ok, not really better. Or faster. And there's no manual transmission. But it is more expensive in new SX Limited trim, almost reaching the $35,000 mark. What do you have to be high on to pay that for a mid-size sedan? Oh… right. More »

Kia Track'ster Concept: A 250-hp AWD Kimchi-Flavored Hatch

Matt Hardigree — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 13:08:00 EST

It's uncommon for a concept to transcend its sketches, but the Kia Track'ster Concept is that rare vehicle. Based on the Kia Soul, this hot hatch ticks all our boxes with all-wheel-drive, a six-speed transmission, and a 250-hp turbocharged four-banger underhood. If you build it, we will come. More »

Kia Track'ster Concept: A Small Car With Soul

Raphael Orlove — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 16:30:00 EST

Kia is set to debut this tall-boy Track'ster concept at the Chicago Auto Show next week, showing off what the company's California design studio can do and giving us an idea what the next Kia Soul will look like. More »

This Is Five Hours Of Adriana Lima Waving A Flag In Slow Motion

Matt Hardigree — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 14:10:00 EST

Adriana Lima is typically near the top of everyone's "most beautiful people in the world" list and usually in a catalog on the bottom of many a young man's sock drawer. Now we have the Internet. And, thanks to the ad wizards at Kia, five hours of her waving a flag in slow motion. More »

Kia Super Bowl Ad: Tripping With Adriana Lima And Motley Crue

Raphael Orlove — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 12:00:00 EST

Kia's Super Bowl ad throws every testosterone-filled cliché at you in the hopes of that some coolness will rub off on its Optima family sedan. Why? Because this is how things are done now. The only way to surprise us now is with subtlety. More »

And This Winter's Worst Driver Is... [UPDATE]

Matt Hardigree — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 10:30:00 EST

With a few months of winter still yet to come I can definitely say that no one is going to top this horrible driver in a Kia. Nice try Utah drivers. Good effort Seattle commuters. You simply can't top a woman driving at highway speeds in the median while trying to signal into oncoming traffic. UPDATE! More »

Gary Busey Is Doing Ads For Local Car Dealers?

Raphael Orlove — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 15:00:00 EST

If the point of advertising is to make you remember a company or a product, then the local dealerships using Gary Busey as a spokesman are doing a great job. I know that Busey's pitches will stick with me for quite some time, even if it's because it's in my nightmares. More »

Kia GT Concept: Korea's next step in design domination

Peter Orosz — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 09:15:00 EDT

Making the first Euro-style GT is an important guidepost in the life of every Asian car manufacturer. 46 years after Toyota first showed the 2000GT concept at the Tokyo Motor Show, Kia has unveiled its own here at the Frankfurt Motor Show, called simply the GT. More »

Let us be the first to welcome our new Korean overlords

Justin Hyde — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 14:00:00 EDT

Through the first seven months of 2011, Hyundai and Kia have sold more vehicles to Americans than all European automakers combined, and are growing faster than any other automaker. Here's how South Korea's automakers have the rest of the world on the run. More »

Kia's building a V8-powered RWD muscle car

Mike Spinelli — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 13:50:00 EDT

What's up with Kia, reportedly bringing a V8-powered, rear-drive concept to the Frankfurt motor show later this year? Mark our words: "Korean Muscle" will be the catchphrase for the second half of the decade. More »

Kia sold 11,314 Souls in June

Matt Hardigree — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 15:30:00 EDT

No, Anton Levay didn't take over the Korean value brand. Significantly better product, general immunity to Tsunami-disaster parts shortages, and gas prices led Kia to its best June and best quarter ever. Leading the charge was 11,314 cheap Souls. More »

New Kia Rio is not a domesticated macaw from small-town Minnesota

Mike Spinelli — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 14:30:00 EDT

I'll never forget my first time in a Kia Rio. It was Los Angeles, 1937. I'd just started my job as a fluffer for Transworld Airlines. Howard Hughes pulled up. Oh wait, that wasn't a Kia Rio at all. More »

Driver screams "I'm high on cocaine" after car crash

Matt Hardigree — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 14:30:00 EST

When Tony Deloach crashed into a parked car he forgot about the cocaine-laced rolled bill in his Camaro until an officer found it. Deloach then screamed "I'm high on cocaine!" and tried fleeing on foot. He didn't get far. More »

2012 New Kia Rio no longer poster car for personal defeat

Justin Hyde — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 10:20:00 EST

Because Switzerland is the home of all things small and precise, Kia will unveil its redone Rio there next month, aiming to take on the Fiestas and Yaris-es of the world in the new class of small cars you can buy even if you're not a 16-year-old girl or a 36-year-old failure. More »

The Super Bowl car commercial super guide

Justin Hyde — Sat, 05 Feb 2011 01:00:00 EST

After a few dark years, automakers will be flooding the zone of this year's Super Bowl with more fancy advertisements than ever. But why wait for the game? Enjoy your viral marketing now, and our ratings from one to five stars on each: More »

Kia's sci-fi Super Bowl ad stars aliens, Optima

Justin Hyde — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 13:00:00 EST

Cheaper yet better special effects mean even Kia can afford a sci-fi Super Bowl spot for the Optima that shames feature films more than seven years old. But c'mon, any car looks great when surrounded by a million Aztecs. More »

This Is Why You Don't Off-Road Your Kia

Matt Hardigree — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 09:00:00 EST

The Kia Sportage may be an underrated compact SUV, but it's not for off-roading. This enthusiastic Polish Dakar wannabe finds out the hard way, nearly starting a forest fire trying to get it to turnover. (H/T to Mateusz) [via Motofilm.pl] More »

Rust In Peace: Ten Cars That Died In 2010

Keith Barry, Wired Autopia — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 14:00:00 EST

Despite what the song says, some old acquaintances should be forgot and never brought to mind. Keith Barry of Wired's Autopia does the dirty work of remembering these ten departed models of 2010. — Ed. More »

Top Gear USA's Reasonably-Priced Car Is... The Kia Rio

Matt Hardigree — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 13:30:00 EDT

The Americanized version of Top Gear is carrying over the "Star In A Reasonably-Priced Car" segment as we previously reported, and we've just learned from our source that the star car in question is the Kia Rio. Again. UPDATE. More »

Michelle Wie Drives It Hard In Kia Soul Commercial

Matt Hardigree — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 15:30:00 EDT

Golfer Michelle Wie and Kia swing at the establishment with this new commercial for the Soul. Wie looks great, the Kid Sister remix is jarring compared to the vocal-less indie music rehash. But does this make Wie a hamster? More »

Kia Exec Resigns Over Recalls

Matt Hardigree — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 12:15:00 EDT

The Koreans are now so rich they can afford to be responsible. More »

Kia Pop: The Juicy Fruit of Electric Concept Cars

Ray Wert — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 10:20:00 EDT

Maybe, like Juicy Fruit, the taste of Kia's new electric concept only moves you when you Pop it in your mouth. [Kia] More »

The 2011 Kia Optima Kicks Relative Ass

Wes Siler — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 13:00:00 EDT

What kind of crazy world is it when Kia is releasing the most desirable new non-performance car at the NY show? Ambitious styling, high-tech engines, MacPherson front and multi-link rear suspension add up to a possible killer mid-size. More »

2011 Kia Optima: The G8 Wants Its Side Vents Back

Ben Wojdyla — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 10:30:00 EDT

The 2011 Kia Optima will adopt the old American mantra of longer-lower-wider at its New York Auto Show debut. Also present? Some respectable, if derivative, styling; Pay no attention to the nicked Pontiac G8 fender vents. More »

A Little Sawzall Work, and Festiva Becomes Truckstiva!

Murilee Martin — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 13:00:00 EST

What can you do with a beater Festiva? We all know the answer to that question! More »

Next Kia Optima Headed For New York

Ben Wojdyla — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 13:00:00 EST

Since the Hyundai Sonata's new this year, its platform-sibling, the Kia Optima, gets an update too. It's headed to the New York Auto Show, where auto journalists will undoubtedly use the Optima to opine about how quickly Kia's become noteworthy. More »

Kia's Robot To Creep Us Out In Third Quarter Of Super Bowl

Matt Hardigree — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 12:30:00 EST

Remember that freaky ass little Kia robot from the Detroit Auto show? It's back and, according to the company, it's going to star in the company's first Super Bowl ad. We're scared. More »

New Kia Sportage Dangerously Nearing Relevance

Ben Wojdyla — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 08:30:00 EST

Remember when Kia was used as a foil to modernize Yugo jokes? With the Forte, the Forte Koup, Soul, Sorento and 2011 Kia Sportage, the brand's becoming relevant, at least in looks. Don't think so? Check out the current Sportage. More »

Kia Ray Concept Beaming Into Chicago

Ben Wojdyla — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 09:00:00 EST

This image teases the plug-in hybrid Kia Ray Concept, with such a name it'll probably be slathered in solar-electric cells and if it debuts to The Beatles "Here Comes The Sun," groans will be audible from the Chicago Auto Show. More »

Wert Interviews Kia's Creepy Human-Powered Robot

Matt Hardigree — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 16:45:00 EST

The third of Isaac Asimov's "Three Laws of Robotics" states a robot must protect itself as long as such protection does not involve harming a human or disobeying orders. Therefore, the disturbing man-bot can't kill Wert for taunting him. More »

Kia UVO Beats Ford SYNC To Less-Annoying Voice Commands

Matt Hardigree — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 13:30:00 EST

In our experience, the novelty of screaming voice commands at your SYNC-equipped Ford to get it to play one freaking song wears off after a day. Kia's new MIcrosoft-based UVO system beats SYNC to the punch with a solution. More »

Kia Bringing UVO System To CES

Matt Hardigree — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 10:45:00 EST

Microsoft syncs up with Kia, gives birth to UVO. [AutoNews (Sub. Req)] More »

2011 Kia Sportage Impossible To Differntiate From Sorento

Matt Hardigree — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 08:30:00 EST

This spy photo from Auto.it purports to be the 2011 Kia Sportage. We'd be more likely to believe it if the shot didn't make it look so much look like the 2011 Kia Sorento. More »

Nissan GT-R and Kia Soul: Separated At Birth?

Wes Siler — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 14:00:00 EST

Cantilevered roofs, trapezoidal front grilles, black-out glass houses, silly vents in the front wings; we never realized the Kia Soul looked so much like a Nissan GT-R. [YorgoTloupas] More »

Jalopnik's Worst10 Cars Of The Decade

Mon, 14 Dec 2009 12:00:00 EST

Jalopnik's Worst10 Cars Of The Decade" alt="Click here to read Jalopnik's Worst10 Cars Of The Decade" src="http://cache.jalopnik.com/assets/images/12/2012/01/small_b95ea916656479bc43e43c0fb3ab7679.jpg"/>

As we approach the end of the decade, it's time to look back. To start, say hello to Bad: Unless you hate yourself, hate your money, or simply enjoy life too much, here's ten cars you shouldn't be driving. More »

Kia Readying RWD Genesis-Based Sedan

Wes Siler — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 17:15:00 EST

According to AboutCar, Kia presented this sketch of a Hyundai Genesis-based RWD sedan in Korea last week. The Kia K9 is expected to first birth a concept, then a production model during 2011 using a 385 HP V8. Update! More »

2011 Kia Sorento: Signed, Sealed, Delivered

Sam Smith — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 10:00:00 EST

Yep, those are signatures. Hundreds and hundreds of signatures. Every single person who helped build the first Kia Sorento scrawled their name on its sheet metal. Pride, thy name is brand-new (and surprisingly attractive) Korean SUV. More »

BMW, Toyota Don't Make IIHS 2010 Top Safety List

Matt Hardigree — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:00:01 EST

This year, people aren't thinking about buying a car the IIHS considers one of the 27 safest for 2010. They're thinking about pink slips, erectile dysfunction, and suicide. According to the IIHS, these people should buy Toyotas and BMWs. More »

Kia Cadenza Like The Amanti But Attractive

Matt Hardigree — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 09:30:00 EDT

Hyundai and Kia continue to snag more market share than any other U.S. automaker, and vehicles like this new Kia Amanti are the reason why. Based on the Kia VG Concept, this new Kia Cadenza will replace the forgettable Amanti. More »