Kia Launches Chinese Horki Brand with Forte-Based Concept

Kia’s Chinese market joint venture Dongfeng Yueda Kia (DYK) has selected the “Horki” name for its new Chinese-market brand.

The automaker says Horki brand vehicles will be aimed at customers looking for reliable, efficient wheels, while Kia-badged products will skew more to the sporty and stylish side. A pair of Chinese characters represent the Horki brand, the first one “Hor” signifies China and the second one “Ki” relates to driving. So Horki literally means “driving in China.” (That literally covers a lot of territory.) Even before adding Horki to the mix, the expanding Chinese domestic market was awash with hundreds of brands, most of them unknown outside Sino borders.

The as-yet-unnamed (no word as to whether Horki Pokey is in the running) four-door sedan concept shown here is based on the current Kia Forte platform, but appears to share little or no sheetmetal with that model, instead sporting some details, such as the front fascia, A-pillars, and rear decklid that seem to have been inspired by the larger Kia Optima. Dongfeng Yueda Kia didn’t confirm that it would build the car, but did say it will release some sort of vehicle in the latter part of 2015. DYK’s full range of products will also include alternative-powered vehicles. If the Chinese aren’t interested in hybrids and EVs for efficiency reasons (although everybody likes better mileage), maybe they’ll buy them to help alleviate the country’s notorious smog problem.

Courtesy of Car and Driver.

Kia cars to get Google Maps integration

Google is partnering with at least two Korean car makers to integrate its Google Maps and Place services into Kia’s new UVO eServices telematics system, a tech site reported this week.

 

The Next Web said Google's new services may roll out later this year for Kia's new 2014 Sorento models, with the Sorento going on sale in the first quarter.

 

It said the system will provide turn-by-turn directions and assist the location of nearby points of interest.

 

Kia also developed its own UVO smartphone app, which will connect to the Sorento’s telematic system via a Send-to-Car feature.

 

The feature beams mapping data from the handset directly to the car. The Android app is expected to launch in the second quarter.

 

Google Maps will also be integrated into Hyundai via Google's Send-to-Car feature, as well as Hyundai's Blue Link technology, though it is not immeditely clear which car models will sport the services.

 

Courtesy of GMA News.

Kia Dealers to Give Customers Three-Month SiriusXM Subscription When Buying Pre-Owned Vehicles Equipped with Satellite Radio

NEW YORK, April 9, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Sirius XM Radio (SIRI) and Kia Motors America today announced that Kia dealers will give customers a three-month SiriusXM subscription when buying pre-owned vehicles equipped with satellite radio.  Participating Kia dealers join more than 9,000 auto dealers across the country enrolled in the SiriusXM Pre-Owned Vehicle Program.

Customers buying pre-owned vehicles with a factory-equipped satellite radio, regardless of manufacturer, from any Kia dealer participating in the SiriusXM Pre-Owned Vehicle Program will automatically receive a three-month SiriusXM subscription offering commercial-free music, premier sports talk and live events, comedy, news, and exclusive talk and entertainment.

"We are very excited to add Kia dealers to our growing list of dealerships across the country participating in the SiriusXM Pre-Owned Vehicle Program," said Joe Verbrugge, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Automotive Remarketing and Retail Sales, SiriusXM. "We look forward to working with Kia dealers to demonstrate our wide array of entertainment options for their pre-owned vehicle customers and make the buying experience better than ever."

"SiriusXM's unique combination of commercial-free music, unparalleled sports events, and exclusive entertainment has been a popular feature for customers buying new Kia vehicles," said Adam Perlow, Executive Director of Retail Sales for Kia Motors America, Inc.  "We are pleased our dealers will be able to demonstrate SiriusXM to their pre-owned vehicle customers and the addition of a satellite radio subscription will strengthen the dealer's ability to offer high-quality vehicles with the latest audio entertainment features and amenities at an incredible value."

Kia dealers interested in enrolling in this program can enroll at www.siriusxmpreownedtrial.com.
For more information on SiriusXM, please visit www.siriusxm.com.

Courtesy of Yahoo Finance.

Monday Maintenance Tip: Engines

Clean your engine!

There are several reasons to wash your engine at least every year or two. A clean engine will run cooler than a dirty one. You’ll be more apt to tackle routine belt and hose checks and the like if you know you won’t get covered with grime every time you do so. A clean engine will also make it much easier to spot leaks and to service components. Remember to protect sensitive engine components — including the air intake, distributor, and electrical parts — with plastic bags before getting started. Use dishwashing liquid or other grease-cutting detergents and a bristle brush to scrub engine and components surfaces. Rinse thoroughly. Heavy-duty engine cleaning products are available at automotive parts stores. Follow the directions carefully. You may also have your engine professionally steam cleaned.

Courtesy of Reader's Digest.

Get 10% Off Service During April!

How well have you been taking care of your car? Come in and get 10% off service for the month of April!

Get the coupon here.

Kia plans rear-drive BRZ/FR-S-fighting sports car

Kia is apparently working on a two-seat, rear-wheel drive sports car to rival the Subaru BRZ and Scion FR-S twins. The Korean carmaker has done a lot to revamp its image.

Granted, the potential Kia sports car isn’t coming anytime soon. Designers have just begun working on it, England’s What Car? reports.

“We have made a model of an affordable, two-seat, rear-wheel-drive coupe,” Kia designer Tom Kearns told What Car?.

Since they debuted last year, the BRZ and FR-S have been the darlings of the car world because of their simplicity and focus on driving fun. By co-opting the popularity of these cars (and the equally petite Mazda Miata roadster) Kia could find a profitable niche and there could be other benefits as well.

A small, two-seat Kia coupe would perfectly complement parent company Hyundai’s four-seat Genesis Coupe. The choice of two sizes of rear-wheel drive sports coupe would make for a dynamic duo unmatched by any other mainstream carmaker.

It would also add some fun to Kia’s competent but serious lineup. With the exception of the fabulously frivolous Soul, Kia doesn’t really take on projects that won’t win it plaudits in the pages of Consumer Reports.

Right now, Kia builds some of the best looking cars on the road, and they’re faultlessly reliable to boot

A Kia BRZ/FR-S competitor would give the brand an air of sportiness, and it would give enthusiasts another choice for their next drift car. Maybe, in the process, some of that sportiness will rub off on Kia’s other products, too.

Courtesy of DigitalTrends.com.

Kia Partners With Univision For Reality Show

Kia Motors America, in its ongoing effort to shift from being seen as a low-cost "rational" brand to a more emotionally driven "fun" brand, has signed on with Univision. The partnership is around the beauty pageant reality show, "Nuestra Belleza Latina," of which Kia will be the official automotive partner.

Besides a season-long, on-air brand integration with the show, there will be digital activations that include sponsored challenges for the show's contestants using various Kia vehicles, with season winner getting the redesigned 2014 Forte compact sedan.

Michael Sprague, who last June was promoted to EVP of Kia from VP of marketing and communications, said raising consumer awareness, perception and consideration for the brand is key. "And sponsoring 'Nuestra Belleza Latina' is the latest effort to communicate and interact with the Hispanic community in authentic and meaningful ways," he said, in a statement.

The company's integration includes segments in which contestants spend leisure time with a Kia vehicle. Digital activations include 11 custom pieces for Univision.com with the contestants, and a custom photo shoot of this season's winner with her Forte and social media promotion. The automaker tapped la Punto as Hispanic creative agency back in 2005.

Kia, whose advertising is lighthearted and offbeat, with Hamsters and grown up toys as starring characters, has also moved to get the brand in front of younger auto fans who like to customize cars. The company last month signed a 10-month deal with DC Entertainment and buff book Super Street. The automaker, which has been showing off super-hero themed cars for the last year or so, used the 2013 Chicago Auto Show to show a Superman-inspired Optima Hybrid. The partnership is to support DC's “We Can Be Heroes” charitable relief effort to fund efforts to ameliorate long-standing famine in the draught-wracked Horn of Africa.

The company unveiled a Batman version in New York last fall, a Green Lantern-themed Soul, Forte Coup done up as The Flash, a five-door version of the Forte with a Cyborg theme, and a Rio with an Aquaman theme at last year's SEMA show in Las Vegas. There will be an eighth vehicle meant to represent all seven in one.

Kia, which is launching a redesigned version of the Soul compact crossover this year also had a big reveal or two in Geneva last week: the Kia Provo Concept, meant to suggest where the automaker's design language is heading and a Euro market compact hatch for the adrenalin set called Pro_cee'd GT.

Courtesy of MediaPost News.