Kim Clijsters et Kia pour la bonne cause

Kim Clijsters est devenue ambassadrice de SOS Villages d'enfants en mars 2010. Après avoir soutenu le projet Simba à Liedekerke, elle met sa popularité et son aide au service du village d'enfants Chantevent, à Bande. C'est elle qui a contacté directement son sponsor, la marque Kia, pour convenir de ce geste.

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New /// Kia Rio 3 portes 2012

La nouvelle Kia Rio, qui débarque dans une catégorie très disputée, où l'on trouve notamment des voitures comme la Ford Fiesta, la VW Polo ou l'Opel Corsa, sera commercialisée prochainement aussi en 3 portes.

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Concept /// Kia GT 2011

Le constructeur coréen Kia se rendra à Francfort avec un concept car assez étonnant. Ce véhicule se veut le témoin d'une nouvelle identité visuelle pour Kia pour ses prochains nouveaux modèles tout en indiquant un souhait de monter en gamme et en prestige.

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China-Made Kia Forte Debuts at Shanghai Show

Korea's Kia Motors is extending its Chinese portfolio with the introduction of the locally-built Forte sedan (known in many markets as the new Cerato) as well as the Korea-produced new Sorento Crossover that made its world premiere earlier this month at the 2009 Seoul Motor Show. The vital for Kia's future success in China, Forte sedan, will be produced at its joint venture Donfeng Yueda Kia (DYK) plant in the Jiangsu province and it will be sold alongside the current generation model, called the Cerato.

The Korean automaker said that it also plans to introduce to the market the Forte Koup, which was unveiled last week at the New York Motor Show and is scheduled to go on sale globally in late 2009.

For the Chinese market, the four-door Forte sedan will be offered with a choice of a 2.0-litre gasoline and a locally produced 1.6-litre gasoline engine, with manual or automatic transmissions, in a selection of 10 exterior and two interior colors.

As for the new Sorento SUV / Crossover, Chinese buyers will be able to choose from two engines, a Theta II 2.4-liter gasoline with 4WD and 6-speed automatic transmission and a R 2.2-liter diesel also with 4WD and 6-speed automatic transmission.

Even though it is expected that the new Chinese car market will slow down to single digits in 2009, Kia said that its sale target for the year is over 195,000 units, or 30 percent more than 2008 when it achieved sales of 151,000 vehicles.

source: http://carscoop.blogspot.com

Kia Soul's European Sales Surpass 5,000 mark, 13 Percent Higher Than Predicted

The new Kia Soul subcompact crossover has got off to a good start in Europe with sales surpassing the 5,000 mark since it went fully on sale across the continent in January, 2009. That's 13 percent higher than Kia's executives initially anticipated. In particular, 1,334 cars were delivered in January, while keys for a further 1,485 cars were handed to customers in February and an additional 2,172 Souls found their way out of Kia dealer showrooms in March. However, just to put things into perspective, Ford's new Fiesta sold 20,654 units in March - and that's in the UK alone...

source: http://carscoop.blogspot.com

VIDEO: Kia Forte Koup Presentation from New York Auto Show

One of the most significant debuts at the 2009 New York Auto Show is Kia's first ever two-door coupe, the 2010 Forte Koup that will be available in the States from this summer with a choice of two four-cylinder engines, a 2.0-liter unit with 156HP and a 2.4-liter producing 173HP. If you hit the jump you can watch the media presentation of the Forte Koup from the New York Show that includes a short 'walkaround' with Tom Kearns, Chief Designer of Kia Design Center America.

source: http://carscoop.blogspot.com

2010 Kia Forte Koup makes Global Debut in NY: 60-High Res Photos

Continuing its long-term assault on the market, Kia blew the covers off the production version of the Koup concept that was unveiled during last year's New York Auto Show. The Korean automaker's first-ever two door coupe model is based on the new Forte Sedan with which it shares the mechanical hardware as well as the interior design. On the outside, it's another story as Kia has come up with a sharp looking design featuring a lower stance and a series of unique styling cues that differentiate the Koup from the sedan.

And while it's evident that the Kia's small coupe bears a few design similarities with Honda's European Civic hatchback (front) as well as from the Acura RSX (rear), overall, the 2010 Forte Koup looks pretty neat.

"On the heel of the introductions of the Soul and Forte sedan, Forte Koup represents the next exciting step in the transformation of Kia design and offers a blend of sporty and emotional appeal," said Michael Sprague, vice president, marketing, KMA. "We believe our new design evolution coupled with standard Kia value and safety features will continue to attract customers to the Kia brand."

Built on the Forte sedan's front-wheel drive platform, the Koup comes with a wheelbase of 104.3 inches, an overall length of 176.4 inches, an overall width of 69.5 inches and overall height of 55.1 inches, meaning that it's slightly shorter in length and height than its four-door counterpart.

Like the Forte sedan, the Koup will be offered with two four-cylinder gasoline engines, a 2.0-liter unit for the EX model producing 156 horsepower and 144 pound-feet of torque and a 2.4-liter unit for the SX that delivers 173 horsepower and 168 pound-feet of torque.

Both models are available with two transmission options, a standard five-speed manual transmission or an optional electronically controlled four-speed automatic transmission for the 2.0L EX, and a standard six-speed manual transmission and an optional five-speed automatic transmission with Sportmatic for the 2.4L SX.

Kia said that the 2.0-liter engine offers 25mpg city and 34 mpg highway with either tranmssion while the more powerful 2.4-liter engine is rated at 22mpg city and 32 mpg highway with the six-speed manual and 23/31 mpg when paired with the five-speed automatic transmission.

Sales in the U.S. are expected to start later in the year.

source: http://carscoop.blogspot.com