The Kia Sportage Cross-over Turn Heads into 2012

When we transition directly into 2012, just one car to check out once again is the 2012 Kia Sportage. It absolutely was entirely refurbished, and so the 2012 Kia Sportage design provides just a few modifications. For that matter, the only real new components for that forthcoming year are definitely the suspensions and some additional audio insulation. In any other case, there are several new additional in some of the trims. The Competition involves the Toyota RAV4 and Honda CRV, both providing a little more cargo space. Other competitors are the Mitsubishi Outlander and the Chevrolet Equinox, and that is generally companies to companies within this comparability.

Features of the Kia Sportage incorporate snazzy cabin and outlook appearance which will make heads turn. Additionally, there are top quality found inside the Kia Sportage that could improve the value in some other manufacturers.

The Kia Sportage has 5 seats and is presented in the basic foundation, EX and LX trim levels, along with the modified turbocompresseur SX trim.

The base provides specifications like 16inch cast aluminum wheels, all-power accessories, air-conditioning, pull back on steering wheel together with audio and phone features. It arrives with material furniture, but there’s a premium package deal you may get with all the top grade EX for a leather alternative.

The Kia Sportage LX provides you with convert signals on the outlook mirrors, keyless entry and also tinted rear windows. Together with the Kia Sportage EX you will have LED daytime running lights, chrome exterior features, 18-inch wheels, fog lights, a rear spoiler, dual-zone automatic hvac, a leather-wrapped controls, roof rails and also telescopes, a power driver seats, and, fully grasp this, a chilled glove-box.

Obviously, you can also find deals such as the EX Premium-package that not only present leather-based covers, but additionally heated up front seats, a panoramic sunroof, a ventilated driver seat, rear parking sensors, and auto-dimming rear-view mirror. With the EX and LX models you can also find the choices of a modified sound system and a voice-controlled navigation system with a backup camera.

Underneath the hoods, the EX and LX are all 2.4 liter inline 4 engines applying 168 pound-feet of torque and 176 Hp. You will get the base using a 6-speed of manual transmissions. The EX and also LX features a 6-speed automated, as well, however, you can easily select front or perhaps all wheel drive or even the turbo-charged with 2.0 liter engine SX trim, which with front-wheel-drive has been examination automobile for this car reviews.

The Kia Sportage precautionary features incorporate front side and also full-length side window curtain safety bags, active front head rests, anti lock disc brakes with brake support, traction’s control, balance control, and mountain lineage and also mountain start control.

Inside the Kia Sportage, the actual top-of-the-line cabin turns on the EX trim with many different shapes and user-friendly controls which are well-placed and simple to locate and use.

The seats inside all the trims are stand apart, with more comfortable shaping to the entire body, there are lots of leg-room and head-room for adults. Even just in the rear seat, 2 adults can fit in effortlessly. A third passenger in the rear seat will make this a bit of a confined, except if the 3 passengers are rather little.

To get an effortless to drive and a pleasurable “around town” car, evaluate the SX if you would like more power when driving. However, the ability from the four-cylinder engine is sufficient and the automatic transmitting can make it a simple drive throughout. Without requiring the maximum amount of cargo space as some of the competition cross-overs, there is 26.1 cubic feet at the rear of the back seats and 54.6 cubes using the 60/40-split-folding seats laid toned.

Source: Managed Speed

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The Super Bowl Has Morphed into an Entire Season—for Advertising

Now that the New England Patriots and the New York Giants are set to play in Super Bowl XLVI, the hype for the “Super rematch” of the championship from four years ago can begin. (Where is David Tyree these days anyway?) The hype for the game, though, may pale in comparison to the noise being generated by companies advertising during the Super Bowl.  

Each 30-second ad airing during this year’s Super Bowl will cost $3.5 million, on average. Understandably, the companies paying for air time are milking these pricey ad campaigns for all their worth.

Simply coming up with a nice commercial concept highlighting your product’s best features no longer does the trick. Waiting to unveil the ad on Super Bowl Sunday doesn’t seem to cut it either. Nowadays, to generate more buzz and keep products and brands on the minds of consumers for much longer than one day, companies are resorting to advertising contests and showing “teaser” commercials online and in movie theaters days or even weeks before the game.

Last week—two and a half weeks before the Super Bowl—Volkswagen introduced its Super Bowl ad, “The Bark Side,” featuring a group of dogs who are dressed as “Star Wars” characters and bark out a theme song from the movie series. The “teaser” commercial, posted online, generated more than 4 million views in 48 hours.

 

VW isn’t the only company using man’s best friend to sell product this year. “News” (that’s “news” with intentional air quotes) broke two weeks ago that a French bulldog was replacing Kim Kardashian in the Super Bowl ad for Skechers, the “toning” shoes that don’t tone the wearer up anymore than any other set of sneakers.

CNN Money reports that the bulldog, named Mr. Quiggly, will share the screen during the Skechers Super Bowl ad not with Miss Kardashian, but with another reality TV star, Mark Cuban, the billionaire owner of the Dallas Mavericks who serves as one of the judges on ABC’s entrepreneur show “Shark Tank.”

The CNN Money link offers a sneak peek at a half-dozen of this year’s Super Bowl ads, a list that includes the domain-name site GoDaddy, as well as automakers including Lexus and Suzuki. Automakers always have a large presence in the Super Bowl ad game, and cars should be especially well represented this year—during the game, and for weeks beforehand.

 

The Los Angeles Times reports that Kia is unveiling its Super Bowl ad not online or on TV, but in movie theaters. A “teaser” for the one-minute commercial, which is called “Drive the Dream” and features ’80s hair band Motley Crue and Victoria’s Secret supermodel Adriana Lima, is expected to be shown in theaters starting a few days before the Super Bowl. Kia is supposedly the first company to launch a Super Bowl commercial at movie theaters, thereby taking Super Bowl advertising to some sort of next level. Executives tell the LA Times they’re anticipating major buzz:

“We are trying to continue to push the envelope,” said Michael Sprague, vice president of marketing for Kia Motors America. “Consumers at the movies will start tweeting about the ad, and that should help us build momentum and awareness.”

The product being advertised, by the way, is the Kia Optima, a midsize sedan starting at $21,000. How is a standard commuter car like this a match for an ultra-hot supermodel and a band that did sex, drugs, and rock ‘n roll as good (bad?) as anyone? I guess we’ll all have to watch to find out.

Chevrolet, meanwhile, recently announced the winner of its Super Bowl Ad Contest. When you think about it, such a concept is truly brilliant. The company generates buzz and promotes the brand by allowing people to view multiple ads and vote for their favorites over a period of several months. Chevy says that the ads in the contest were viewed 32 million times between December 22 and January 14. That’s a lot of eyeballs on Chevy’s logo and products. There’s also the fact that the company doesn’t have to pay a professional advertising operation for its services. The Minneapolis Star-Tribune notes:

Nearly 40 finalist commercials out of more than 400 entries are currently available for viewing on the Internet at virtually no cost to the Detroit automaker. Should any of those entries go viral, it’s like money in the bank for the Chevy brand.

The winner of the contest was “Chevy Happy Grad,” in which a new graduate (from high school, I assume?) gives a hilarious, over-the-top reaction when he thinks his parents have given him a Chevy Camaro as a graduation gift.

The contest-winning ad has already started airing on TV, which sorta seems like cheating. If a commercial is shown before the Super Bowl, is it really a Super Bowl commercial? Or just any old commercial that just happens to be airing during the Super Bowl?

Source: moneyland.time.com

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Kia plant opens its doors to media for the first time

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WEST POINT, GA (WTVM) -For the first time since it opened, our news cameras were allowed inside the Kia manufacturing plant in West Point.

"If anybody wants to know what's right about Georgia, this is a good place to come and see," And that's just what Georgia Governor Nathan Deal did in his first tour inside the Kia plant.

He told News Leader 9, "This is certainly one of the premier examples of job creation in the state of Georgia. We are very proud of this facility, just as I am sure Kia is proud of the products they are making."

The plant now employs 3,000 people, a much needed boost Deal says came at the right time, "Certainly this is a part of the state that needed jobs and this was a welcomed addition to the job opportunities to the citizens of our state, the middle and western part of the state."

Our cameras were along for the ride as Gov. Deal watched the car building process. It begins in the stamping room, moves to assembly, then the paint shop, and ends with the final inspections.

Deal said, "Certainly the quality of the vehicle is impressive and the variety with the three models they are making at this site, I think the future looks very bright for the Kia product line."

With a recent expansion the Kia plant is now able to produce up to 360,000 vehicles per year.

Source: walb.com

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2012 Kia Soul gets new engines, refreshed style

The Kia Soul, first introduced as a 2010 model, was a refreshing take on a small car, one that combined the tight footprint of a subcompact with the kind of interior space – at least in terms of headroom – for which crossovers and SUVs are better known. Two years in, Kia has updated the boxy Soul with new engines and refreshed exterior styling.

The styling changes are minor and, on paper, even the new engines don’t look much different. The choices remain a pair of four-cylinders, displacing the same 1.6 and 2.0 litres as before, but both bring more power, and the 1.6-litre (the same one used in the Kia Rio and Hyundai Accent) gets direct fuel injection.

My tester was a 4U model with the 2.0-litre engine, which produces a respectable 164 horsepower and 148 foot-pounds of torque – increases of 22 and 11, respectively. It’s a strong engine, moving the little Soul easily, especially at around-town speeds. The optional six-speed automatic (which replaces last year’s four-speed) is a smooth worker and is well-matched to the engine. Mechanical noise is apparent, but not annoying; this engine is much smoother than the one it replaces, so that high-revving hard-running is more satisfying. The result is a car that seems quieter in acceleration than last year’s Soul.

An “active eco” mode, activated by a button on the dash, dials back throttle sensitivity and instructs the transmission to upshift as early as possible with a view to saving fuel. I tried it and was annoyed by how the transmission would indeed upshift early, only to have to downshift again to give me the acceleration I was asking for. I’d say the drivetrain does its best work with the active-eco setting turned off, unfortunately.

Even with its extra power, Kia says the new 2.0-litre is notably more fuel efficient, with Natural Resources Canada ratings of 7.9L/100 km in city testing and 5.9L/100 km in the highway driving simulation. Those are big improvements over last year’s 8.5/6.6L/100 km ratings, but my tester averaged no better than 10.0L/100 km in city driving (with the active-eco system turned on!), which I attribute to the car’s low odometer reading (about 1,500 km when I picked it up) and the fact that the engine probably wasn’t fully broken in yet.

An “idle stop and go” (ISG) system, which shuts the engine down at stoplights, will be available later in the 2012 model year in automatic transmission-equipped Souls with the 1.6-litre engine.

That feature will earn the Soul fuel-consumption ratings of 7.0L/100 km (city) and 5.4L/100 km (highway), according to Kia.

Still, this car is a better performer than the 2010 model I tested (in similar trim, with the old 2.0-litre engine and four-speed automatic); in that car, the transmission felt lazy and the overly-sensitive throttle made it hard to drive smoothly around town.

Interior space is notable, with loads of headroom front and rear. Rear-seat legroom is impressive for a car of this size, as is the 546 litres of cargo space, which expands to 1,511 with the rear seats folded.

The cargo area is accessed through a lightweight tailgate that reveals an opening a good foot narrower than the space inside it. Finding space for stuff inside the Soul is no problem; getting larger items through the door could be, though.

The Soul’s ride also belies its small-car roots, with a compliant suspension that keeps things comfortable.

One surprise was finding out that my 4U tester had a “sport-tuned” suspension; this is a nimble enough vehicle, but Kia has a much different definition of what constitutes a sporty ride than many other automakers, whose “sport” models usually come with a kidney-killing ride.

Less satisfying is the amount of noise the suspension transmits through the body structure; potholes and the like send loud clunks and clomps into the cabin, and the rear end can get unsettled on broken pavement. I’d place part of the blame for the noise and unsettled ride on the 18-inch wheels that came standard on my 4U trim tester; the 16-inchers fitted to the lesser 2U model (not to mention the softer suspension) should make a difference in the refinement department.

Pricing for the 2012 Soul starts at $16,595 and includes niceties like heated front seats, telescopic steering, power locks, windows and mirrors, a USB stereo input and Bluetooth connectivity.

My 4U tester with automatic transmission came with an MSRP of $22,695 and included 18-inch wheels, leather-trimmed steering wheel and shifter, sport-tuned suspension, power sunroof, a driver’s seat armrest, backup camera and a very pleasant-sounding eight-speaker stereo.

Mood lights in the front doors can be set to pulsate along with the beat of your music; this is a cute feature, but the light is distracting in night-time driving.

The Soul remains an impressive package, despite having its roots in the last-generation subcompact Kia Rio, a car that has since been redesigned and much improved.

New powertrains help keep this boxy little car up-to-date, and though the 2.0-litre engine endows this little car with impressive performance, I’d suggest sticking with the adequately-strong 1.6-litre and enjoying the reduced fuel consumption it should provide in real-world driving.

Source: montrealgazette.com