One of the most obvious beneficiaries of Kia’s new emphasis on styling, the new Soul has proved extremely popular since it first started popping up on roads earlier this year. Its good looks have now been awarded the President’s Award at this year’s Good Design Awards in Korea.
Last year, Kia received the President’s Award for Design at the 10th Annual Korea Design Awards and the Forte won the gold award at 2008’s PIN UP Design Awards – hosted by the Korean Association of Industrial Designers.
The first Kia to be designed and built in America, the 2011 Kia Sorento Crossover is getting a fresh injection of impetus from the manufacturer as the manufacturer announce that they’re dropping $1 billion into their manufacturing facility in the US.
The Sorento Crossover will be the first, and flagship vehicle from what Kia say is their most advanced facility in the world.
There’s a strange habit among car manufacturers lately of producing some cracking looking luxurious saloons and pitching them anywhere and everywhere but the UK. Somehow we don’t seem to figure in their plans.
Well, that may be about to change with Suzuki and the new Kizashi. Here in the UK the Suzuki brand tends to bring up images of low-budget 4×4s and small city cars. The Kizashi, a nice big luxury saloon is currently destined for Japan and North American markets.
Seems like an odd way for BMW to describe their new 5-Series, but that’s what their bizarre promotional video claims. The new 5-series has been revealed, and it looks a lot more elegant than previous models. The exterior is smooth and interesting to look at, whilst the interior claims 8cm more rear leg room, a 520-litre boot as well a wealth of hi-tech features, including head-up displays, night vision with pedestrian sensors and even a feature that will park it for you, or bring the car to a halt if it senses you’re about to crash on the motorway. Handy!
It looks like they have taken everything from the current BMW 7-Series and squeezed it into this slightly more compact version. All apart from the V12 of course.
It also boasts a host of new features, including:
• 8 speed automatic gearbox
• Self-park
• 360 degree monitor to show what’s outside
• Start-Stop fuel-saving tech
This core model in BMW’s expanding line-up goes on sale next March, with the big seller likely to be the 2.0-litre turbodiesel, with 184bhp, 56.5mpg and a CO2 figure of 132g/km. However, even the 535i petrol is efficient enough for a combined average of 33.2mpg, and emissions are just 199g/km of CO2.
The proof will be in the driving, but from first impressions, it looks & sounds great and I can’t wait to drive it.
Are cars named after people or people named after cars? There’s been a bit of both – with the recent naming of a baby Kia – but Renault’s latest choice of car name has landed them in hot water with French parents.
Their new electric car has been named the new Renault Zoé but as one of the most popular names for baby girls in France, French parents are fuming at the motor company’s choice. So much so they’ve launched a petition.
Kia have today launched their luxury saloon, the K7. A belter of a car, Kia are hoping to shift 40,000 of them next year as it hits roads armed with the choice of 2.4litre, 2.7 litre or 3.5 litre engines.
The glorious looking 166 rpelacement – the Alfa Romeo 169 – as mentioned here only last week will be see Fiat make use of the Chrysler buyout and launch it in America as well as Europe
Aiming clearly at BMW’s 5 Series and the big luxury cruisers usually rolled out by Jaguar and with more than a hint of Maserati Quattroporte style, the Alfa Romeo 169 is clearly a winner in the looks department.
Due to hit roads in the UK in March 2010, the pretty much all-new Doblo Cargo has been shown in the first image released by Fiat.
The only thing about the new Doblo Cargo that is carried over from the previous model is the name. Everything else about next year’s model is new – from the brand-new platform to the technical spec and the, frankly, amazing styling.Yes, that’s right: amazing styling on what was once considered the ugly duckling.
As those little cars so popular and well known throghout Europe are being tentatively pointed at America by their manufacturers, one manufacturer with an already strong foothold over the pond, Mazda, has made a move. The Mazda2 will be hitting roads Stateside.
As Fiat shuffle their bank statements and decide which of their European cars will do well on the other side of the Atlantic, they’re already preparing to launch into the commercial vehicle market State-side.
