Browsing Kia Forte's Archives »»
Filed under: Hybrid, Kia, Diesel
Kia Forte EcoDynamics LPI Hybrid - Click above for high-res image gallery
When
Kia Motors unveiled
its EcoDynamics sub-brand at last year's
Frankfurt Motor Show, the company claimed its new badge would begin to appear on U.S.-bound models soon. In fact, Kia promised that its eco-friendly moniker would be attached to several models sold worldwide. Now, Orth Hedrick, director-product planning at Kia Motors America, tells
Ward's Auto that the company has nixed plans to introduce the
EcoDynamics name in the U.S. Hedrick cited cost issues as the primary reason for the company's reversal, stating:
The issue is it's yet another brand. And given the fact we're trying to allocate our resources to other areas that make the most sense, does it make sense to introduce another brand out there?
The U.S. automotive market, in its still-depressed state, simply cannot support additional brands. The Detroit Three have pared down by axing
Pontiac,
Saturn,
Hummer and
Mercury, so Kia's move to drop EcoDynamics fits the trend. Jim Hume of Phire Branding Co. says Kia's decision makes sense. Hume told
Ward's:
My guess is that they realized the concept of EcoDynamics created not only another brand, but also created the need to educate consumers - an expensive proposition. In this particular case the delineation is tricky. Kia setting apart Earth-friendly vehicles via a sub-brand may have taken away from any Earth-friendly story in Kia-branded vehicles. It is better to highlight everything Kia is doing under one strong brand umbrella.
Though the EcoDynamics badge will not adorn Kia's U.S.-bound models, the fuel-saving innovations and other elements that were to be featured under the new sub-brand are already appearing on some Kia models headed to dealerships across the nation.
[Source:
Ward's Auto]
Kia axes plan for EcoDynamics branding in U.S. originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 27 Aug 2010 08:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read |
Permalink |
Email this |
Comments
August 27th, 2010
Tags:
Brand,
Branding,
Ecodynamics,
Ecodynamics brand,
EcodynamicsBrand,
econdynamics,
kia ceed,
kia ceed hybrid,
kia ecodynamics,
kia eco_ceed,
kia motors,
kia motors america,
Kia Motors Corp.,
Kia Motors EcoDynamics,
kia sorrento,
KiaCeed,
KiaCeedHybrid,
KiaEcodynamics,
KiaEco_ceed,
KiaForte,
KiaMotors,
KiaMotorsAmerica,
KiaMotorsCorp.,
KiaMotorsEcodynamics,
KiaSorrento,
KiaSportage
Filed under: Marketing/Advertising, Kia
Would a
Kia Forte by any other name smell as sweet, if the name were K3 and those judging the smell were American buyers? That's the question Kia executive are mulling as they decide whether to switch to alphanumeric model designations in the U.S. Some of the company's cars that go by names in other markets wear letter-number identifiers in South Korea, such as the
Optima, known in South Korea as the K5. Others, such as the Soul and
Sportage, retain their proper names in South Korea.
According to
Automotive News, Kia's vice chairman, Chung Eui-sun, believes that alphanumeric names can strengthen a brand as long as buyers don't get confused, but he also notes that Americans may prefer proper names. Kia would probably do well to study Acura's long road from "Legend" and "Integra" to its current system, and Infiniti's period of trial-and-error with its alphanumeric concoctions.
From where we sit, we think that Kia should think long and hard about the equity continuing to build in solid offerings like its
Soul and new
Sorento, and if they're going to go alphanumeric, they ought to do it sooner rather than later to avoid adding to the confusion. If it were us, we'd leave well enough alone - the automotive landscape is rapidly devolving into an alphanumeric soup and we're not in favor of another automaker reaching into the Scrabble tilebag. How about you? Have your say in 'Comments.'
[Source:
Automotive News - sub. req'd.]
Report: Kia may lose names, use numbers for future models originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 28 Jun 2010 11:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read |
Permalink |
Email this |
Comments
June 28th, 2010
Filed under: Budget, Sedan, Safety, Kia
2010 Kia Forte sedan - Click above for high-res image gallery
Much like parent company
Hyundai,
Kia has been working hard to revive its brand image. New products like the
Soul and
Forte have been relatively well received so far, and with new stunners like the
2011 Sportage and
Optima on the way, Kia should benefit from a healthy boost in sales. But strip away the sleek new designs and clever interior packaging, and you'll find that Kia's core value of crafting extremely safe vehicles is still holding strong, especially now that the 2010 Forte sedan has been named a Top Safety Pick by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
The Forte received ratings of "Good" (the highest achievable) in front, side, rear and rollover impact crash tests - something that safety-minded buyers will surely appreciate. What's more, this gives the Forte more ammo to compete head on with the
Honda Civic and
Toyota Corolla, its two main competitors, which have also been dubbed as Top Safety Picks by IIHS. Curiously, only the sedan was mentioned in the IIHS study, so we can't say if this prestigious honor carries over to the two-door
coupe Koup. Hit the jump to read the full IIHS press release.
[Source: Insurance Institute for Highway Safety]
Continue reading Kia Forte awarded IIHS 'Top Safety Pick'
Kia Forte awarded IIHS 'Top Safety Pick' originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 20 Apr 2010 18:18:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink |
Email this |
Comments
April 20th, 2010
Tags:
2010 Kia Forte,
2010 kia forte sedan,
2010KiaForte,
2010KiaForteSedan,
forte,
forte sedan,
ForteSedan,
IIHS,
iihs top safety pick,
IihsTopSafetyPick,
Insurance Institute for Highway Safety,
InsuranceInstituteForHighwaySafety,
kia forte sedan,
KiaForte,
KiaForteSedan,
Top Safety Pick,
TopSafetyPick
Filed under: New York Auto Show, Hatchback, Kia
2011 Kia Forte five-door - Click above for high-res image gallery
Since Americans seem to be finally latching onto the concept of the compact five-door hatchback,
Kia is jumping into the fight with a new variant of the
Forte. The five-door Forte debuts with a slightly revised front fascia (something that will make its way onto all Forte models) to go with its new more useful backside.
Under the hood the Forte five-door retains the same port-injected 2.0-liter and 2.4-liter inline-four engines found in the sedan and
Koup. Those engines remain paired with six-speed transmissions of the manual or automatic flavors. Inside, a new center console can be equipped with a navigation system for the first time, push-button start is available and the automatic versions get paddle shifters on the steering wheel. Look for the Forte five-door to hit Kia dealers in the coming months.
Photos by Drew Phillips / Copyright (C)2010 Weblogs, Inc.
[Source: Kia]
Continue reading New York 2010: Kia adds five-door hatch to Forte lineup
New York 2010: Kia adds five-door hatch to Forte lineup originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 01 Apr 2010 11:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink |
Email this |
Comments
April 1st, 2010
Tags:
2010 New York Auto Show,
2010NewYorkAutoShow,
2011,
2011 kia,
2011 kia forte,
2011 kia forte five-door,
2011 kia forte hatchback,
2011Kia,
2011KiaForte,
2011KiaForteFive-door,
2011KiaForteHatchback,
forte,
forte five-door,
ForteFive-door,
kia fort,
KiaFort,
KiaForte,
new york,
new york auto show,
new york auto show 2010,
new york auto show s...,
New York Autoshow,
NewYork,
NewYorkAutoShow,
NewYorkAutoShow2010,
NewYorkAutoShowS...,
NY auto show,
NyAutoShow
