South Korea auto news

Report: Kia Sedona not returning for 2013, replacement coming for 2014

The minivan segment has grown from fiercely competitive to downright cut-throat. With fairly new iterations of vehicles like the Toyota Sienna, Honda Odyssey, Dodge Grand Caravan and Chrysler Town & Country, formerly acceptable entries like the Kia Sedona have fallen straight off the map. This isn't news to the Korean automaker, either. Kia spokesman James Hope has confirmed there will be no 2013 Sedona.

But that doesn't mean the company will stay away from the segment for too long. Hope made it clear Kia will be back with a new family hauler, though declined to share any details on the vehicle.

Odds are that means a new Sedona will come along in 2014 or so, though that's just speculation on our part. While Kia refreshed the minivan in 2011, the changes didn't cover much beyond a mildly reworked front fascia. The vehicle was still saddled with an embarrassing "Poor" rating in the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety roof-crush test.

Official: Kia K9 launches in Korea, export model to get new name

We so wanted to lead this post with a Jim Belushi joke. Alas, the Kia press release announcing the launch of its rear-drive flagship in Korea today specifically clarifies that the K9 will be renamed for other markets.

While Kia says the large sedan rides on "its own platform," we know enough about the auto industry to posit that much of that platform is shared with the underpinnings of corporate cousin Hyundai's Genesis Sedan and Equus. Like the Hyundai pair, Kia is clearly hoping the not-called-K9-here will help the brand move upmarket, positioning the car as a premium product designed, in the words of Kia's head of design Peter Schreyer, "to compete head-to-head with the European luxury brands."

The Kia sedan will split the difference between the Genesis and the Equus, matching the 120-inch wheelbase of the latter, but with an overall length of 200 inches that's three inches shorter than Equus and almost four inches longer than the Genesis. The Kia sedan will have the same 0.27 coefficient of drag as both the Hyundai models.

Kia says its luxury sedan will be powered by two distinct versions of the corporate 3.8-liter Lambda V6, one making 286 horsepower and the direct-injection version rated at 329. The more powerful engine is said to be "joining the global engine line-up next year," which we'd expect would coincide with the flagship sedan's U.S. launch. Both engines will be mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission. Kia says the car will be available with a number of safety features including a lane-departure warning system and blind sport detection. A reclining rear seat with leg rest will also be available, just like in the Equus.

Today's announcement raises an interesting possibility. While we wouldn't expect Kia to send its flagship stateside with the less-powerful V6 - indeed, a V8 engine option is surely bound to accompany an official statement of the car's U.S. sales plan - doing so would certainly allow Kia to bring the car to market at a more attractive entry-level price. Kia has a scant resume when it comes launching anything other than budget models here in the U.S., and the brand certainly has considerable work to do if it aims to catch up to Hyundai in pricier segments.

It will certainly be interesting to see where Kia tries to position its unnamed sedan - and whether its (*ahem*) dogged pursuit of the luxury dollar will succeed. Scroll down to read the full press release and check out our gallery of K9 images.

Continue reading Kia K9 launches in Korea, export model to get new name

Official: Chevy Corvette headed to South Korea

As of this month, South Koreans will be able to get themselves into a Corvette bought at their local Chevrolet dealer. General Motors wants to get more people in more lands behind the wheel of its icon to offset declining sales numbers here at home, and South Korea is an easier target for the moment because of the free trade agreement recently ratified between that country and the U.S.

The 430-horsepower Coupe model goes on sale May 4 for 86.4 million South Korean won ($76,528 U.S.). Obviously, the anti-tarriff provisions of the free-trade agreement haven't come into force yet. The Corvette will join eight other Chevy models on sale on the Asian peninsula.

Report: GM interested in taking stake in Isuzu again?

General Motors and Isuzu were partners for decades before parting ways in 2006. Even now, you can find the final hangover of an alliance that gave us vehicles like the Geo Storm and Chevrolet LUV in the GMC Canyon and Chevrolet Colorado smallish pickups.

The two companies may start negotiations soon for General Motors to once again take a stake in Isuzu Motors Ltd. with commercial vehicle sales in Asia and Central and South America as the goal, reports the Japanese Nikkei business daily.

GM would go in for ten percent of Isuzu, and this deal would likely spell the end for Toyota's 5.9-percent interest in Isuzu, as well as smother any capital partnership talks with Volkswagen. Isuzu developed the GMT355 trucks, and if lashed-up with GM again, a team effort to develop, produce and distribute pickup trucks is being considered. At ten percent, General Motors would pass Mitsubishi Corporation's 9.2-percent stake in Isuzu to become its largest single shareholder.

North American small pickup fans probably shouldn't get excited about this, as it appears aimed mostly at markets more suited to smaller trucks. With GM's new full-size pickups on the horizon, the General likely wants you to forget that there are any other choices for the time being.

Beijing: Renault says very little about its new Talisman sedan

The breadth and scope of the Chinese car market has ballooned to such an extent that it makes sense for many foreign automakers to design cars specifically for China. Case in point: the new Renault Talisman.

Instead of building the Talisman in China through a joint venture, manufacturing is handled in nearby Korea by Renault Samsung Motors - the same division that has already brought Renault eight awards and sales increasing fourfold since 2009 due to the success of the Koleos crossover.

As for the Talisman itself, Renault has releases suspiciously little information, and even less photos. It's billed as a "casual luxury" sedan, whatever that means, but more than that we couldn't tell you. Which is just fine, because unless you live in China, you'll probably never see one. Feel free to peruse the press release below.

Continue reading Renault says very little about its new Talisman sedan

Video: Hyundai raps rhapsodic about new Santa Fe in Korean ads

Commercials are a great way to learn about culture; since a seller has maybe 30 seconds to get something across, you see what people think is the most important thing to convey and the best way to convey it.

Having said that, we have no clue what's going on with some of the South Korean ads for the 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe. In a couple of them, a genteel pair - we'll call them Run CUV and Jam Master Hyundai - lays down some mad lyrics, presumably about the Santa Fe. When they're not rapping, they're set in short episodic dramas to demonstrate the crossover's features. We're not sure if the pair are famous in Korea and frankly, we have no idea what they're talking about, but they look fun while they're doing it.

Scroll down for your Asian commercial fix for the day. You won't be disappointed.

Continue reading Hyundai raps rhapsodic about new Santa Fe in Korean ads

Video: Kia K9 flagship gets first commercial, trio of interior shots

Kia has released the first commercial for the upcoming K9. The flagship sedan is set for a South Korean launch later this year, and details are beginning to emerge about the big four door. Power is said to come from either a 296 horsepower 3.3-liter V6 or a 3.8-liter V6 with 329 hp. The model will also be a showcase for new tech, including adaptive LED headlights that not only track with the steering mechanism but also adjust with the vehicle's speed to give the driver a greater field of view.

Indoors, a full-color heads-up display provides plenty of pertinent information, and an epic 12.3-inch screen in the dash handles the entertainment interface. Judging from the three photos released alongside the new ad, the K9 will also feature a gear lever inspired by the likes of BMW. Here's hoping the Kia piece is a bit more intuitive. Scroll down to check out the ad for yourself.

Continue reading Kia K9 flagship gets first commercial, trio of interior shots

Report: Revamped Hyundai Sonata due in 2014

So a new Sonata isn't as exciting as a new Chevrolet Corvette, but given the enthusiasm the current Hyundai midsize sedan has generated around these parts, musing about what might be coming down the pipeline is worth at least a few minutes. Hyundai's Korean CEO Kim Choon-ho has told Reuters that a "revamped" Sonata is due in just two years, following closely on the heels of a new Genesis in late 2013.

In case you haven't been paying attention, we have loved the new Sonata and its Optima cousin from Kia ever since they first hit our shores back in 2010. This pair is the class of the midsize class, and we can only wonder what Hyundai has planned to keep them on top, given the fierce competition.

We'd suspect the new Sonata will be launched here as a 2015 model, which would make some sense. Though we haven't driven it yet, the new-for-2013 Ford Fusion looks poised to bring the goods, and the next generation of the hot-selling Nissan Altima will soon be unveiled at the New York Auto Show.

Official: Kia posts first images of KH concept on Facebook

A couple of weeks ago, we shared sketches of the KH concept sedan by Kia (also called the K9 in some circles), but if you're friends with the South Korean automaker on Facebook, you got first access to images of their flagship sedan.

As we reported before, Soon-Nam Lee, the company's overseas marketing director, says the car will go on sale in South Korea in the first half of this year and then in most major markets soon thereafter. It's based on the same real-wheel-drive BH platform shared by the Hyundai Genesis and Equus, and should therefore have some 5.0-liter V8 horsepower to back up its big, bold, BMW-like looks.

Before it hits the streets, though, Kia needs your help. They're asking their Facebook fans to put on their collective thinking caps and name the stately sedan. Suggestions so far include Kratos, Stylus, Zion, Luxor, Nirvana, Decima and Panther. But we're pretty sure Autoblog readers can come up with way better names than that.

Report: CEO Krafcik says to expect more family vehicles from Hyundai, not trucks

Hyundai has been hitting on all cylinders of late, adding the Elantra Coupe and Hatchback, the Veloster Turbo and the upcoming Azera. That's a lot of new metal for one calendar year, and it appears the Korean automaker is just getting warmed up.

Fox News reports that Hyundai USA CEO John Krafcik hinted to a new entry into the six- and seven-passenger crossover segment. The affable exec pointed out that Hyundai needed to do a better job of attracting families to the brand, adding "it's probably fair to say we need more presence in the six and seven passenger crossover segment where we have the Veracruz now."

Hyundai is also expected to unveil a new Santa Fe at the New York Auto Show, so the automaker's CUV offerings are definitely looking up. As we reported back way back in June of 2010, we expect Hyundai to eventually offer a long-wheelbase three-row version of the new Santa Fe to replace the slow-selling Veracruz, though the automaker has yet to confirm this development.

But while Krafcik hints that some new CUV metal is coming, fans of the Italic H shouldn't hold their breath in anticipation of a pickup truck. Krafcik reportedly told Fox News that the automaker could build a truck if it wanted to, but the brand will instead focus on more efficient vehicles.