Subaru Revealed Behind 2011 Mediocrity Marketing Hoax; What do you Say Kia?

As some of you pointed out, Subaru was the culprit hiding behind the week-long 2011 Mediocrity campaign, which showed a beige-cladded first-generation Kia Optima in a scoop-like series of photos. Upon looking at the first set of images that arrived in our mailbox (read here), we knew that this was some sort of devious viral marketing campaign.

It is true that these type of campaigns can be rather cheap and yet extremely effective. However, they can also backfire. And in our opinion, that's the case with Subaru's effort to promote / convince us that the latest Legacy is the opposite of the so-called 'beige' mid-size sedans.

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Paris Motor Show Poll: Kia Optima vs Peugeot 508 vs VW Passat

At the 2010 Paris Motor Show, we saw three new mid-size sedans making their way to the halls of the Parc des Expositions Porte de Versailles. Two of them, the all-new Peugeot 508 and the redesigned VW Passat B7, received their world premiere, while the Kia Optima was presented for the first time in Europe.

Now, we all know you can't and you shouldn't buy a car based upon looks or preliminary specs alone. It's the whole package that counts. However, in this case, we simply want to find out which one of these new family sedans captured your attention for the right reasons.

Place your vote in the poll after the jump and be sure to have your say in the comments section.

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Kia Goes Green in Paris with Sportage Diesel-Hybrid Concept

At this week's Paris Motor Show, Kia displayed the Sportage Mild Hybrid eco concept. Based on the latest generation of the South Korean firm's compact SUV model, the concept hooks up Kia's 1.7-liter turbo diesel engine, which produces 115-horsepower and 260Nm of peak torque, to a 5 kW electric motor with a double layer capacitor.

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New Kia Optima Shows Up in Paris to show VW how to Design a Mid-Size Sedan

The Kia Optima, which made its original debut in New York, has crossed the pond to give the Europeans a little bit of that Korean flava (or is that German?) and rub the 2011 VW Passat B7's newly styled nose in the ground. Riding on the same platform as the "fluidic" Hyundai Sonata, the Optima brings Kia's "tiger" style to the mid-size saloon segment.

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Sigh... Viral Marketing Tricksters Knock on our Door with a Kia Called Mediocrity

We not sure how Kia's marketing people are going to feel about this one (unless they're part of it...), but photos of an older generation Optima covered in beige cladding and featuring a badge with the word "MEDIOCRITY" have just landed in our mail box. Tony B, the tipster-reader-scooper who sent in the photos, claims he snagged the car in LA.

Of course, it didn't take long to figure out that this is a viral campaign of some sort. However, since we're gearing up for this week's Paris Motor Show, we're not going to waste our time looking for answers about a covered up Kia...

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New Photos of Kia's Paris Show Mini Car Concept Pop Up

Kia has let loose new photos of its POP electric mini car concept a week ahead of its scheduled world premiere at the 2010 Mondial de l'automobile in Paris. The overly futuristic looking study for a small electric vehicle was penned by Kia's European design team under the direction of Peter Schreyer, Kia's Chief Design Officer, and Gregory Guillaume, the firm's Chief Designer in Europe.

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Kia Releases Full UK Pricing on All-New Sportage

After the recent launch of the limited production Sportage First Edition models, Kia UK has announced pricing (see US pricing here) on the full-range of its compact SUV that goes on sale in the country on November 1st. The full lineup consists of four engines, including two petrol units, a 140HP 1.6-liter powerplant and a 2.0-liter with 161HP, and two diesels, a 1.7-liter delivering 115HP and a 2.0-liter with 136HP.

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Kia to get a New All-Electric CUV by the end of 2011

The Hyundai Group is set to launch an all-electric version of an upcoming Kia CUV (not the study shown in the picture above) as early as December 2011. This follows closely on the reveal of the Hyundai i10-based BlueOn EV, the brand's first electric vehicle. The as-of-yet unseen Kia EV will have an effective range of 80 miles (130 km), with its gasoline-powered brethren set to go on sale three months earlier.

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Kia UK Adds 2.0-liter Petrol Engine to 2011 Sportage Range

Following the initial release of 850 units of the diesel-powered 2011 Sportage First Edition 2.0 CRDi AWD in Britain ahead of the full-range going on sale later in the year, Kia UK has announced the addition 300 petrol engined versions of its newest crossover after what the company describes as strong demand.

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Kia Recalling 2010 Soul and 2011 Sorento for Electrical Issues

The first recall of the month comes from Kia, which is recalling approximately 23,973 Soul subcompacts from the 2010MY and around 11,213 Sorento crossovers from the 2011MY, all built from September 7, 2009 through July 30, 2010, due to a potential fault with the vehicles' electrical system.

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NHTSA Probes 2010 Kia Soul After Steering Shaft Falls Off in New Car

The feds over at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) have launched a preliminary investigation into Kia's 2010 Soul crossover after receiving a complaint about a steering shaft that literally fell off from the steering wheel on a two-month old model with just 4,300 miles on the odometer. NHSTA said the issue could potentially affect more than 51,000 Kia Soul cars.

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Kia to Show Pop Electric Mini Concept in Paris

At the 2010 Paris Motor Show in September, Kia is presenting a new all-electric mini car concept called the 'POP'. The Korean automaker says the zero-emissions concept model measures three meters in length, or 305mm longer than a Smart Fortwo and 15mm longer than Toyota's iQ, and comes with a three seat layout. From the pictures provided by Kia, it appears the Pop will be able to seat two passengers in the front and one at the back.

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2011 Kia Sportage Pricing Released, Starts from $18,990

Kia announced today that its all-new 2011 Sportage compact crossover goes on sale in the U.S. at the end of the July with a starting price of $18,990, which includes a $695 destination and handling fee. There are three trim levels, Base, LX and EX. Standard safety features include ABS, Electronic Stability Control (ESC) and six airbags.

At launch, the South Korean firm's fully redesigned crossover comes with a 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine producing 176HP, while returning 22mpg in the city and 31mpg on the highway. A far more potent 2.0-liter turbocharged GDI petrol engine with 270+ horsepower will join the range next year.

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KIA UK Presents Black and White Editions of Picanto, Rio and Soul

Two new special editions named Domino and Echo that both play on black and white color schemes are joining Kia's UK-market lineup. The Domino special edition is available on the Picanto and Rio superminis, while the Echo is offered on the Soul crossover.

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Kia's Global Sales Surpass 1 Million Mark in the First Half of 2010

Kia Motors Corp. saw its overall global sales of passenger cars, recreational vehicles and commercial vehicles through the first six months of 2010 surpass the 1 million unit mark, recording an increase of 34.1% over the same period last year and reaching 1,004,724 units.

Percentage-wise, the highest gain came from China where sales increased by 75.6 per cent to 170,977 vehicles.

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KIA Contemplating Switch to Alphanumeric Names in the U.S. [with Poll]

Kia may soon follow the increasingly popular automotive trend that is alphanumeric naming and abandon product names in its U.S. lineup, according to a recent statement by Hyundai Motor Co. Vice Chairman, Chung Eui-sun.

The automaker is already using a mix of alphanumeric and product names in South Korea and some other markets. For example, the recently revealed 2011 Optima and Cadenza sedans are known as the K5 and K7 respectively in the company's home market, while the Forte is said to become the K3.

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New Kia Soul Edition Irmscher 001

Another day, another special edition version of the Kia Soul. This one comes from Germany and it's the result of the cooperation between the South Korean automaker and the tuning house Irmscher.

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Kia Launches Limited Edition Ghost Soul

The fourth and last of the special edition 2010 Souls that Kia launched in the U.S., this year, the new Ghost Soul, is available for order now. This latest iteration complements three other special edition versions, including Ignition Soul, Denim Soul and Shadow Dragon Soul.

As with the previous special edition Souls, the Ghost is based on the Soul+ trim level.

The Ghost package adds metallic and chrome accents, front fender vents with side marker repeater lights, a body kit, moonroof, fog lights, black 18-inch alloy wheels with machined accents, a roof spoiler as well as the leather-wrapped steering wheel and shift knob.

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Chop Shopped: Hyundai i30 Sedan and Kia Forte Station Wagon

Designer Eduardo Oliveira has sent us some interesting photoshops of some cars from the Hyundai-Kia lineups. First is a more traditional, wagon version of the Forte (or Cerato) as opposed to the production Forte 5-door hatch. Second is the a look at what the a sedan version of the i30 (Elantra Touring in the States) could look like. Any thoughts?

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2011 Kia Optima to be Offered with 2.0-liter Gasoline and 1.7-liter Turbo Diesel in Europe

During last week's press days of the 2010 New York International Auto Show, Kia took the veils off the all-new 2011 Optima mid-size sedan (click here for details) that will carry the same name in all markets outside Korea.

While the new Optima will arrive in Kia's U.S. showrooms this fall, European buyers will have to wait until Spring of 2011 to get their hands on the Korean firm's D-segment sedan that will compete with the likes of the Ford Mondeo and Citroen C5.

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