#Kia

At this point, only Ford has yet to deliver a firm restart date for its U.S. assembly plants, with Detroit rivals Fiat Chrysler and General Motors pegging May 18th for a cautious ramp-up of manufacturing activities.

Elsewhere, things are getting back to normal — or as close to normal as one is allowed these days. Amid new health protocol and a weak supply chain, Hyundai and Kia flipped on the switch this week, joining a handful of other foreign brands that have already restarted production in the U.S. South.

It’s a car-heavy day here at TTAC, and thank God for that. These vehicles still exist, and it seems automakers who stubbornly continue to field ’em haven’t given up on the idea of improving three-box products.

That said, it’s hard to think of a mainstream automaker that offers more choice in cars than Kia Motors, and one of its more (most?) interesting products could be due for an upgrade.

South Korea is often held up as an example of how to manage the coronavirus the right way. However, the country’s success in limiting the spread of COVID-19 hasn’t allowed it to escape the economic realities of the pandemic sweeping the world beyond its borders.

As countries around the globe close up shop, demand for the country’s vehicles has fallen precipitously. Kia Motors has a choice to make.

Awards mean damn little around here, as most “official” accolades foisted upon various models carry as much weight as a gnat. The GM X-body once boasted a well-stocked trophy case.

And that’s the way it remains, for now and forever, though the recipient of the most recent big-ticket award deserves mention, if only because it reinforces a conclusion this writer landed on months ago.

Hyundai is reportedly recalling around 207,000 Sonata models in the U.S. over a fuel hose issue that could create a fire hazard. Kia issued a recall on 142,000 Optima sedans and 51,000 Sedonas minivans for the same issue. While there doesn’t appear to be any injuries stemming from the problem, Hyundai Motor Group has notified the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that the vehicles could incur a fuel leak that runs the risk of starting fires within the engine compartment.

The source of the issue has not been discovered; the NHTSA recall report stipulates that the manufacturer “believes the material used to produce the fuel feed line might be more susceptible to heat under certain vehicle operating conditions.” Be on the lookout for a less responsive motor, engine warning lights and the faint aroma of gasoline.

My review of the all-new 2020 Kia Telluride last year was mostly positive.

There’s a reason for this – I thought it was pretty damn good. Especially given its price point, and that it was Kia coming up with a very good three-row crossover, seemingly out of nowhere.

Yep, Kia, a brand that hadn’t been a player in this segment since its last attempt, a body-on-frame SUV called Borrego, ran into the economic headwinds of the Great Recession. Kia had help from corporate partner Hyundai – that brand’s Palisade is the more urbane sibling to Telluride – but still, Kia’s reentry to the segment seemed remarkable.

After living with the Telluride for a week as opposed to a day, that remains true.

An outbreak of novel coronavirus that leapt from China to South Korea last month sent auto sales tumbling in February.

While the South Korean outbreak originated in a tight-knit religious sect, it soon entered the surrounding community. The country’s government moved quickly to curtail the virus’ spread, declaring an extreme threat on February 23rd. It didn’t, however, lock down down its third-largest city, Daugu, in a China-style containment effort. Coronavirus cases in South Korea now top 4,200.

As the disease forces South Koreans to change their habits, one side effect has been the avoidance of new car dealers.

Since the automatic transmission’s birth shortly before the outbreak of World War 2, driver input and road load have dictated what gear a traditional autobox finds itself in. But what if a tranny could instead predict the optimal gear for the road not yet travelled?

That’s a question Hyundai and sister division Kia claim to have answered. Enter the company’s just-announced Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Connected Shift System.

Kia Motors has revealed the next-generation Sorento ahead of its global debut at next month’s Geneva Motor Show, providing a better look at the midsize crossover than the spy shots that recently emerged from Korea.

Compared to the current-gen model, which delights in its approachable blandness, the new Sorento aims for a brawnier look. Recent CUV introductions — like the 2019 RAV4, for example — are proof of the industry’s belief that family-minded car buyers still want to be notice… and feared.

In Kia’s case, the Sorento’s design team may have gone too far in some regards. Or maybe they went just far enough.

We all know what happens to you and me when we assume, and a lot of folks will assume the 2021 Kia Seltos shares its bones with the also-new Hyundai Venue.

I know I did, and when I questioned Hyundai to fact-check myself, I didn’t get a clear answer (as the two companies tend to silo their information from one another).

The assumption that the Seltos is just a re-boxed Venue is wrong. The Seltos, despite playing in the same class as the Venue and being similar in size, is actually based on a different Hyundai – the Kona.

Yes, the Kona that I mostly like (in top-trim form) and Bark ripped (in lower trim) to shreds. The same Kona that Chris also dinged for pricing problems.

Not that you’d know it from looking at it. The Seltos has a busier, more futuristic look than the Kona, although it doesn’t have the latter’s odd headlight placement. Like the Venue, it offers two-tone styling, and at first glance it looks more like the boxy Venue than the wedge-shaped Kona.

Hence, the assumptions.

A lofty, high-performance electric vehicle currently headed down the Kia product pipeline is, like all EVs, something of a gamble. For the mainstream Korean automaker, it’s also a departure.

Heralded by last year’s striking Imagine concept, the upcoming coupe-like crossover will clearly be a way for Kia designers to make a name for themselves — and, Kia hopes, a way for big-bucks buyers to get more for their money.

Hyundai Motor America is recalling nearly 430,000 vehicles in the United States over a short risk that could create a fire hazard. Affected models include Hyundai Elantras from the 2006-2011 model years and the Hyundai Elantra Touring from 2007-2011.

Even though the problem is really similar to the one that afflicted older Azera and Sonatas manufactured around the same time, Hyundai says the recall is not related to previous Hyundai recalls. Both cases involved moisture getting into the antilock brake module, which then overheats and creates a fire risk. In both cases, Hyundai said fires can occur after the vehicle is turned off.

Is there another automotive brand that offers as much mainstream passenger car choice as Kia Motors? Nothing springs to mind. The Korean automaker continues to temp American car buyers with a full range of cars, from subcompact and compact up through full-size. In the middle, there’s a choice of THREE midsize(ish) four-doors.

In 2020.

One of those models just appeared at the Chicago Auto Show wearing slightly new clothes. It’s the Cadenza, known in some auto journo circles as the Korean Buick — a soon-to-be-outdated moniker, as the Buick lineup loses its last car this year.

Alright, stop yer squawking. Different people see different things in a vehicle’s styling and it all amounts to a pile of nothing, but it’s hard to look at these leaked shots of the 2021 Kia Sorento and not think about the folks in Dearborn.

Kia is no stranger to the Ace of Base series, given its propensity to stuff its cars and SUVs to the gunwales with features generally found on cars one octave higher in price. What is a stranger to the AoB pages is the 2021 model year. Welcome to the future, folks (there are still no hoverboards).

While the little Seltos hasn’t yet been added to Kia’s build-n-price tool, the media site has more than enough collateral with which to determine the base car’s level of kit. Does it continue Kia’s value-added ways? Will it be another hit for Kia? Is it colder than the surface of Hoth outside your author’s home? The TTAC Magic 8 Ball says “signs point to yes” for all of these questions.