According to Advertising Age, a sister publication to Automotive News, Chevrolet‘s Cruze, Kia‘s Soul and Jeep‘s Wrangler are among America’s top 25 hottest products for 2011, alongside Dove soap, Arizona Tea, Goldfish crackers, Sharpie markers and the Forever 21 clothing chain.

There’s no doubting those three vehicles’ success, but we’d be willing to debate that they belong in America’s 25 hottest products. But nonetheless, the Cruze has sold more than 200,000 units as of October, which allowed it to surpass the Malibu as GM’s hottest selling model. Media spending by Chevrolet totaled more than $1.1 billion last year with a huge bulk of it towards marketing the Cruze’s 40-mpg fuel economy rating.

The good ‘ol Kia Soul has benefited from collaborating with stylish and hip hamsters, perfectly targeting younger buyers. Through October, Kia has racked up 405,095 in total sales, with over 85,000 of those being Souls. We’re not really sure if the Soul is a hot new product or if the hamsters are just that cool.

Lastly, Jeep’s Wrangler is Jeep’s best-selling vehicle with 101,820 vehicles sold through October. Their partnership with virtual Wranglers and the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 fans probably won’t hurt either. By bringing together live action and game footage, Jeep is clearly targeting a huge audience and perhaps a different market with their Wrangler. Jeep as a brand has had overall sales up 44-percent this year through October.

[Source: Automotive News]

Kia has unveiled four custom models at the SEMA Show in Las Vegas today, with each car featuring a different sport as its theme. A custom Soul, built by West Coast Customs, is inspired by Michelle Wie, Kia’s official golf ambassador. A Rio 5-Door was built in partnership with Antenna featuring a Retro Surf theme. A custom Forte 5-Door “Hat Trick” sports a hockey theme while Kia continues its Blake Griffin collaboration with a “Slam Dunk” Optima Hybrid, also built by West Coast Customs.

Michelle Wie’s “Hole-in-One” Soul features unmistakable original artwork by Wie herself, Kia’s official golf ambassador. The “So Blue” exterior paint scheme is offset by the custom artwork that can also be seen on the 20-inch wheels. Wie’s personal logo and artwork has also been embroidered in the Soul’s “Snow White” headrests while the dash has been painted baby blue and the headliner now rocks a stylish pink. Plenty of entertainment is in the rear with an Xbox 360 with Kinect while two of Wie’s tournament-used golf bags are mounted behind the 26-inch LED TV.

The “Retro Surf” Rio 5-Door is outfitted with everything a surfer needs in a retro-styled package. An authentic Grain wood surfboard has been mounted on the roof while a set of 17-inch Rotiform gold wheels really sets off the sunset-metallic golden-brown paint scheme. A custom body kit features a front splitter made of wood. On the inside, plaid boardshorts-themed brown and beige fabric adorns the interior while the center console features a retro wood grain theme. And to ensure everyone is nice and safe at the beach, the rear center console features a shelf to hold sunblock and other beach accessories.

Following up on Blake Griffin’s amazing dunk off a Kia, the Optima Hybrid built by West Coast Customs is probably the most basketball we’ll get during the lockout. The outside orange paint features a unique basketball theme further accented by 20-inch wheels and Griffin’s personal logo on the hood. Basketball-court flooring is in the front, rear and trunk areas while a “Pop-A-Shot” basketball hoop has been mounted in the trunk for some off-court entertainment.

The cleanly-built “Hat Trick” Forte 5-Door by Antenna features an ice-metallic gray exterior paint contrasted by 19-inch six-spoke blue wheels. A custom body kit was built onto a Forte Koup front bumper that also features carbon fiber accents and LED “hockey stick” fog lights. The headliner inside features a built-in hockey coach’s board while the rear-cargo houses four carbon fiber hockey sticks, two jerseys, an ice skate rack and glove hooks.

GALLERY: Michelle Wie “Hole-in-One” Soul

GALLERY: Rio 5-Door “Retro Surf”

GALLERY: Blake Griffin “Slam Dunk” Optima Hybrid

GALLERY: Forte 5-Door “Hat Trick”

Click here to see AutoGuide’s complete 2011 SEMA Show coverage

10. Toyota Yaris 3-Door: $14,115

You can sound polite and say “inexpensive” but if you’re strapped for cash, the most important question when shopping for a new car is: what’s the cheapest car on the market? AutoGuide has got the answer, along with the nine runners up.

Toyota‘s warmed-over Yaris makes the 10th spot on our list with a base price of $14,115 for the 3-door model. The pricier 5-door will run you $15,150.

Using a 1.5-liter 4-cylinder like many of its counterparts the Yaris makes 106-hp and is rated at 38-mpg on the highway making it one of the most efficient models in its class, but not the most efficient. Growing three inches overall, Toyota claims the new car has 68 percent more cargo room than the outgoing model, which it shares a near-identical resemblance with. Standard on all models is air conditioning, nine airbags and power windows.

When it comes to automotive brand loyalty, consumers trust Hyundai, this according to a new study.

The study was done by Experian Automotive, a data service that tracks vehicle registration data and consumer attitudes, and it found that consumers really trust Hyundai. But making big progress is Ford – the automaker took six of the top spots in the top 10 product categories.

Nabbing the top position, Hyundai scored well with a loyalty rate of 49.6 percent. This is the first time the Korean automaker topped the list, beating out GM, Ford and Toyota. In this study, loyalty is determined by the repurchase rate of its owners. And Hyundai had a good year, sales wise -  its brand market share jumped to 9.2 percent during the second quarter of this year (up from 7.9 percent last year).

In second place was General Motors, with a loyalty rate of 48.1 percent, with Ford taking the third spot at 47.6 percent. Ford did great when it came to loyalty for specific products – the Ford Fiesta and Fusion are just two of Ford’s vehicles that took six of the Top 10 positions.

Driving away with first place for the product with the highest individual loyalty was the Kia Forte with 68 percent loyalty rate. The Soul came in fifth at 59 percent, with the Forte Koup coming in eighth with 57 percent.

[Source: The Detroit Bureau]

Kia is continuing its award winning and incredibly original Hamster ad campaign with a third installment that sees the cute (or possibly creepy) critters rolling through an apocalyptic scene in an “Alien Green” Soul, all to the tune of LMFAO’s smash hit, “Party Rock Anthem.” With the Soul, the Hamsters bring peace and happiness by turning a battle between robots and humans into a dance party.

The spot was created by KMA’s advertising agency of record, David&Goliath, which has locked down Nielsen’s “Automotive Ad of the Year” award for two years running with previous Hamster spots for Kia. The ad will premiere on the MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs) on August 28th.

Kia is looking for similar success to the last spots in order to drum up interest in the refreshed 2012 Soul. Updates for the 2012 model year include some mild design changes, new paint colors and the addition of the UVO Sync-style system. A new 1.6-liter direct-injection engine makes 135-hp (up 11%) and 121 lb-ft of torque and thanks to new six-speed manual transmission fuel economy is up to 28/34 mpg. A larger 2.0-liter engine makes 160-hp (up 13%) and 143 lb-ft of torque with a  fuel economy rating of 27/33-mpg. The 2012 Kia Soul starts from just $13,900 (full pricing details here).

We’ll be sure to update this story with the actual ad once it debuts. Until then, get a look at the all-new 2012 Soul from the car’s debut at the New York Auto Show after the jump:

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Kia has formally announced pricing on their 2012 Soul, setting the Scion xB and Nissan Cube competitor’s MSRP just slightly under $14,000. The Soul A/T will start at $15,700 while the highest trim model, the Soul! will start at under $20,000.

The Soul! will come packed with features including exclusive projector headlamps with front LED accents while the rear gets LED taillights. All four corners will sport 18-inch wheels while the interior will feature Kia’s UVO powered by Microsoft voice-activated infotainment system.

Powering the Soul for 2012 is a 2.0L with 164-hp or a 1.6L with 138-hp. The 1.6L delivers a class-leading 35-mpg on the highway and now features Kia’s idle Stop and Go technology. On the outside, the 2012 Soul model also gets a slight refresh in the aesthetics department with subtle changes to the front and rear bumpers along with new lighting, side mirrors and wheels.

GALLERY: 2012 Kia Soul

The 2012 Kia Rio and a facelifted Soul will be unveiled at the New York Auto Show next week.

The Rio and its five-door hatch Rio5 will get the same design language and H-shaped grille as the rest of the Kia lineup. The Rio sedan was last shown at Geneva, but the Rio5 hatchback will be an all-new debut. Both Rios will feature direct-injection and stop-and-go technology, enabling 40mpg on the highway or better.

The new Soul will get LED headlights and more streamlined styling, as well as a host of new six-speed transmissions that will deliver 35mpg.

Kia is forging ahead with plans to build a rival to the Volkswagen Golf GTI, complete with a turbocharged engine and class-leading driving dynamics.

The new car will be part of Kia’s effort to differentiate itself from Hyundai by focusing on performance and excitement. The GTI rival will likely be based on the well-received Cee’d, which is sold in Europe and other markets. Power will come from the Optima Turbo’s 2.0L 4-cylinder, although the engine could be detuned from the 274 horsepower it currently makes to around 230 horsepower.

Kia also confirmed that their new convertible will hit production in 2014, but that it will be based on the Soul, and thus front-wheel drive, rather than a rear-drive rival to the Mazda MX-5.

[Source: Autocar]

Kia appears to be changing gears in its marketing approach for the Kia Soul, switching from comedy to sex appeal.

After its popular Rapping Hamsters ad, the Korean automaker has just launched a new commercial featuring the 6-foot 1-inch 20-year-old pro golfer Michelle Wie. Kia’s soul is already thought to be somewhat of a chick-car and so the ad is a smart one, with Kia obviously appealing to women by using the young, confident and talented Wie. And it’s sure to appeal to men for other reasons.

Check out the video after the jump:

Continue Reading…

Jeong Sung Eun, Kia‘s Vice Chairman, took the rare step of resigning his post on September 3rd, as he accepted responsibility for a large recall of Kia vehicles.

Roughly 86,000 vehicles were recalled due to an electrical wiring issue that posed a potential fire hazard. About 35,000 Sorentos and Souls from the the 2010 and 2011 model years were affected. Jeong’s responsibilities included overseeing the production division. A spokesman told Automotive News that the company has not yet appointed a replacement.

[Source: Automotive News]