Is the Kia Soul just a touch too big for your needs?

Well if you happen to live in Kia’s home market of S. Korea, you could look into their newest offering, dubbed the Ray.

While the name might sound similar to the sea creature, the Kia Ray is neither sleek or stealthy. What it is, is a boxy city car for people who live in major metropolitan cities like Seoul.

The skin is very much in keeping with the style of all modern Kia’s, so it has a wide grille accented with chrome, plus L.E.D. daytime running lights.

What lies under the skin is anybody’s guess at the moment, although it could very possibly be carrying the three-cylinder, 1.0-liter engine or the four-cylinder, 1.25-liter engine currently offered in the Picanto, a model Kia sells in Asia and Europe, but not North America. An electric version of the Ray is also rumored.

It is also believed that while the Ray does not use the Picanto platform, much of the hardware will be shared between the two models to reduce cost.

What will surely be very unique to the Ray is the way its doors are arranged. While the rear door behind the driver opens conventionally, the rear passenger door slides, like in a minivan.

The Kia Ray might not make it to the North American market, but it could be headed to showrooms in other Asian markets like China.

[Source: Autocar]

It’s been years since George Bush was in office, but a trade bill from his presidency finally made it past the House and Senate.

The deal includes Columbia, Panama and South Korea to open trade between those countries and the U.S. with changes aimed to aid U.S. auto manufacturers.

“I’ve fought to make sure that these trade agreements with South Korea, Colombia and Panama deliver the best possible deal for our country, and I’ve insisted that we do more to help American workers who have been affected by global competition,” said President Obama, when asked about the deal.

Despite support from President Obama and many Republicans, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid disagreed. “I don’t favor these bills, but the majority of this Senate does, so it was important that we move forward,” he said.

Public Citizen, a watchdog group, also opposed the deal saying that it would make importing easier for foreign manufacturers but that the same balance wouldn’t be maintained for domestic companies.

While the deal is meant to open business traffic for both countries, the fact remains that South Korea is traditionally a very closed market, meaning U.S. manufacturers are likely to see less of an increase in exports out of the deal.

This could potentially help Hyundai-Kia, whose vehicles are already established in North American markets.

[Source: Left Lane News]

Along with things like baseball and celebrities, America is known for its cars. It might surprise you to learn then that in a newly compiled list of the top auto-producing nations, the U.S. of A. doesn’t place very highly. In fact, according to the European Automobile Manufacturer’s Association of a total 58,478,810 cars produced last year the U.S. ranks just 7th, responsible for assembling some 1.2 million cars.

As for the top spot, it might not surprise you to learn that the world’s most populous nation, China, ranks first, churning out some 13.9 million vehicles. In second place is Japan (8.3 million), then South Korea, Brazil and India.

If the European Union member states were to rate as a single country however, then they would finish in the top spot. Last year more than 15 million plus units, were produced in the EU.

Given this rather bizarre and perhaps biased survey (the list only includes cars, and not trucks, which America produces plenty of) it begs the question, with Europe currently in the economic doldrums and experiencing near record unemployment in some member states, who in the heck is buying all these cars?

[Source: Woman on Wheels]

Kia will hold off on expanding its production facilities and sales targets in favor of improving the quality of its vehicles, CEO Lee Sam-ung told Automotive News at a launch event for its new Rio hatchback.

“Quantitative growth is important, but qualitative growth is also important. We plan to focus on improving product quality and our brand,” said Sam-ung. Industry analysts worry that limited production capacity will be the biggest factor stunting Kia’s future growth. Sam-ung set a goal of 2.5 million vehicles sold in 2011, and wants to boost Rio sales from 110,000 in 2011 to 260,000 in 2012.

Sam-ung also said that Kia will get an all-electric compact car in 2015, one year after Hyundai launches their own model.

[Source: Automotive News]

Hyundai CEO John Krafcik will keep his company’s focus on being a fuel economy leader, and has ruled out a high-performance sports car, even as he discussed the various ways in which the new CAFE regulations can be gamed to produce low fleet fuel economy ratings.

With large vehicles being held to less stringent standards under CAFE (as well as a different formula for measuring MPG than the one used for consumers), Krafcik said that auto makers may not have as strong an incentive to produce compact, fuel efficient vehicles.

Giving the full-size truck market as an example (full-size trucks will be able to comply with more lax regulations) Krafcik told Ward’s Auto that “every well-intentioned action has an unintended negative consequence. This is a classic one. Because of the new CAFE guidelines, the most fuel-efficient segment for pickup trucks, the small ones, aren’t going to be available in the U.S. market. That’s crazy.”

While Hyundai had the best fleet average fuel economy of any auto maker in the 2010 model year, Krafcik said that hitting the 2025 target of a 54.5 mpg fleet average will be tough. Krafcik also ruled out the idea of a high-end sports car, stating “… it would be expensive, and what would it really do for us?”

[Source: Ward's Auto]

When I first laid eyes on the Chevrolet Miray concept, I thought: this is what the Batmobile would look like if it was small, silver, and Korean.

A product of GM Korea, the Miray (Korean for “future” first debuted at the Seoul Motor Show earlier this year but made its European debut at the Frankfurt Auto Show. Built to mark Chevrolet’s 100th anniversary, the Miray re-interprets design cues from throughout the company’s sports car heritage.

The Miray can run in either front or rear-wheel drive. A turbocharged 1.5 liter four-cylinder engine drives the rear wheels while a pair of 15 kWh electric motors can power the front wheels.

A carbon fiber shell surrounds the twin cockpit (for Batman AND Robin) which is inspired by Chevrolet’s iconic sports cars.

GALLERY: Chevrolet Miray Concept

While Hyundai CEO John Krafcik didn’t give us full pricing on the upcoming Hyundai Veloster, a tweet by Hyundai’s head honcho did reveal that the highly anticipated sports coupe will start at $17,300 for a 6-speed manual version, while the Dual-Clutch Transmission will cost $18,550, while delivering 40 mpg on the highway.

In addition to a $760 freight charge, options include a “Style” package (featuring 18-inch wheels, a chrome grill, fog lights, a panoramic sunroof, leatherette and an 8-speaker audio system) and a “Tech” package (which must be ordered with the “Style” package and features different 18-inch wheels, navigation, automatic headlights, keyless start, backup sensors and a backup camera).

The Honda CR-Z starts at $19,345 and is capable of 39 mpg on the open road. The CR-Z hasn’t fared well in the marketplace, and Hyundai’s massive marketing machine, cheaper base price and superior fuel economy bragging rights may spell doom for Honda’s own sports coupe.

We’ll be driving the Veloster in early September, so check back for more at AutoGuide.com

Hit the jump to see the official press release

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Kelley Blue Book announced today that Hyundai has taken the number 1 spot in brand loyalty, beating out Honda and Toyota, on kbb.com for Q2 2011. Automakers have struggled recently to retain loyal customers due to the economic downturn and consumers becoming more aware of issues such as fuel prices and safety recalls.

Hyundai has remained successful through aggressive marketing campaigns combined with innovative product redesigns like the successful Sonata and Elantra. In the second quarter of 2011, Hyundai’s brand loyalty was at 52.3 percent while Honda followed with 49.7 percent and Toyota came in third at 47.7 percent. Kia and Mini are the only two brands that have gained loyalty year-over-year, thanks to attractive redesigns and additional models within their respective lineups coupled to aggressive marketing campaigns.

“Hyundai’s product renaissance is benefitting the company not just by attracting an all-new customer base, but by helping them to retain current loyal Hyundai owners, as well,” said Arthur Henry, market intelligence manager for Kelley Blue Book.  ”This latest brand loyalty analysis from kbb.com is a testament to the power of attractive vehicle designs and intriguing marketing in the minds of in-market car shoppers as they consider their next vehicle.”

GM Daewoo has changed its name to GM Korea and its brand of choice to Chevrolet last March.  Since the name change, customers want to replace the old GM Daewoo emblem with the Chevrolet golden bow-tie.

Since March, 28,800 GM Daewoo owners have opted for the Chevy badge. It costs GM Daewoo owners somewhere between $139-$278 for the replacement. Since the change from GM Daewoo to GM Korea, the market share has also been affected. GM Korea stood at 6.7 percent in February and has climbed to 8.5 percent in March and 9.6 percent in April-May since adopting the Chevrolet brand.

Daewoo was once a beloved brand in Korea, and motorists are fiercely nationalistic, preferring their own domestic brands over foreign automakers. The switch to Chevrolet suggests a changing tide in the Korea marketplace, since customers are willing to abandon the Daewoo brand in favor of an American nameplate.

After an employee committed suicide at a Hyundai plant in Korea, the company reports that it has resumed production.

The employee of Hyundai’s South Korea factory accused the company of “suppressing the labor movement,” forcing the company to shut down on Thursday and meet with labor officials. An agreement was made with the union, and the plant will resume building the Sonata and Korean-market Grandeur (what we once got as the Azera).

“We have resumed production from 6:15 AM today and will do Saturday and Sunday works as previously planned,” said a union official.

[Source: Reuters]