#KiaSoul

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.

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:

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.

Some rides are better suited for your dogs than others. From your dog’s point of view, all they need is an open window to stick their head out of, but the American Automobile Association (AAA) has put a bit more thought into compiling their list of the best canine-friendly vehicles.

“More than 45 million households in the U.S. have a dog, and many are taking Fido along for the ride on a regular basis,” said John Nielsen, AAA National Director of Auto Repair and Buying Services. “There several vehicles with features that can help keep pets safe, comfortable and easy to clean-up after while also addressing other driver desires such as sportiness, adventure or luxury.”

In order to put together the most through list, AAA Auto Buying’s team of experts test drove and reviewed hundreds of vehicles. The list was based on a wide variety of factors such as crash test ratings, safety features, fuel economy, ease of animal ingress and egress, cargo area size, availability of tie-down hooks and easy-to-clean interiors.

Broken down into six categories, see the winners after the jump:

An online video contest based around the Kia Soul, “Who’s Next” invites contestants to post their videos themed around the Soul on YouTube for a chance to win $10,000. Fan judging begins August 20, and runs through the end of September. Videos will be judged by YouTube celebrities SMOSH, ShayCarl and Lisa Nova, whose combined channels have more than 640 million video views and 2.62 million subscribers. You can watch the videos on the Kia Soul video channel on YouTube.

Kia‘s Soul compact car has a commanding lead over the Nissan Cube and Scion xB, outselling the Cube by a near 2:1 margin. But Kia is hesitant to expand the Soul’s lineup by spinning off variants of the boxy small car in the quest to increase sales.

Regular readers will recall a fondness for hip-hop music at the Autoguide offices.  We’ve previously covered the Houston “swangas” phenomenon, Seattle’s Volvo driving rapper and Atlanta’s dubbed-out Camaros. Now, Kia is showing the East Coast some love, with their new commercial featuring their familiar Hamsters, the Kia Soul, and Black Sheep’s seminal anthem The Choice Is Yours.

The video is shot with a gritty, New York-esque background, and if it weren’t for the cute and furry hamsters, it could actually be a pretty decent music video, with requisite scenes on the basketball court, cruising with the homeys, getting a line-up at the barbershop, and ritzy Park Avenue types staring with disapproving glances at the young hoodlum hamsters. Along the way, the Hamsters reference the song’s hook, by presenting various “boring” econo-car options (represented by a toaster, washing machine and cardboard box), or the neon green Kia Soul. Ostensibly, these options represent offerings from Toyota and Honda, but whoever dreamed up the ad forgot about the hamster’s true vehicle of choice, the Zhu Zhu pet car (which looks strangely like a British sports car).

Hit the jump for Kia’s newest Hamster ad.

[Souce: Autoblog]