Kia Preparing a Common Replacement for Carnival and Carens MPVs, New Procee'd will Debut in Paris

Despite the ongoing economic woes of Europe, Kia is not backing down on its goal to boost sales in the Old Continent by an impressive 20.7 percent to 350,000 vehicles this year, following an already high 10.7 percent increase last year.

And that's not all as Paul Philpott, Kia Europe's Chief Operating Officer, told Autonews Europe that the company aims to reach annual sales of 400,000 vehicles by 2013.

Kia plans to do this with the launch of several key models, including the all-new Cee'd five-door hatchback this month and the Cee'd Estate in September.

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Good Times: U.S. Army Humvee Street Races a Korean Army Kia Retona

In all fairness, we are not sure if we should call any duel between a U.S. army Humvee and a Republic of Korea (ROK) Army Kia Retona, a small 4x4 based on the Kia Sportage from the late 1990s, a street race, but if anything else, these guys seem to be enjoying themselves.

Watch the amusingly slow street race between the two armed forces in the video that follows after the break.

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Back to the Future: Kia Elan Roadster is a Lotus for the Masses

Back in the late 1980s, two automakers with very different values and historical backgrounds each set out to build a roadster model for mainstream enthusiasts. The two brands were Mazda with its MX-5, also known as Miata in North America and Eunos Roadster in Japan, and Lotus, then owned by General Motors, with the Elan M100.

Both two-seater models were presented in 1989, but only one managed to become a phenomenal sales success, and that was the MX-5.

Ironically, Mazda's goal was to create a direct descendant of the original Lotus Elan from the 1960s, with a nostalgic feel in terms of styling, lightweight philosophy and rear-wheel drive setup, adapted of course, to the times.

On the other hand, the British automaker purposely designed a futuristic successor that maintained the handling and nimbleness of the original Elan, but instead of RWD, opted for a FWD layout, the first and last time Lotus tried it on a production model.

Even though the modern Elan was praised for its handling and forward looking styling, it ultimately fell victim to its high price having to compete with the cheaper and more reliable MX-5, and the fact that it was not as entertaining on the road as a rear-wheel driven model.

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Kia Wants to Know What it Should Name the K9 Flagship for Overseas Markets

For our 2012 April Fool's Day joke, we hacked in a BMW grille and renamed Kia's new K9 flagship sedan the 9'Series for the North American market. True, our designation cannot be taken seriously, but Kia still needs a model name for the K9 in overseas markets.

The South Korean automaker posted on its Facebook page that it is interested to hear some naming suggestions for the K9 sedan, which was launched in its home market on Wednesday (read more about that here).

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New Kia K9 Flagship Sedan Makes its Market Debut in South Korea, Launches with V6 Engines

Kia's most ambitious new model, the K9 flagship sedan that eyes the BMW 7-Series both in style and in size, went on sale in South Korea on Wednesday.

The full-size, rear-wheel drive sedan is currently offered with two V6 engines, while pricing in Korea starts at 52,900,000 won (US$46,900 / €35,500) and rises to 86,400,000 won (US$76,500 / €57,900).

Kia said today that after its introduction in South Korea, the K9 will launch in a number of key overseas markets starting in the fourth quarter of 2012, though the company would not elaborate further. It is expected, however, that the U.S.A. and Canada will be amongst those markets to receive Kia's new flagship.

"K9 is our first rear-wheel drive large sedan for more than a decade and sets new standards for advanced design, new technologies and driving performance, representing the 'best of the best' of Kia," commented Soon-Nam Lee, Kia's Director of Overseas Marketing Group.

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Hyundai Sells Over a Million Vehicles, Kia More than 630,000 in the First Quarter of 2012

Business is booming for South Korea's Hyundai Group that reported its first quarter results. The Hyundai brand sold an impressive 1,072,679 new vehicles worldwide (domestic: 154,800 / overseas: 917,879) in the first three months of 2012, up 16.7 percent from the same period a year earlier.

Hyundai Motor's net income climbed 30.6 percent to 2.45 trillion won (US$2.16 billion) in the first quarter, while its operating profit jumped 24.9 percent to 2.28 trillion won (US$2 billion).

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Kia Carnival Minivan gets the Procrustean Stretch for the Chinese Market

One of the new models that flew under the radar at this week's 2012 Beijing Motor Show is Kia's China-only Grand VQ-R, which is a long wheelbase version of the Carnival minivan, known as the Sedona in some markets including the U.S.

Like the Sedona, the VQ-R has a 130mm longer wheelbase than the Carnival at 3,020mm as well as a 190mm longer rear overhang. The seven-seater minivan measures 5,130mm long, which makes its 320mm longer than the existing short wheelbase VQ / Carnival.

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Kia Releases the First Interior Shots and TV Spots for its New K9 Flagship Sedan

With the K9's domestic market launch drawing nearer, Kia has published a new trio of photos as well as the first official television ads for its new full-size, rear-wheel-drive sedan.

Two of the new photos provide us our first glimpse at the luxury model's interior including the instrument panel and part of the steering wheel as well as Kia's very BMW-like automatic transmission shifter and parking brake button and infotainment system control knob.

Kia says that the K9 will be equipped with an array of technological and safety features such as a latest generation, full-color heads-up display, full adaptive LED headlamps and a large 12.3-inches LCD screen for the infotainment system.

Furthermore, Kia revealed that the K9 will launch in South Korea this summer with two engine options, a 3.3-liter V6 rated at 296HP (300PS) and a 3.8-liter V6 producing 329HP (334PS).

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