Kia opens new Design Center America

Kia Motors has opened its new Design Center America, located adjacent to the new US corporate headquarters in Irvine, California, about 40 miles southeast of Los Angeles. The opening ceremony of the new US 21.8-acre Kia Corporate campus was held on June 24 and was presided by Byung Mo Ahn, group president and CEO of Kia Motors America and Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia. He was joined at the ceremony by both local and state representatives, as well as members of the media and guests.

Hyundai Veloster Midship concept shows what the Veloster could be

The Hyundai Veloster Midship at the Busan Motor Show The Hyundai Veloster is actually a perfectly capable – if slightly quirky - sports car, which promises much but doesn’t actually deliver in terms of performance. In fact, when we  reviewed the Hyundai Veloster a couple of years ago with its 1.6 litre petrol engine, we wondered if Hyundai would have been better giving the Veloster a diesel lump instead, which would at least have made its paucity of power less of a problem with more torque to play with. And the Veloster Turbo isn’t a huge amount better, only offering 184 bhp and taking 8.4 seconds to get to 62mph; figures we would have expected from the base Veloster if it were to be a properly credible competitor in the sector.

Is the car industry heading toward the past?

Is the future of cars decidedly old school? An NPR blogger certainly thinks so. NPR Business Desk reporter Sonari Glinton recently likened the 2014 Detroit auto show to an era 40 years ago, reflecting the possibility that the renewed zeitgeist of an entire convention indicates a "retro" kind of thinking.