On Tuesday, January 31, U.S. President Barack Obama�s schedule included a visit to the 2012 Washington Auto Show. The White House informed automakers on a two days� notice to bring their most fuel-efficient models to the show. Naturally, they obliged. For example, Honda flew in the FCX Clarity from California, Kia brought the Optima hybrid and Mercedes-Benz a fuel-cell car. Carmakers also brought along their top brass to discuss green technologies with the President. 
As Bloomberg reports, the problem is that Obama, who had half an hour in his disposal, ignored foreign manufacturers. Instead, he spent most of his time with domestic brands, posing for the press with the Dodge Dart, the Chevrolet Malibu, the Ford C-MAX Energi, the Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 and the Chevrolet Corvette ZR-1 (not pretty fuel efficient those two, by the way�).
Only a few days left for the big game, so Kia released the full version of its 2012 Super Bowl ad titled "Drive the Dream" for the new Optima Limited Edition featuring a slew of stars including Victoria's Secret super model Angel Adriana Lima, the Motley Crew, martial arts champ Chuck Liddell and bull rider Judd Leffew. Out of all those stars, we all know who will capture the attention of most viewers. Kia's marketing division came to the same conclusion as us and so it created a five-hour long looped version of the hot Brazilian model repeatedly waving her chequered flag. You can watch both videos after the jump.
It's been three years since Kia pulled the wraps off its conceptual Soul'ster convertible truck at the 2009 Detroit Motor Show. Kia fueled some rumors at the time that it was considering a production version of the car but never followed up on it. Until today, that is. Unexpectedly, in the press statement on the Track'ster Concept that's scheduled to debut at the Chicago Auto Show next week, Kia dropped the ball saying that the Soul�ster convertible is "currently under final assessment for production". 
The Korean maker did not elaborate further but we assume that if it receives the green light, the Soul'ster should be on its way to the market very soon. The original concept is a two-door mixture of convertible and pickup models with seating for four passengers. It features a shortened windshield for a more hunkered down appearance and is equipped with a two-piece removable top residing on a roll bar that provides additional protections for the occupants.
This is the first official teaser rendering of Kia's latest concept based on the Soul crossover. It's called the Track'ster and it will make its first public appearance at the 2012 Chicago Auto Show next week. Penned in Kia's California design studio, the Track'ster shows how a more sporty, three-door version of the Soul could look like, though the South Korean automaker is quick to point out that currently, there are no plans for a production version.
Kia Motors Corp. saw its overall global sales of passenger cars, recreational vehicles and commercial vehicles through the first six months of 2010 surpass the 1 million unit mark, recording an increase of 34.1% over the same period last year and reaching 1,004,724 units.
Percentage-wise, the highest gain came from China where sales increased by 75.6 per cent to 170,977 vehicles.
Two new special editions named Domino and Echo that both play on black and white color schemes are joining Kia's UK-market lineup. The Domino special edition is available on the Picanto and Rio superminis, while the Echo is offered on the Soul crossover.
During the past few years, Kia has completely transformed its image from a manufacturer of affordable, but rather unexceptional, cars to that of an automaker that offers a stylish and coherent range, thanks in no small part to the hiring of ex-VW Group designer Peter Schreyer. Now, however, it is moving in uncharted waters if a recent report from What Car is accurate.
If there�s one thing South Korea�s Kia does better than any other automaker, it is offering especially long warranties. In Belgium, for instance, the warranties across their entire range of vehicles extend to seven years. That�s no mean feat, though intriguingly Kia Belgium have found that a lot of new car buyers believe the seven year warranty scheme is too good to be true. Either there�s a catch, or it doesn�t cover all Kia models, or there�s some extra charges that need to be paid first.To counteract these rumours, and gain some additional customers, Kia Belgium hooked its General Manager Benoit Morrene up to a polygraph (lie detector) and let the general public ask him questions in an online, streamlining environment.
Today, June 30, Kia celebrates the 20th anniversary since it sold its first ever car in the UK. In 1991, the small hatchback Pride was the only Kia model on sale in Britain and in that year, the company managed to sell just only 1,786 cars. However, two decades is a very long time in the automotive industry. Since then Kia has changed remarkably on its way to become an important player on a global scale. In 2010, Kia sold a record 56,114 cars in the UK and, for the first time ever, more than 2 million units worldwide.
As Bloomberg reports, the problem is that Obama, who had half an hour in his disposal, ignored foreign manufacturers. 
