Warped Word of Steve: Do Good On Warped

Folks, stop by to check out our 4th of July weekend Sale-a-thon.

 

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This week's car care tip: Shine those car lights

 

Do your headlights look foggy now? Do those once crystal clear headlights now look like waxed paper is covering them? Once you have realized that you are not getting enough clear vision at night, you know it's time to clean your headlights.

Keep your headlights polished (and yourself, safe) by applying window cleaner and rubbing vigorously with an old pair of panty hose.

Source: Reader's Digest.

2014 Kia Sorento receives an upgraded look, better interior materials

Kia has finally giving its popular Sorento SUV a range of improvements and design upgrades.

“Since its introduction in 2009, the second-generation Kia Sorento has achieved more than 620,000 sales around the world,” said Thomas Oh, Kia’s Executive Vice President & COO of the International Busines Division. “We have given very careful attention to owners’ feedback, and the upgraded Sorento is not just a comstic exercise but a major step forward for our popular SUV.”

The new 2014 Kia Sorento gets an upgraded design look with LED lights and 19-inch alloy wheels. The Korean automaker says that it has re-engineered the body shell, improved ride and handling and upgraded the powertrains for best-in-class fuel-economy figures.

The interior of the 2014 Sorento was also upgraded with nice soft-touch surfaces, a new LCD instrument display with a new 7-inch display screen in the center.

Source: egm CarTech

Kia is back for year five as the "Official Vehicle of the 2012 Vans Warped Tour."

2012 Kia Sportage named to AAA's Top Cars for Teens

The 2012 Kia Sportage has been named to Top Cars for Teens by the Automobile Association of America. The Sportage was picked for laudable dynamics, dependability, value and a long list of standard safety features, plus top performance in the NHTSA crash tests.

 

In trials at the Colorado Off Road Extreme rally during the Third Annual RMDE last week, the Compact Utility Vehicle showed excellent stability and traction on a 2-mile offroad course across a convoluted section of terrain. The AAA rating is based on those same performance capabilities when recommend for teen drivers.

"We are honored that AAA, one of the most respected authorities on travel and transportation, is recognizing the Kia Sportage as a top car for teenage drivers," said Michael Sprague, executive vice president, marketing & communications, Kia Motors America (KMA).

"Knowing that the Sportage, our longest-running nameplate, has been chosen not only for its attractive design that appeals to all ages, but more importantly, for its safety features, reliability and value, is evidence that consumers do not have to sacrifice curb appeal for dependability."

Indeed, in naming the Sportage to their Top Cars for Teens list, AAA states, “The list focuses on vehicles that appease both parents and teens by combining attractive looks and performance with reliability, safety and a budget-friendly price.”

AAA Auto Buying analysts test-drive and evaluate hundreds of vehicles each year in the process of compiling various reports and lists. The 2012 Sportage was also awarded an overall Five Star safety rating from the NHTSA.

In addition, during the NHTSA dynamic maneuvers to test vehicle resistance to untripped rollovers, the 2012 Kia Sportage was among the group of vehicles whose wheels did not tip up earning a coveted "no tip" designation.

Growing by leaps and bounds
Kia Motors has become one of the world's fastest growing automotive brands in the world. Since 2009, Kia has launched more new vehicles in the U.S. than any other automaker, earning a reputation as an industry styling leader under the oversight of chief design officer Peter Schreyer.

Kia Motors America's line of efficient, fun vehicles has raised the brand’s public image and dramatically increased consumer awareness. In 2011, the company marked its 17th consecutive year of market growth, thanks to a quantum leap in perceived quality, according to Experian, and the industry's highest brand loyalty ranking from 2007 to 2012.

Kia's U.S. based manufacturing facility in West Point, Georgia (KMMG) provides more than 10,000 plant and supplier jobs, building two of the company's top-selling vehicles in the U.S. – the Sorento CUV and Optima midsize sedan in certain trim levels.

Kia's lineup also includes the Sportage, the popular hamster-hawked Soul, the surprising Optima Hybrid, the compact Forte sedan and hatchback, the sub-compact Rio and its 5-door version, plus the Sedona minivan.

Other vehicles picked by AAA for Top Cars for Teens included the VWGolf/Rabbit TDI, Ford Focus, Honda Civic, Hyundai Sonata and Ford Fusion. Notably the newer models of the Ford Focus and/or Fusion have the MyTouch system, which allows a parent or guardian to limit speed, radio volume and prevent safety systems from being turned off.

“Parents and teens seeing eye to eye on a vehicle can be tough,” said Don Nunnari, vice president of automotive services for AAA Arizona. “However, there are a variety of safe, reliable and stylish vehicles on the market that will fit into the budget, thereby satisfying parent needs and teen wants.”

Source: Torque News

Kudos team, let's keep the good reviews coming!

 

"I've never been a fan of a car dealership, especially having worked for one. Double for service departments, But I've been taking my car here since i bought it over a year ago, and its always been a great experience. If you go first thing in the morning, they always get you out early. " - Dezeray D.

Click here to read more reviews.

How to pack smart for a road trip

 

Going to take a road trip? Fantastic. 

Before you hit the road it's key to plan -- carefully and thoroughly. Things like a true budget is vital, although a special “indulge” is permissible (but keep it sensible).  

Also important is what you take, as you don't want to have to buy what you forget at home. How you pack it in your vehicle (car, truck van, mini-bus, you name it) is vital.  The good news is whether it is a trip alone or with many there is a packing format.

Here are some tips I have learned along the way:

Bag It 

Individual bags are packed or perhaps you choose individual plastic boxes with an individual small duffle bag for daily “things”. Daily items such as tooth brush, tooth paste, etc.  Label each “container’ with masking tape. You remember today, tomorrow but not in a few days. Put each person’s bags and items in separate piles by the door. Departure time is close! When you pack the car, keep in individual piles rather than just tossing into a heap. Packing space is never enough.

Access to the Vitals

Easy access, a separate bag/box with medical supplies is important, ie: band-aids, Neosporin, bug spray, sun screen, scissors, tweezers, Pepto Bismol, Milk Magnesia.  You know the things that you don’t need daily but when you do they are worth a king’s ransom.

Front Seaters

A couple of large towels- under front seats, back seats - will have multi purposes: as a blanket, cover for items in car, beach, and such.

In front, thermos bag for those “I’m hungry” snacks (15 minutes after lunch), bottled water and soft drinks. Frozen ice paks are good if feasible. Real ice can get a little messy, but it can work.  Plastic bags of several sizes can be so helpful especially the middle size for unexpected tummy happenings. A roll of paper towels – in front area will be used more than you expect. Always in your pocket, have a few folded paper towels. Never can tell, but the multi-use Duck tape if needed can be a treasure. A zillion good places to store it -even with medical supplies. Pillows-placed conveniently are a very useful must-haves.

Secret Space

There is a nice amount of space under the seats, so use it. Tightly rolled rain parkas, flashlight, and such can fit nicely. Another nice space is [usually] in the door which is perfect for umbrella, hand sanitizer, napkins, etc.

A large plastic pill bottle- preferably with dark sides – is perfect for coins, be they for tolls, newspapers, etc. Lottery! In a semi clandestine area,  like taped under glove compartment, but not so hidden it can be seen if looked for – an emergency card with contact numbers [written with a permanent ink pen] just in case.

If you have OnStar or a GPS, of course, they have their perches, but real maps, should be marked and folded BEFORE leaving for easy reading –not by the driver while driving.  NO!

 If your vehicle has a middle console, this can be a perfect place for more items: Cell phone car charger, reservation confirmation data with phone numbers, small amount of monies [just in case], camera, and such.

The pockets in back of seats are useful for toys, books, pencils and such, especially the individual spiral notebooks [I recommend]  that each has for their road trip memories. These will become keepsakes, even if they are a little hard to decipher. 

There is a lot of useable space and if you use it wisely and carefully you will be surprise how much you can fit in the nooks and crannies of a vehicle. Speaking of “space” don’t squish passengers, or parcels.

Keep a List

As you carefully and excitedly pack your car, consider making an inventory or directory of boxes/bags and such. So helpful. Take a picture of what your car looks like packed as you start your trip and then what it looks like when you return home.

No matter how or what you pack, road trips are wonderful, therapeutic, rejuvenating, rewarding, surprisingly special. Enjoy.

Stay safe. Plan another.

Source: Fox

Thank you for this outstanding review!

 

"The staff was very helpful. The salesperson stayed late to make sure that the delivery of my new vehicle was to my satisfaction. Which it was... And more!!!!!" - Jose R.  

Click here to read more reviews.

Kia Among Top 10 Best Car Brands

Kia Motors has been listed among the Top 10 Best Car Brands of 2012 by the automotive ranking website Total Car Score. The list provides a data-driven assessment of which automakers are producing the most highest quality cars.

The Website released its top 10 list Wednesday, with Infiniti ranked first, followed by Mercedes-Benz, Buick and Audi.

Kia, which placed 10th, is one of only two non-luxury brands to appear on the list and saw the biggest increase in the manufacture score from 2011. Hyundai ranked 12th.

Source: The Chosuniblo

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The 2012 Kia Optima SX: 34mpg and pure turbocharged fun

 

There was a point in time where the suggestion of a great looking Korean sport sedan that had the brass to back up the title would have been little more than a joke but Kia is one of the American auto industry’s most improved brands over the past few years – a fact clearly illustrated by the 2012 Kia Optima SX.

The 2012 Kia Optima SX is the top of the line offering for the model while the Optima itself currently serves as the company’s premium vehicle. This sporty sedan sports the aggressive design that was introduced for the 2011 model year and while some might not care for the distinctive style – I love it. The previous generation of the Kia Optima was much like the rest of their lineup, with styling that allowed them to blend in with the Camrys and Accords of the world but with the introduction of the new Optima – Kia has a sport sedan that stands out against the competition.

 

 

The Exterior

The 2012 Kia Optima SX has a long form for a midsized sedan with high fender lines and a low roofline that creates a sleek, slippery form. Up front, the Optima wears a familiar “grin” with the headlights pouring down into the grille while the lower fascia area gives the car a menacing smile. With the large projection headlight units and the large foglights mounted towards the outer edge of front fascia – the Optima provides gobs of light at night while also presenting a very distinct look that we see across the majority of the current Kia lineup. This is one area where some critics of the car might raise an eyebrow but it took balls for Kia to go so aggressive with their exterior design and in my opinion, it paid off 100%.

 

The long hood and windshield flow seamlessly through the shortish roof and into the fastback style rear glass and trunklid. Along the sides, the Optima has a very high body line that runs from the headlights to the taillights with black b-pillars adding to that “big coupe” feel. The greenhouse has thin pillars in the front and side while the larger, sweeping rear pillar that rolls smoothly into the short trunklid that is punctuated by the subtle rear spoiler. The design of the rear end isn’t as radical as the front end but with large LED taillights that wrap around into the side of the vehicle and the flat black lower fascia with integrated dual exhaust; this rear end has a great sporty feel. The accentuated wheel openings are filled out nicely by the 18” alloy wheels and these help give the Optima a wide, low stance.

Love it or hate it, there is no denying that the 2012 Kia Optima SX has a sleek, sporty design that stands out in the uber crowded midsized sedan segment. There is just enough chrome to add a little “bling” while the black trim on the grille, along the side and across the bottom end emphasize the sporty attitude of the Optima sedan.

The Interior

The 2012 Kia Optima SX is a midsized sedan but when seated inside, it feels much larger than the class designation would leave you to believe. My Optima test car was fitted with both the Technology Package (adding a high end navigation/touch screen setup) and the SX Premium Touring Package (adding things like heated/cooled seats, a rear camera display, power mirrors, an Infinity Audio system with HD radio, the gorgeous panoramic sunroof that stretches over the front and rear passengers and much more. In short, this car was as loaded as a Kia sedan can get and it shows. The two tone leather seats and comfortable and look great while the heating and cooling features add comfort in all sorts of climates. Even with the driver’s seat adjusted for a 6 foot tall driver and a 6 foot tall passenger, there is enough room for the average adult to sit comfortably in the back seat, while offering lots of room for kids. There is a pull-down armrest in the back seat with cup holders when there are only two riders in the back with leather everywhere – from the door panels to the dash to all seating areas.

 

 

The leather trimmed dash of the 2012 Kia Optima SX has a cockpit design that is centered around the driver with a large touch screen mounted high on the dash offering stereo and navigation control while, with the push of a button, you can control the climate controls. More importantly, if touch screen controls aren’t your thing, the Optima SX has more traditional knobs and buttons below the touch screen. The Optima SX also offered steering wheel mounted controls for the stereo, the cruise control, the Bluetooth phone system and the in-dash trip information. This central screen in the dash is flanked by two large easy to read gauges displaying the speed and engine RPM. Best of all, the Optima has a paddle shift system that lets the driver select gears with the push of a button – with a great, sporting design.

The 2012 Kia Optima SX interior offers comfort and technology that you find in far more expensive models – leaving you asking for very little in terms of amenities.

The Drive

The 2012 Kia Optima SX is powered by a 2.0L turbocharged 4-cylinder engine that packs 274 horsepower and 269lb-ft of torque that is funneled to the front tires via an electronic 6-speed automatic transmission. This drivetrain offers 22mpg around town, 34mpg on the highway and a combined figure of 26mpg overall – and in my time spent behind the wheel I found these numbers to be completely reasonable and you don’t have to drive like a little old lady to hit those figures. I am far from a lightfoot and I frequently used all 274 horsepower and I still averaged right around 26mpg – some tanks slightly higher and some tanks slightly lower depending on how much traffic I was forced to fight. More importantly, this drivetrain makes the Optima SX lots of fun to drive and honestly, the car feels as strong as some competition that offers more power.

Acceleration of the 2012 Kia Optima SX is very impressive when launching hard, with the 6-speed transmission popping quickly through the gears with a nice, strong shift. However, when driving under “gentle” conditions as in typical Friday night traffic, the transmission shifts are smooth and easy not to notice. When you shift into manual shift mode, you can use the paddles to upshift and downshift but unlike some systems, the Kia manual shift system is quick to override the driver when trying to “stretch” a gear. This is one feature that I did not like but this self-shifting preference is popular on many cars with a manual shift mode for an automatic transmission. However, once you get the hang of when you can shift, the automatic transmission adds some fun to drive factor. The Optima SX packs more than enough power to allow you to rip out into faster moving traffic and while you might not be knocking off any muscle cars – the Optima provides plenty of fun to drive factor.

The ride quality of the 2012 Kia Optima SX is very impressive with very little of the road roughness transferred through the chassis or steering but at the same time – you don’t lose a feel for the road. Some vehicles mute the feel of the road so much that it becomes too synthetic feeling but the Optima SX preserves the feel of the road through the steering wheel for the driver. On the open road, there is no noticeable body roll even on longer banks at higher speeds which translates nicely into sharp handling in tighter areas. When cutting along winding back roads, the Optima sticks to the road very nicely and the four wheel disc braking system allows you to bring the roomy Kia sedan to a stop in a hurry.

The Final Word

The 2012 Kia Optima SX is aggressive and distinct in its exterior design with a loaded up interior and a drive train that caters to those who want some driving excitement. When driving conservatively, the Optima will surely exceed the 34 mile per gallon highway expectations but the car is enough fun to drive that I had a hard time not enjoying the spool of the turbocharger and all 274 horsepower. With a great amount of seating for two adults and two children, a high tech sound system and a gorgeous panoramic sunroof – the interior is inviting for everyone who enters and while it is clearly a sport-minded interior – it is not without some luxury feel.

I am a sports car guy but I enjoyed my time spent driving the 2012 Kia Optima SX. The turbocharged drivetrain offers great fuel economy and plenty of power so for someone in the market for a new midsized (yet especially roomy) sedan – the Optima is one that deserves the title of a “sport sedan” – with a price of $31,745 in fully loaded form. The Optima isn't just another bland entry in the midsized sedan segment and it deserves a good look before making your next new car purchase.

Source: Kia

Happy Monday Folks, it's time for our car care tip of the week - Clean your mats:

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Blast mats with the hose: When washing your car, drag out the rubber or carpet floor mats and blast them with the hose. This will dislodge dirt particles that, if allowed to build up, will grind holes in your mats. Let the mats dry thoroughly in the sun before reinstalling them.For stubborn carpet or mat stains, after vacuuming floor mats or interior carpeting, apply foam rug cleaner to resistant stains as directed by the maker. Work the foam into a few square feet at a time, using a wet sponge or brush. Vacuum when dry.

Discover what you like inside Kia - one of the official sponsors of UEFA EURO 2012

Fans, you've got to stop by to take a look at our incredible Sizzling Summer Sales event!

 

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Get an insider's peek at the 2012 Kia Track'Ster.

 

KIA Track'Ster this concept car will be the future of Kia. KIA tiny design feature is now more muscular form of the curve drawn from the body and use the wide rim.In addition to its compact body posture, KIA Track'Ster also comes with a fierce energy, many people would bother to assess the presence of MCH Track'Ster MINI which was already legendary.

 

For the latest track'ster design of the KIA is the result of the design team of California designers."If the KIA Soul is our rock star, then Track'ster is a heavy metal star," said KIA compare the two cars from the musical glasses.

In the KIA would put the machine Track'ster gasoline engine with a capacity of 3.0 liter V6 is capable of pushing a car up to 247 bhpAesthetically, the KIA Soul-looking SUV managed to transform a 3-door hatchback compact. For alignment, 'nose' is distinguished by the design of LED lights and the lower grill. The use of color on the roof of the characteristics of the MIMI sidikit adopting Cooper, but little is distinguished by the shape of the curve.

Sporty looks strong on the KIA Track'Ster, especially in the cabin. Not only from the color selection, but also supported by the appearance of the dashboard and seat racing models. Unfortunately, KIA Track'ster can only accommodate two passengers.

Space in the rear is used as a means of storage of equipment, goods and spare tire is placed on the luggage space with locking that can be removed easily.Of energy produced totally unexpected to the size of a mini car, which amounted to 250 PS.

Supported by a 4-cylinder inline engine, a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-wheel channeled through a 6 speed manual transmission.With the performance of the "aggressive" then it must be balanced with maximum traction. Therefore, all four wheels are equipped with a "round rubber" Michelin PilotSized Sport PS2 245/40 for the front tires and 285/35 for the rear tires. Both tires are attached to 19-inch diameter alloy wheels. While behind the rim is mounted 14-inch Brembo brakes, 6 piston front and 4 piston rear 13.6 inches.

Source: Kia Media

Folks, happy Monday! It’s time for our weekly car care tip - Inspect wheel-well splash guards:

These guards, however flimsy on many of today’s cars, help keep water and winter’s salty slush from splashing up into the engine compartment, where it can damage sensitive electrical components. Unfortunately, these guards tear off easily — sometimes without the driver knowing it. Check for damage to these guards when you wash your car. Re-secure with the appropriate fasteners or replace as needed. As added protection from splashed-up muck, slush, and debris, install mud flaps (also called splash guards) on your vehicle.