Autoblog

Click above for high-res gallery of the Kia Forte

The Kia Forte has been caught out again, this time in more press photos and the official Korean-market brochure. The 2009 Spectra replacement is a looker... even if it borrows some of those looks from other vehicles. Regardless, those shapely front fenders, strong shoulder line that terminates into the A-pillar and concave space right above the sills are definitely elements not usually found in the economy car class. The car will probably come to the U.S. with a slight price bump over the $13,000 Spectra, but there'll be more power, space, and fuel economy to go with it. Check out the gallery of hi-res photos below, and if you read Korean and see anything newsworthy in the brochure feel free to let us know in the comments.


[Source: Carscoop]

click the picture to view a high resolution gallery of the 2009 Kia Forte

Just the other day, we were all looking at a teaser pic and speculating wildly, and now, here it is. Kia dropped official images of its Spectra successor, the Forte, on the interwebs, and it is one sharp little car. The styling that the Forte introduces is Kia's new look, from the pen of Peter Schreyer, also responsible for the first-gen New Beetle and TT. The face of the Forte combines chunkily-flared front fenders with a new corporate grille, and there's a distinctive depression down the lower part of the flanks that works well with the prominent swage line to lend a stone-hewn look to the car. The term Forte in musical notation means "play loud," but this new Kia is restrained and maturely drawn. Additionally, the two-door variant of the Forte should look even better.

While there's no new design ground being broken, the overall effect is clean and handsome, reminiscent of many other higher-end vehicles. Check out those rear lamps -- remind you of any 40-something thousand dollar luxury car? When the Forte hits Korean showrooms in August, a new four-cylinder engine will be under the hood, employing 1.6 liters of swept volume. A 2.0 liter will follow on directly, and may be the only engine we get in the US when the Forte arrives on North American highways and byways in 2009. Compared to the Spectra, the Forte looks worlds better, and even on its own, we think it looks like a million bucks. Okay, $500,000. Let the endless string of "it looks like" comments begin. Thanks for the tip, William!

Gallery: 2009 Kia Forte

[Source: The Car Blogger]

Over the past decade, Chrysler has hosted a number of college students interested in pursing a career in car design through its internship program. And while few among us haven't sketched our dream machine in the margins of our notebooks during our formative years, these students take it two steps beyond the next level. Not only do they get to intern on the project throughout the summer, they get to present their concepts to Chrysler's design team and executives at the end.

Winding Road had the opportunity to check out what these budding designers came up with, and they brought back over 30 renderings, along with details outlining everything from drivetrain components to interior elements.

The two concepts, dubbed the Chrysler Forte and Dodge Decept, are beautifully rendered and detailed here. Check it out and tell us what you think.

[Source: Winding Road]