Autoblog

This past February, just when it appeared that Kia had found its advertising footing, marketing VP Ian Beavis cleaned out his desk and followed Kia Motors America CEO Len Hunt out the door. Post-exodus, Beavis has landed at Carat, an advertising concern that's part of the Aegis Group. The 54-year-old Beavis will fill the role of Executive Vice President for global client direction for Carat, and his past experience inside automakers such as Toyota, Ford, and Mitsubishi as well as time spent in high-powered agencies such as Foote, Cone & Belding, and Saatchi & Saatchi have led to glowing statements from higher-ups at the new digs. Carat does have some automotive clients among its customer ranks, and as marketing efforts continue to evolve, the firm's grasp of media's push beyond the traditional means of messaging should stand it in good stead. We hear Kia could use a witty campaign that gets people talking...

[Source: Advertising Age]

Next Monday is President's Day, and a lot of workers will get the day off. Some other employees, like former Kia execs Len Hunt, CEO of Kia Motors America, and Ian Beavis, VP of marketing, will have more than just the day off: they recently ended their employment with Kia over what's being portrayed as a case of humor that got lost in translation.

To promote its President's Day sale, the company ran an ad featuring "unheard of" President Millard Fillmore, "best remembered as the first president to have a running-water bathtub." Cue the segue into the "unheard of" deals that Kia dealers would be offering during the long weekend. And to commemorate the event and the president, Kia made soap-on-a-rope busts of Mr. Fillmore, some of which were handed out during a press event at the Chicago Auto Show. And, uh... yeah... that's it. Unheard-of president, unheard-of deals, and soap.

But Byung Mo Ahn, chairman and group CEO of Kia Motors America and Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia -- and the man who hired and promoted Len Hunt -- apparently didn't find the soap-on-a-rope commercial that funny. Word is that Ahn wants more serious commercials focusing on Kia's quality. So even though Hunt and Beavis presided over a solid sales story and growing brand awareness, and Hunt was especially well-liked by dealers, the two men are now probably on their way to other automakers. And Kia commercials are about to get very boring. Our sympathies to Hunt and Beavis, yet if nothing else, at least now Millard Fillmore has another claim to fame. Thanks for the tip, Keith!

[Source: Ad Age]

Kia's Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Len Hunt, showed off the redesigned Kia Amanti at the LA Auto Show yesterday. Although the big news for Kia was the debut of the Rondo nanowagon, Len took a few minutes out his Rondoism shtick to mention the Amanti as well. The Amanti has earned its fair share of accolades and represents the value leader in segment. With the new enhancements, it should be an even better deal.

Topping the list of changes is a new 264 hp, 3.8-liter aluminum engine. That puts it smack dab in the Honda/Toyota/Ford range finally. Even better, that engine will be pushing a lighter platform with a suspension modified for better response and lighter weight. Woo hoo. And although it might look a lot like the current '90s E-Class knockoff styling hasn't changed much, Kia tells us they have made "significant exterior and interior styling upgrades." Well, the inside does look pretty nifty, and the outside is less stale to our eyes.

All-new features include 17-inch wheels and optional power adjustable pedals. Very Five Hundred. Better still is the fact that some features previously available only as options, will now be standard or available in value laden packages. Definitely a good lunge in the right direction for this competent but previously uninspiring sedan.

Full release and media pics after the jump.

[Source: Kia]

Kia just showed off its new Mazda5, and we like it. Actually it's called the Rondo and although it is a tall wagon like the Mazda, it lacks the 5's sliding rear doors. It does, however, trump the 5 in height and width, as well as in number of seats at 7 versus 6 for the 5, although only in the optional three row form. Confused yet? There's more. It's basically another smallish people mover with flexible seating/cargo configurations and even an optional third row. This seems to be a popular segment with cars as diverse as the PT Cruiser and Honda Fit in the fold. Available with your choice of a 162 hp 2.4-liter four or a 2.7-liter sixty-degree V6 putting out 182 hp, it fairly covers the segment-sharing Chevy HHR's powerplant ratings.

Len Hunt, executive vice president and COO of Kia Motors America (KMA) managed to keep a straight face while discussing all of the new "Rondoisms" that this new Kia has created in the company. Nothing on the level of Molly Simms or Jennifer Love Hewitt popping up at other unveils, but at least it was somewhat entertaining, if only in a hokey way. They really didn't need the "spectator" jumping on stage or the confetti at the end, because this is actually a pretty nice vehicle that could have stood on its own quite nicely. Probably the best debut of this very slow day at the LA Auto Show.

Pics and full press release after the jump.

We just talked about the fact that Kia and Hyundai were scaling back sales projections for 2006, now we are learning that production will be adjusted as well. After a series of high-level scandals and ensuing postponements, Kia Motors Corp. finally broke ground on its Georgia facility today. And at the company's official groundbreaking ceremony today, it announced some changes. Most important was the announcement about where the new vehicles produced at this plant will be headed.

While Kia had originally projected U.S. sales of 800,000 vehicles a year in 2010, they are now expecting sales to be closer to 650,000 units, according to Kia CEO Chung Eui Sun. Chung and his father, Hyundai-Kia Group Chairman Chung Mong Koo, participated in the ceremonial shovel lift at Kia's first U.S. plant today. The younger Chung said that the billion dollar plant will likely ship its excess production to Latin American markets, possibly including a new-to-Kia market, Mexico. Kia CEO Chung added that production had been tabbed to begin in September 2009, but November 2009 looks more likely now.

Len Hunt, Kia Motors America executive vice president and COO, pointed out that although Kia has only moved 222,000 so far this year, it hopes to reach 300,000: "It will be a bit of a stretch, but the 300,000 target would be psychologically important," Hunt said. "The dealers are really excited that Kia is investing in America, because that's what we're continually asking them to do. It says to them that we're here to stay."

[Source: Automotive News, sub req]