I went to my sister's graduation last Saturday from NAU (Northern Arizona University) up at Flagstaff.

On the campus I was sitting at a stoplight in traffic, and across from me at the intersection was what looked like a really fouled up H2. It has a front end (hood and nose were one piece) that looked like it was thrown together in some middle school shop class, using headlights seemingly from a Silverado, and no bumpers. The whole thing looked pretty horrible.

When the light changed & I passed it, I realized it was smaller than an H2 (the drivers seemingly filled half of windows that looked almost like bunker slits), and looking in my mirror, it had tacked on round lights, no lower rear cover or bumper, and Michagan MFG plates, and that's when I realized what it was. I'm guessing they were testing out the body since everything else was slapped on or simply omitted.

I didn't try to track it down for a picture, because (trust me on this) it really wasn't worth it (it simply looked like a tore up H3, only smaller). This vehicle is about the size of a Durango in width & height, but it seemed alot shorter. It didn't have a Hummer front end or anything on it that identified it as that other than the body.

On another note, I got some pictures last week of a new Kia luxury car that was stopped at the Tejon Ranch TA off I5 past the grapevine. The car looks great on the inside, but has a body that looks more like a Buick, and has a terrible rendition of Mercedes in the front (4 round lights) with what is absolutely the worse grille I've ever seen on anything with wheels. The driver I spoke to said it was at the New York autoshow, but couldn't say anything more about it.

They were running it with a Toyota Avalon, so I'm guessing it's in the "fine tuning" stage of development. The pictures are at the begining of my roll, so if anyone want's to see it, I'll post it when the roll's finished.

 

Good job, now just remember to post the pics when you finish that roll, unlike the last time where you forgot about us... hehehe


PS was the Kia you saw the one that looks like a cross between a Jag and a Mercedez?... can't remember the name, but I don't remember it being at NY.. can someone clarify??

PS nevermind I found it



it looks like it is the same one... it's called the AMANTI, but the engine needs a serious boost... the interior is very good but still lacks something... i'm sorry I can't think of the right word ....

here is some more

http://www.kia.com/041703.shtml http://auto.consumerguide.com/images...manti2_lrg.jpg
http://subscribers.wardsauto.com/mic...kia_amanti.jpg

 

That's the car!

The grill looked far worse though. It was body colored, and the plastic parts on the car were different colors, so that didn't help.

It looks 100 times better in the picture, but that's the car alright.

 

Roll? What's a roll ?

 

I see... well There was a link to it something like www.kia-amanti.com or something but I can't figure it out, maybe someone else has the link, and it show some interior views and provides other information, but it sure looks like a rip off at Mercedez styling with the Jag grill in the front... too unproportional... but anyways...

 

I'm going to be surprised if that doesn't cause a couple of lawsuits before it hits the streets...

 

The car you saw was the new Kia Amanti. However, you were wrong about the front end - it's pure Jaguar S-type. It's too bad the car looks so much like a LeSabre from behind. If the Koreans wanted to crip Jaguar cues, they should have gone all the way.

Together with the torque-steering new Maxima, Kia is just chasing the "full-sized" FWD market. If you throw the new Ford Five Hundred into the mix, it looks as if GM will have to get serious about the LeSaber replacement - how about something that's cheaper and better for a change?

I also see the irony of Kia testing their car against the Toyota Avalon. Hyundai and Kia have made huge strides in reliability and quality, and judging by current progress, Toyota should be concerned about the Korean competition in the next 5 years. To put it another way, GM should be really concerned right now. Now that all of the jokes have lost their punchlines, the Koreans are producing SUVs and crossovers that are actually competitive. I've read that Hyundai is currently designing a full-sized SUV.

It took Toyota two decades to invade the automotive mainstream in this country, but it will only be a couple of years before the Koreans are there.