{"id":21286,"date":"2017-10-23T14:52:36","date_gmt":"2017-10-23T18:52:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/henrypayne.com\/?p=21286"},"modified":"2017-10-30T14:53:54","modified_gmt":"2017-10-30T18:53:54","slug":"payne-stinger-adds-venom-to-kia-lineup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/2017\/10\/payne-stinger-adds-venom-to-kia-lineup","title":{"rendered":"Payne: Stinger adds venom to Kia lineup"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><div align=\"left\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/-mm-\/9ddb467e530c282d9c101d355e6531a65fc7e7f3\/c=504-0-3528-2268&amp;r=x404&amp;c=534x401\/local\/-\/media\/2017\/10\/23\/DetroitNews\/B99588048Z.1_20171023190142_000_GIA1N5KSI.1-0.jpg\" alt=\"stinger_pylons\" \/><\/p>\n<\/div><p class=\"speakable-p-2 p-text\">Mix some Detroit muscle, a dash of European style, and a 100,000-mile drivetrain warranty and you have a recipe for the\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.detroitnews.com\/story\/opinion\/columnists\/henry-payne\/2017\/10\/11\/surprising-kia-stinger-melds-detroit-muscle-german-sophistication\/106539340\/\">Kia Stinger, a growling<\/a>, made-in-Korea performance sedan.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">That\u2019s right, a Kia muscle car.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">The Stinger, which stole the Detroit Auto Show in January and was first tested by media here in September, is more than just a pretty face \u2014 it represents a bold new direction for Kia as a sport brand. Long in the shadow of its bigger corporate brother, Hyundai, Kia is ready for its moment in the spotlight.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">\u201cThe Stinger is a stunning car. It marks a new era for Kia, dividing the history of Kia into before and after,\u201d said Kia President of North America Jang Won Sohn.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Armed with a 255-horsepower, 2.0-liter turbo-4 cylinder, the swoopy fastback sedan is estimated to start at just $32,795 when it goes on sale this winter. Stuff it with an optional, 365-horsepower, 3.3-liter twin-turbo V-6 for just $39,895 and the upper trim Stinger GT will outrace a $100,000 Porsche Panamera fastback sedan to 60 miles an hour in just 4.7 seconds.<\/p>\n<div id=\"ad-position-196\" class=\"partner-placement partner-spike\" data-monetization-id=\"native-article_link\" data-monetization-sizes=\"fluid,3,3\">\n<div id=\"ad-slot-7103-mi-detroit-C1561-native-article_link-news-opinion-198\" class=\"ad-slot\">\n<div id=\"google_ads_iframe_7103\/mi-detroit-C1561\/native-article_link\/news\/opinion_0__container__\"><iframe id=\"google_ads_iframe_7103\/mi-detroit-C1561\/native-article_link\/news\/opinion_0\" title=\"3rd party ad content\" name=\"google_ads_iframe_7103\/mi-detroit-C1561\/native-article_link\/news\/opinion_0\" width=\"100%\" height=\"0\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Its top speed of 167 mph also eclipses the Porsche \u2014 and similar luxury sedans from BMW and Audi. Comparing the Stinger to premium performance sedans like the Jaguar XF S and Cadillac CTS-V-Sport costing double the GT, Car and Driver raved \u201cthe Stinger may not be quite ready to steal the heavyweight sports-sedan crown, but its value is a knockout.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">The car is the culmination of a number of strategic personnel and product moves. Where Hyundai has relentlessly pursued Japanese rival Toyota\u2019s model as an efficient, reliable, full-line manufacturer (even adding a Lexus-like luxury brand, Genesis, last year), Kia has set itself on a more style-oriented path.<\/p>\n<div class=\"partner-outstream\"><\/div>\n<p class=\"p-text\">The hiring of acclaimed Audi designer Peter Schreyer brought European swagger to its car\u2019s exterior and interior appointments.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">\u201cFor years we were known as a value brand with great fuel economy, and then we brought in Schreyer and became a design brand. Then we introduced lots of technology and safety systems,\u201d said Michael Sprague, Kia North America\u2019s chief operating officer. \u201cWhat we were always lacking was driving dynamics and (Stinger) brings it all together.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">That dynamic cred came from engineer\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.news.hyundai.be\/hyundai-motor-group-appoints-albert-biermann-as-head-of-vehicle-test--high-performance-development\">Albert Biermann who Kia hired away<\/a>\u00a0from BMW\u2019s legendary M performance division in 2014.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Biermann inherited a brand that had already made bold moves to distance itself from the more \u201cestablishment\u201d Hyundai. At the turn of the century, Kia \u2014 which first sold cars in the US in 1995 \u2014 was known for small, fuel-efficient sedans and an industry-leading 100,000-mile powertrain warranty.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">The cube-shaped Kia Soul, introduced in 2009, was a sharp departure from convention. It was quickly followed by the slinky Optima sedan and brand signature \u201ctiger nose\u201d grille \u2014 an attempt by Schreyer to change what he called the brand\u2019s \u201cneutral image.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">\u201c(The Soul) has done phenomenally well. Much better than anyone of us anticipated,\u201d said Sprague. \u201cStill a fun car, but also from a marketing perspective a great car that we can do a lot of things with.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Things like ads featuring human-sized hamster rappers flogging Souls \u2014 a popular ad campaign that took home the 2011 \u201cAutomotive Ad of the Year\u201d at the Nielsen Automotive Advertising Awards.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Bierman took this funky, fun vibe and gave it athleticism.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">\u201cWe\u2019ve had great looking product since Schreyer joined the brand but now this is a vehicle where the driving dynamics deliver on the design language,\u201d said Sprague. \u201cWhen you look at it you think \u2014 that\u2019s going to drive really well \u2014 and now it does. Between Albert Biermann with driving dynamics and Scheyer with the design we\u2019ve got everything.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Sprague says the Stinger was the first car that Biermann really sunk his teeth into, leading the design team in South Korea \u2014 with technical and testing work performed at Kia\u2019s Mojave Desert, Calif., proving grounds.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">But for all its European pretentions, the Stinger is an undeniable homage to 1970s Detroit muscle cars with names like Javelin and Stingray and Mustang. Ultimately the sedan coupe is something between a Porsche Panamera and a Dodge Challenger.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">\u201cThe inspiration for the name came from Schreyer and (product designer) Greg Guillaume when they were growing up in Europe driving the GT vehicles like the Maserati Ghibli. Similar to what was going on in the 1970s here \u2014 people driving these Grand Turismos,\u201d relates Sprague.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">\u201cIt transcends a couple different segments on the premium side and the domestic side. It\u2019s hard to pinpoint. It\u2019s not a Camaro, it\u2019s not a Mustang \u2014 but for somebody who loves those cars and that driving experience, and who now have kids and need room for four, this fits.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">In 2016 Kia\u2019s market share grew to 3.7 percent with over 650,000 units sold \u2014 shy of big brother Hyundai\u2019s 4.4 percent share. Kia manufacturers its mid-size Optima sedan and Sorento SUV in West Point, Georgia. The lower-volume Stinger will be assembled in Korea.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Mix some Detroit muscle, a dash of European style, and a 100,000-mile drivetrain warranty and you have a recipe for the\u00a0Kia Stinger, a growling, made-in-Korea performance sedan. That\u2019s right, a Kia muscle car. The Stinger, which stole the Detroit Auto Show in January and was first tested by media here in September, is more than [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21286"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21286"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21286\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21287,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21286\/revisions\/21287"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21286"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21286"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21286"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}