Detroit 2009: Kia Soul'ster guns for fun and frolic

Filed under: Concept Cars, Detroit Auto Show, Convertibles, Kia

Click above for a high-res gallery of the Kia Soul'ster

The Kia Soul has people talking. Specifically, you. Kia's media presentation here in Detroit highlighted feedback from the Autoblog commentariat. No, we didn't know in advance, but you won't hear us complaining either. However, the star of the show for Kia wasn't the Soul -- it's a new concept derived from the boxy people-mover.

After some dancing fanfare involving large placards, the Kia Soul'ster drove onstage. Put simply, it's cool. The two-door design study looks like a pickup from the side, but the "cab" is open-air, much like the old Isuzu Amigo. Pretty much everything on the car is manual: the gearbox, the window cranks, and the two-piece canvas roof. Other details set it apart from its wagonoid brother, such as a slightly chopped roofline and dual exhausts with carbon fiber sleeves. The roof lamps integrated into the roll bars are a nice touch, too. Cantilevered seats mounted off the center console free up storage room beneath them, and there's a small cargo space aft of the second row. The Soul'ster's meant to be an economical four-cylinder, tarmac-only, front-wheel-drive plaything whose primary mission is fun. It sure looks the part, so now the ball's in Kia's court. Do they have the stones to actually follow through and build something like this? Tell them what you think below. One thng's certain: they'll be reading.

Gallery: Detroit 2008: Kia Soul'ster Live

Gallery: Kia Soul'ster Concept

Detroit 2009: Kia Soul'ster guns for fun and frolic originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 11 Jan 2009 15:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Cadillac bringing E-Flex coupe concept to Detroit

Filed under: Concept Cars, Detroit Auto Show, Coupes, Hybrids/Alternative, Green, Cadillac, GM

We've heard scads of rumors over the past year that General Motors plans to bring a Volt-based Cadillac to market, and it looks like we'll be seeing a concept of the new E-Flex Caddy at the Detroit Auto Show.

According to a report by BusinessWeek, the two-door coupe concept will use the same range-extending EV drivetrain as the Chevrolet Volt, although there's no word on whether the Caddy concept will send power to the front or rear wheels. BW sources say that the vehicle is smaller than the CTS and will feature a bolder exterior design than the CTS coupe. We'll be on hand in Detroit beginning this Sunday to see the Caddivolt concept in person, if it decides to show up.

[Source: BusinessWeek]

Cadillac bringing E-Flex coupe concept to Detroit originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 09 Jan 2009 13:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Kia Soul-Based Concept Teased Ahead Of Detroit [Detroit Auto Show]

Kia's released the first teaser shot of a concept based on the 2010 Soul it plans to bare at next month's Detroit Auto Show.

While this teaser image doesn't reveal much about the Kia Soul Concept, our first guess to what it could be is a light duty pickup variant or possibly a delivery van with some high-tech gizmos on the inside. Others have speculated we'll see a Kia Soul coupe. Truthfully, we're really not sure what it could be. Kia is being pretty tight-lipped about this one so our guess is as good as yours, but we'll be sure to update you with new pictures as they become available.

[via Kia]

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Brilliance Brings BS BMW’s Stateside

Brilliance BS6

Small Chinese automaker and BMW-alligned Brilliance Jinbei Automotive Co. has recently scrapped plans to showcase 4 new vehicles at the Detroit Auto show in January. The original North American Brilliance line-up was to showcase 4 models, the BS6 mid-size sedan, BS4 compact car, BC3 sports coupe, and FRV hatchback. Today, Brilliance modified their U.S. debut to only include 2 models, the BS6 and BS4. In much the same way the Hyundai Genesis resembles a Mercedes S-Class, in the right light, the Brilliance BS models could pass for BMW 3- or 5-series sedans.

Brilliance BS4

Apparently, the plan was revised after Brilliance sent their model line-up to the U.S. in 2007 for government safety and emissions evaluation, and the cars failed to past muster. According to company VP He Guohua, the cars fared reasonably well during the crash testing, but emissions readouts indicated high levels of oxides of nitrogen. Determined to participate in the U.S. market by 2009, Brilliance hired both the engineering arm of Porsche AG as well as the U.S. engine technology company FEV Inc to bring their vehicles up to American safety/emissions standards. Guohua expects the design revisions to be completed by December, cutting it close but still allowing them to participate in the Detroit showing.

Brilliance ultimately plans to participate in the global market and hopes to begin selling cars in the U.S. by 2009 and worldwide shortly thereafter. Despite the setbacks, Joe Serra, co-chair for this year’s Detroit show, said that Brilliance is a much-anticipated and very welcome addition to the ranks of auto makers expected to be in attendance.

Brilliance BC3

Brilliance FRV

[Source: Automotive News]

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Mercedes Benz BlueZero Environmental Concepts To Debut In Detroit [Detroit Auto Show]

Mercedes-Benz will be bringing the BlueZero Concept, a trio of cars wearing Bangle-like bodies and sporting three different alternative power sources, to the Detroit Auto Show.

The Mercedes Benz BlueZero Concept will be debuting at the 2009 Detroit Auto Show in three versions, each equipped with the industry buzz-words able to improve fuel economy: all-electric, hybrid and fuel cell. The Concept BlueZero E-Cell runs a lithium-ion battery, can recharge on two hours of plug-in time, and delivers a 62-mile range. The Concept BlueZero F-Cell runs on the same electric motor but gets its power from an on-board fuel cell.

The most interesting version is the Concept BlueZero E-Plus Cell, which takes advantage of the buzz around an extended range electric vehicle (think Chevy Volt) as it uses a generator to charge the batteries with good old internal combustion when the batteries run dry.

While it is a major faux pas to show off a concept car that doesn't run on puppy dog dreams and emit stardust these days we're more interested in the curious styling. It appears Mercedes has picked up the language it developed with the Bionic concept and added the flame-surfacing design language out of BMW's wastebasket and dusted it off for the BlueZero concept. The result looks like an Opel Meriva that ran into a BMW Z4, swiped the rear hatch off an Audi Q7, then ran through the Tron-wash. Why Benz is recycling widely panned BMW styling language is anyone's guess, but someone had to do it. [Auto Motor Und Sport via PaulTan]

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Event Alert: January Calendar of Automotive Events

Filed under: Detroit Auto Show, Motorsports, Time Warp, Auction Action, Misc. Auto Shows, Event Alert

This year's Detroit Auto Show (NAIAS) should be even bigger than last year despite dropouts

Thanks to your suggestions, last month we added a Google Calendar after the jump so you can bookmark it and constantly receive updates as we add them. We appreciate all of your input and hope you find our calendar a useful tool. We also appreciate your comments listing events we might have overlooked or that are just near-and-dear to your hearts.

Highlights for January include the North American International Auto Show, which we will be covering extensively from Detroit; the Arizona collectible car auctions featuring Barrett-Jackson, RM Auctions, Russo and Steele and others; the La Jolla Motorcar Classic at The Cove; the Cavallino Classic from The Breakers in Palm Beach, Florida; and the kickoff of the 2009 motorsports season with the Rolex 24 at Daytona.

As always, we want to give a shoutout to our two favorite sources; The New York Times automotive calendar for national and international stuff, and for local stuff here in Southern California, our buddy Dave Lindsay's SoCalCarCulture pages. Dave's photographic coverage of these local events is fantastic. So check out the January event calendar we put together for you after the jump and start adding to it. Happy New Year, everyone!

Continue reading Event Alert: January Calendar of Automotive Events

Event Alert: January Calendar of Automotive Events originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 21 Dec 2008 15:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Lexus HS250h: New Hybrid-Only Lexus Sedan [Detroit Auto Show]

Back in August we told you Lexus plans to unveil a new hybrid-only model at the Detroit Auto Show in January at the same time as the reveal of the new third-generation 2010 Toyota Prius. Now, a newly published rendering from Japanese buff book Mag-X may give us some clues of what to expect from a car they claim will be badged as the Lexus HS250h.

We'll let Mag-X take it from here:

The drawing reveals a well-proportioned four-door car with Prius-like lines and angles—especially the front slope of its windshield and hood—while retaining design cues which are unmistakably Lexus, most notably the back-end and taillight styling.

The publication says the Lexus HS250h will most likely be outfitted with the 2.4-liter engine and electric motor combo found in the Toyota Camry Hybrid, and share many of the same mechanicals as that car. This includes the current-generation nickel metal hydride battery. Carrying over the powertrain would be significantly more cost-effective than developing an entirely new system for the Lexus brand.

Setting itself apart from the more mainstream Toyota brand, the Lexus concept car will feature a technology and entertainment module, controlled from the center console, much like BMW’s iDrive system. A roster of luxury equipment not offered by the Prius or Camry Hybrid will also be included.

If the HS250h sedan comes to fruition, it could join the Lexus lineup by late 2009 or early 2010. Price, technical specs, and other key stats will remain unknown, until official word from Toyota.

[Mag-X via HybridCars]

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