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Chicago 2009: Kia Forte rolls into Chi-town


Ovaltine

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i liked this car when i first saw it at a honda dealer. :reading:

 

this looks like the offspring of an s40 and a civic

 

I also liked the Honda Civic when I first saw it at a Saturn dealership! :ohsnap:

 

 

That being said, this certainly is a big step from the exterior design of the current Spectra... which is just plump and bulbous in every dimension...

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It's not too bad looking, but it will probably be built in Korea. Either way, they can keep it...

 

Since the current Spectra is Kia's volume leader, I suspect that the Forte will eventually be built down at Kia's new plant in West Point, GA.

 

 

This article seems to also agree with my assumption:

 

http://wardsautoworld.com/ar/auto_kia_add_nd/

 

Kia to Add 2nd West Point Model Within Year

 

Kia Motors Corp. likely will add a second model at its West Point, GA, plant one year after production of the Sorento SUV begins, a Kia America official says.

 

Senior executives in South Korea still are "hedging" on what the second model will be, but the facility's assembly line is being built with enough flexibility that management can wait to make a decision, spokesman Alex Fedorak tells Ward's.

 

"In light of current market conditions, they are reevaluating what that second (model) is going to be," he says.

 

Kim Dong-jin, vice chairman and CEO of Kia sibling Hyundai Motor Co. Ltd., told Ward's last May a small car would be the second vehicle added at West Point, Kia's first U.S. vehicle assembly site.

 

Fedorak declines to comment on that scenario, but Tom Loveless, vice president-sales for KMA, says he'd like to see the Optima midsize sedan or Spectra compact car produced there.

 

The importance of the car to Kia's lineup, given its position in the largest vehicle segment in the U.S., makes it ideal for West Point, Loveless says.

 

The next-generation compact Spectra goes on sale this year in the U.S., and Loveless says Kia is counting on it to be a game-changer for the brand.

 

 

-Ovaltine

Edited by Ovaltine
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