Nora Noh

Photo Credit: Park Ji Hyuk via Elle Magazine

As a part of the exhibition, several Kia Soul ‘Art Cars’ will be decorated with Nora Noh’s signature motifs, patterns and designs. Check out some of these artsy and stylish Souls below:

Pretty nice huh? We wish La Vie En Rose much success!

Check out our Flickr gallery

We had too many gorgeous Soul images to choose from, so feel free to browse many more on our Flickr gallery!

How would you decorate your car?

Do you have a favorite fashion designer or brand who you would like to dress up your ride?

]]> http://kia-buzz.com/?feed=rss2&p=9935 0 http://kia-buzz.com/?p=9935 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/KiaBuzz/~3/ghFgMmyItrY/ http://kia-buzz.com/?p=9922#comments Tue, 22 May 2012 10:23:09 +0000 admin http://kia-buzz.com/?p=9922

We encourage all drivers to abide by local traffic laws, but there are some strange laws out there that make you wonder. The other day while browsing the web, we stumbled upon some bizarre traffic laws that we wanted to share with our Kia-Buzz readers. Although, we crossed checked these laws with a few different sources, our staff still found some hard to believe, so if there are any myth busters out there who can dispel any or shed some local and legal insights, please enlighten us in the comments section below.

Let’s kickstart our traffic law trip around the world in the USA, where each of its 50 states, and even individual cities, have some interesting laws.

USA

• In Denver, Colorado, you cannot drive a black car on Sundays
• In California:

1. Women are prohibited from wearing a bathrobe while driving.
2. It’s illegal to shoot at wild game from a moving vehicle, unless your target is a whale.
3. In San Francisco it’s illegal to wipe one’s car with used underwear.

• In Milford, Massachusetts, you’re not allowed to peep into another car’s window.
• In Alabama, you’re not to operate a vehicle barefooted or blindfolded (darn!).
• In Clinton, Oklahoma, you’re not to molest a car. We have no idea what this even means, but you’ve been warned.

Ladies, keep the bathrobe in the bathroom when you’re in California.

Asia

• In Singapore, it’s against the law for a driver to come within 50 meters (approximately 164 ft.) of a pedestrian.
• In Thailand, shirts are required when driving.
• In Japan, if you splash muddy water on a pedestrian while driving, get ready for a pretty hefty fine.

Europe

• In Switzerland, you can’t wash your car on Sunday.
• In Russia/Romania, you’ll be fined if you’re driving a dirty car.
• In Spain, if you don’t have extra pair of glasses in the car at all times, even if you’re already wearing a pair, it is against the law.

We hope you gained some good insights (or a good laugh) from these traffic laws around the world.

Do you know any weird traffic laws or do you have an idea for new ones?

There must be thousands of outrageous traffic laws around the world. Be sure to tell us any we missed or suggest some new laws!

NOTE – FOLLOW THE LAW: Please check and follow your local government’s traffic laws, and always use your best judgment when driving. This Kia-Buzz post is not officially claiming that these laws actually exist, we are only sharing information we found in the process of writing this post.

UEFA EURO 2012™ is getting closer and closer.  And to fulfill our duty as a UEFA EUROTOP Partner and official automobile of EURO 2012 we held an official vehicle handover ceremony, to announce the 359 passenger cars we will provide along with our sister company Hyundai to ensure efficient and smooth transportation during the highly anticipated tournament, which is being held in co-host countries, Poland and Ukraine.

Kia Motors Europe’s senior management team and Guy-Laurent Epstein, UEFA Marketing Director (center) posing with a sample Kia fleet and official UEFA EURO 2012 mascots

Kia is supplying numerous design-acclaimed models as official tournament vehicles, such as the All-new cee’d, Rio and Sportage, which are among the top selling models in Europe. Kia will also add its D-segment sedans, Cadenza and Optima Hybrid, which have not yet been introduced to Europeans customers.

UEFA EURO 2012™ is scheduled to kick off on June 8^th in Warsaw, Poland with the champion to be crowned on July 1^st in Kiev, Ukraine. The matches will take place throughout eight cities in Poland (Warsaw, Wroclaw, Poznan, Gdansk) and Ukraine (Kiev, Donetsk, Kharkiv, Lviv). UEFA EURO 2012™ is considered the biggest and most prestigious event among Kia’s UEFA sponsored competitions.

Kia Motors has taken an active role in supporting EURO 2012 from the initial stages of the tournament. For instance, the Kia Sportage, an award-winning SUV, was selected as an official ball carrier, promoting the tournament in Kiev, Ukraine and Warsaw, Poland, by carrying a larger than life mock-up of the EURO 2012 official ball, the Adidas ‘Tango 12’.

Along with the “Kia Official Match Ball Carrier” program, Kia has introduced several other activities for customers all around the world to increase their enjoyment of the tournament. The five-a-side “Champ into the Arena” invites amateur football talents from all over the world to compete against each other while providing the opportunity to witness an exciting UEFA EURO 2012™ semi-final match. In addition, both offline and online promotions such as “Kia EURO 2012 Road Shows,” which are occurring in cities throughout Europe, and the “Kia Dubstep Dance Contest,” which is hosted on Kia’s official Facebook page, have been building anticipation for EURO 2012.

Learn More:

• Kia Football – Official Kia UEFA EURO 2012 – Website
• EURO 2012 Flickr Gallery
• EURO 2012 Kia Dubstep Dance Contest

Who do you think will take home the UEFA Cup? Leave your predictions in the comment section below.

Kia Motors is proud to be an official global sponsor of ‘Expo 2012 Yeosu Korea,’ a world’s fair taking place in Yeosu, South Korea, which is the largest marine-themed international event in history. It is expected to draw an estimated 11 million visitors during its three month period (May 12 – August 12, 2012), and CNN has labeled it as “one of the top places to visit in 2012.”

The theme of the expo is ‘The Living Ocean and Coast,’ and according to expo organizers the event “will provide an opportunity to enhance the international community’s perception of the function and value of the ocean and coast, share knowledge on their proper use…”

View of Expo 2012 Yeosu Korea

The massive 2,710,000㎡ expo site will be sprawling with beautiful, state-of-the-art pavilions that are designed with ultramodern architecture, and filled with entertaining and informative attractions that allow participants to experience cutting-edge marine science and technology.

Here’s a peek at our futuristic style pavilion, which will be packed with fun and interactive exhibits that are experience-oriented and educational.

Our space-age pavilion is 25 meters high on a 1,400 square-meter area and is designed to highlight our eco-friendly and resource recycling management strategy. We are also providing various attractions such as 3D visual art shows and 150 disassembled parts of our Optima/K5 Hybrid that are scattered on a huge grid-like wall display.

We definitely recommend checking out “Expo 2012 Yeosu Korea” if you are visiting Korea in the next three months.

Learn More:

For more information check out the official ‘Expo 2012 Yeosu Korea’ website.

UEFA EURO 2012™ kicks off in less than a month, and as the tournament’s official partner, Kia wants to energize and excite fans by combining two of Europe’s most popular entertainment exports: professional football (soccer for you North Americans) and electronic music. Last month, we launched the Kia Dubstep Contest on our official Facebook page, which invites fans to compete in a global dance battle via Facebook and YouTube.

The entries have been pouring in and eight dance teams will win a trip to Warsaw, Poland to watch the opening match of EURO 2012, and also compete in final battle to determine the grand prize winner of an All-new Kia Picanto.

2012 Kia Picanto – Grand Prize

Dubstep?

Some of you might be wondering, “Hey Kia! What’s Dubstep, and why?” Dubstep is a uniquely European genre of electronic music, and like football, it originated in the UK, swept across Europe and quickly gained momentum across the globe. We believe that music has the ability to unite and connect people with a common feeling and language that we can all share and enjoy.

With that said, let’s take a look at some of our latest video entries. Be sure to leave comments and stay tuned for our, “Kia Dubstep Contest Top 16 Battle Round,” an interactive battle section on our official Facebook page that allows you to choose who advances to EURO 2012.

Call for Entries Teaser Video

This teaser stars Minjung Joo, a passionate dancer who loves popping, and was the winner of Korea’s Got Talent 2011.

Dubstep & Dance

Note: Dubstep is genre of music, so you can bring whatever dance style you like to the contest. However, a lot of people tend to use popping, a style used by Minjung, the star in our call for entries video above.

Some Random Staff Picks of the Latest Entries

More Info:

• How to enter: Kia Dubstep Contest Official Page
• YouTube: Dubstep Contestant Videos
• Dance Track: Flux Pavilion’s– I Can’t Stop

Submission Deadline – May 13!

Do you know anyone who can pop, shuffle, krump or move to Flux Pavilion’s “I Can’t Stop”? Do you want to give it a shot? You have until May 13 to enter!



The Seoul Grand Hyatt hotel was the official location for the world premiere of K9, Kia’s new luxury sedan. The event took place last Wednesday and the atmosphere was bustling with excitement and high anticipation for the K9 to be finally unveiled from its silky gray covers. Here’s a photo summary and recap of the evening’s events for all of our Kia-Buzz readers out there, and be sure to stay tuned for a follow-up Kia TV episode that will highlight the debut as well.

After some snacks, refreshments and opening speeches by Kia management and designers, it was time to stop teasing and finally reveal the K9.

The event took place in a state of the art auditorium that set the mood with concert like lights, visuals and audio. After an impressive opening video, two K9s slowly rolled onto the stage, while three other K9s, displayed outside the auditorium, were simultaneously unveiled.

K9 in snow white pearl

Photo-op for the press with models

Launch show patrons got the chance to get hands on and explore the K9

Hood of the K9 opened to reveal its GDI engine

K9 will be offered with two GDI engine variations

Front view of the K9

Rear view of the K9

Interior of the K9

New adaptive headlights comprised of 16 individual LEDs

The K9’s elegance sweeps all the way to the taillights for an attractive finish

Displaying its allure, the K9 rests in serenity after an exciting night

The debut went off without a hitch, and we wish all of our Kia-Buzz readers could have been there to witness the event. We’re going to announce overseas markets soon along with the official overseas model name, so hold tight.

Want to see more photos?

We still have many more K9 launch show photos to share with you, so please visit our Flickr Page for more images.

We’ve embedded a few videos below, and even though the captions are in Korean, you can still get a good grasp of the advanced new features. Check them out, and be sure to let us know what you think.

Head-up Display and Blind Spot Detection

Adaptive Full LED Headlights

The two videos below feature our new adaptive full LED headlights, which are comprised of 16 individual LEDs that bend and adjust automatically to changes in steering, car speed and road incline.

What do you think?

Would you like to take the K9 for a test drive?

Overseas Market Name – Got any ideas?

The model name for overseas markets is yet to be announced, but we’re curious to hear some name suggestions from our Kia-Buzz readers out there. Tell us your thoughts in the comments section below.

Learn More

Check out our previous BUZZ posting, “Peter Schreyer sketches the design elements that define a luxury sedan – Kia K9” to learn about the design philosophy behind the K9.

For more images of the K9, check out our Flickr gallery.

1999 (a.k.a. “Visto”)

Here it is folks – our very first Picanto, but it wasn’t called the Picanto just yet. It was commonly known as the Visto in the domestic Korean market, but was badged under the Hyundai brand with model names such as Amica, Atos Prime and Atoz for several overseas markets.

2000

The 2000 edition got a bit heavier in weight, but still racked up an impressive 41.8 miles per gallon (US) and retained the same engine as the 1999 model.

2002

You can start to see a little bit of today’s Picanto take shape here. This model still retained the same engine, but got lighter in weight, which increased its miles per gallon performance to 50.5.

2004 Picanto

Goodbye Visto, hello Picanto! The Picanto, known as the Kia Morning in the domestic Korean market, featured new styling, spacious interior and multiple engine options: 1.0 and 1.1 liter gasoline and a 1.1 liter  diesel.

2007

There was a major face lift in 2007 thanks to our design team who created a more prominent and rounded front and deeper rear bumper.

2008

Kia Picanto’s lead designer laid down a strong design foundation and began to shape the car towards a recognizable Kia identity. The 2008 Picanto boasted a whole range of upgrades, especially in exterior styling with new front and rear bumpers, headlights, rear clusters, hood and electrically adjustable wing mirrors.

2010

In 2010, Peter Schreyer, Kia’s Chief Design Officer, began to put his design touches on the Picanto. Some additional styling changes gave the city car a fresher face with exterior enhancements including two-tone bumper and waistline body color molding. The Sports Pack edition featured the signature family-look Kia grille and sportier front/rear bumpers and side sill molding. It also became available in a new exciting Lime color and 15” black flower alloy wheels were offered as an option.

2011 – Present

The power to surprise continues with new and dramatic design changes. The present day All-new Picanto features overall proportion changes along with an extended wheelbase and greater passenger space to enhance comfort and a feeling of sportiness. The main concept and design theme is “distinct & modern,” which emphasizes sophisticated styling that has the power to turn people’s heads when they see the sporty city car drive past.

Learn More

Curious to learn more about the Picanto? Check out our previous postings:

• How the Picanto’s Color and Trims Were Developed
• Developing the Design of the All-new Picanto
• Chalk up two more red dot design awards for Kia
• Download the Picanto iPad app click here.

What do you think?

We hope you enjoyed this edition of ‘Then and Now.’ Be sure to tell us what you think of the Picanto or what you would like to see in the future in the comments section below.

Driving in the rain can be challenging at times, but most importantly, it can potentially lead to dangerous accidents if you are not careful. That’s why we wanted to share some simple and useful tips to help you get to your destination safely.

1. Stay near the middle lanes:

Water tends to collect on the side of the road, and it’s important to avoid puddles and large pools of water since they can cause a loss of steering or braking control when they prevent direct contact between tires and the road. This is called hydroplaning or aquaplaning.

2. Let the car in front work for you:

The car in front of you is displacing and pushing water away and creating a better driving surface for you. Try to use it by keeping your steering and tires aligned with the car in front of you while maintaining a safe distance.

3. Don’t use cruise control:

Braking on wet roads requires your full attention and cruise control can slow your reaction time to brake and accelerate.

4. Listen to the rain like a mindful ninja

Listening to the rain hitting your car helps develop a better sense of the weather, so you can drive accordingly. It can also be kind of soothing and relaxing. It’s OK to listen to traffic and weather reports or play some music to brighten up a rainy day, but make sure it’s not too loud.

5. Avoid driving near busses and trucks:

Big vehicles make big splashes that can hit your windshield and momentarily block your sight, so try not to drive close to them.

6. Test and dry your brakes:

Wet brake pads have less power. If you drove over a deep puddle, keep testing your brakes by stepping on and off them to help dry the pads.

7. Don’t slam on the brakes:

If your car is hydroplaning or slipping, don’t step on the brakes abruptly to stop your slipping vehicle. This can potentially make your car spin even more. Grip your steering wheel firmly and slow down little by little until your car is under control again.

Remembering these simple guidelines will help you be safer on wet roads.

Learn More

Does it rain a lot in your area? Perhaps our previous posting on Car Maintenance Tips for Heavy Rain may come in handy for you.

What do you think?

Do you have more helpful tips to add onto our list? Feel free to share them with us below!

]]> http://kia-buzz.com/?feed=rss2&p=9774 0 http://kia-buzz.com/?p=9774 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/KiaBuzz/~3/vNLzdsgnY4s/ http://kia-buzz.com/?p=9760#comments Fri, 06 Apr 2012 01:34:39 +0000 admin http://kia-buzz.com/?p=9760 Kia K9 Design – Elegant Simplicity and Balanced Proportions

Have you ever liked a particular luxury car design, but found it difficult to explain why? What makes a premium luxury sedan look and feel like a premium luxury sedan? According to Kia’s Chief Design Officer, Peter Schreyer, it’s about elegant simplicity and balanced proportions. At a media event held last week in Seoul, Korea, Peter explained the design philosophy behind the upcoming Kia K9 (domestic Korean model name for the new Kia luxury sedan). We reposted an awesome video sketch and explanation from the event on our official YouTube channel and wanted to repost it here and breakdown some of the key points and takeaways for our Kia-Buzz readers.

In the above video, Peter Schreyer sketches the soon to be released Kia K9 luxury sedan, and describes how designing for a rear-wheel drive platform opens an opportunity for proportions and ratios that define luxury. But don’t take our word for it, watch the video, and feel free to read our breakdown below and share your thoughts.

Decoding the K9’s Luxury Sedan Design

Here are some design highlights and takeaways we pulled from Peter’s K9 explanation.

Generous wheelbase – Starting with a long wheelbase helps setup the right proportions needed for defining luxury design. The large wheels also create a strong stance and feeling of power, and Peter mentions that designers are always happy when they get to use big wheels.

Strength, Confidence and Power – Rear wheel engines sit further back from the front tires, which permits a greater length from the front wheel’s center to the first door cut, known as the ‘prestige distance’ in Germany. This in turn, pushes the A-pillar further back and creates a longer hood, which drops down to a shorter front upright overhang. These lengths help define the right proportions to instill a feeling of power and dignity. Peter describes the upright overhang and front section as having the strength, confidence and power of a boxer’s attack stance. It’s an analogy he often shares with fellow designers when they are working on projects.

Sheet Metal to Glass Ratio – The greenhouse, or glassed-in upper section of the car’s body, is tensioned to create the ideal sheet metal to glass ratio. This smaller glass area helps produce sense of privacy and safety while giving the car a sporty expression.

All the elements and proportions mentioned above in addition with a long sweeping shoulder and long rear overhang all work together to give the K9 a premium and luxury feeling, which may remind others of modern European rear wheel drive packages.

K9 Design Focus Summary

• Balanced Proportions
• Sheet Metal to Glass Ratio
• Elegant Simplicity – Window Graphics and Surfaces
• Strong Stance
• Length of Overhangs
• Position and Size of the Greenhouse.

“This combination of power and styling for the K9 is a breakthrough for Kia, and it’s a breakthrough into new customer segments. The K9 signals our ability to be successful in competition with the European luxury brands. And for Kia, our customers, and for me – this car is like a dream” – Peter Schreyer

What are your thoughts?

What do you think about the K9 and its design? Share your thoughts in the comments section, and if you think others might enjoy this post, please feel free to like and share it.

Additional Resources

• Kia K9 Photos – Check out our Flickr Gallery
• Kia K9 Buzz Post- Kia Reveals All-New ‘K9’ Flagship Sedan for Korean Market
• Glossary of Car Design Terms – Nice Wikipedia overview of the language of design

NOTE: The K9 is the name that will be used for the domestic Korean market only, while the name for export markets has yet to be revealed. The official launch date as well as availability for other overseas market is yet to be determined.

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