Team KIA of El Cajon

As we slide into 2012, it's comforting to look back and see a successful year behind us. The Kia Sorento however, will be reflecting upon not one but two extraordinary years. That's because, for the second time in a row, Total 4X4 named the model, "Best SUV."

After carefully observing our favorite automaker for the past year we at Team Kia of El Cajon have come to the following conclusion: when Kia revs its engine, "go" means go and "stop" is nowhere in sight. Month after month we watched the South Korea-based company beat its sales record over and over again. We clapped and cheered when it took off with crowd-pleasing models such as the Kia Sorento. And now, we're ready to provide loyal fan support as it brings two supercharged Kia Optima race variants to the 2012 Pirelli World Challenge Championships.

Recently, Kia Motors America has emerged as a key player in the automotive game thanks to hot-ticket items such as the Kia Sorento and Kia Optima. In fact, over the past year, the automaker has outdone itself in sales month after month after month. Now, Kia is teeing off on new initiatives with its Ladies Pro Golf Association (LPGA) partner.

After dipping its toes in the racing pool with a Kia Forte last year, the automaker has decided to go at it again; this time, with a Kia Rio5 variant. The new racer was released earlier this month at the 2011 SEMA Show in Las Vegas. But the new five-door sub-compact isn't inherently built for racing. In collaboration with Kinetic Motorsports, Kia has provided a B-Spec kit that converts the regular Rio into a racer for a mere $14,000.

Earlier this month, the Experian Automotive Report discovered that almost half of all Kia owners return to the Kia showroom when the time comes for a new vehicle and the Kia Forte has the most loyalty of any vehicle model in America. In other words, if you experience the brand once, you are bound to go back for more. The same thing can be said for Blake Griffin of the L.A. Clippers. After featuring the NBA All-Star in an ad once, Kia Motors America has decided to enlist Griffin again. And this time around, he is "taking things to the next level."¹

Hyundai-Kia Automotive group recently announced a shift in the manufacturing of eco-friendly vehicles: Kia will channel its production power on solely electric vehicles while Hyundai will concentrate on hybrids. And it seems as though the benefits of such a shift are emerging already. Kia Motors is, for example, slated to release an all-new EV model by the end of this year and plans to persist with even more models debuting in 2014.

Price cuts are always welcome in the auto industry, but rarely received. As such Team Kia of El Cajon embraces the latest Kia model cost reduction with open arms. That's right. The South Korean automaker recently announced the 2012 five-door hatch version of the Kia Rio four-door sedan will make its debut this month at a $1,440 price cut.