Car X6 Concept

By Chris Woodyard, USA TODAY

LOS ANGELES — As carefully crafted brand images go, it's hard to beat Toyota's.
Over a generation or so, Toyota (TM) built its reputation — and U.S. market share — on dependability, at a time when General Motors, Ford Motor and Chrysler couldn't shake being identified with lemons.

The Japanese automaker initially built its lineup around fuel-efficient cars, while Detroit was focused on gas-guzzling SUVs.

Mostly non-union Toyota opened U.S. plants and promised no layoffs for permanent workers. Detroit, meanwhile, laid off employees by the thousands and shuttered dozens of UAW-represented plants.

But Detroit's nemesis lately has suffered through its own run of bad press, much of it involving a consumer hot-button: vehicle safety.

The company that once could do no wrong has stumbled badly though a series of embarrassments of disclosures, allegations and recalls. Experts now are debating how deeply these will eat into the consumer trust that is Toyota's most potent asset — and what it must do to recover.

Clarence Ditlow, executive director of the Center for Auto Safety, sees real problems. "You have a company whose reputation is built on quality. It's going to do damage to Toyota for the U.S. in the foreseeable future," he says.

Others, however, believe Toyota's bank of goodwill is formidable enough that current troubles can be quickly overcome.

"They will emerge stronger than ever," predicts Jeffrey Liker, a University of Michigan professor who authored the best-selling book The Toyota Way.

This much is indisputable: It's been an awful year for the world's largest automaker.

In addition to the safety issues, Toyota only now has started to recover from unprecedented monthly sales drops this year. Last spring. the Japanese parent company closed its first money-losing fiscal year since its official founding in 1950.

Toyota has had to trim plans made during years of unbroken U.S. sales increases. It has shelved plans for new plants. It has mothballed a new Mississippi plant that was to build the Prius here for the first time. It is closing a plant it ran with General Motors in Fremont, Calif., idling hundreds of workers.

But as bad as the business problems have been, nothing has stung like the criticism over safety. Among mounting problems:

•Toyota ordered its largest recall ever — upwards of 4 million vehicles — over a defect that caused what the government calls "unintended acceleration." Floor mats could jam the gas pedal wide open.

The problem has been blamed for 13 crashes, five fatalities and 17 injuries.

The most prominent crash killed an off-duty California Highway Patrol officer and three family members in August in a runaway Lexus near San Diego.

•The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration issued a rare public rebuke, saying Toyota prematurely tried to blame the entire acceleration problem on floor mats when a NHTSA report cited other potential vehicle problems and contributing factors.

•Consumer Reports says its analysis of NHTSA data found Toyota had 40% more "unintended acceleration" incidents than any other automaker in its 2008 models.

•NHTSA ordered a recall of 110,000 model year 2000-03 Toyota Tundra pickups to correct a design that could allow corrosion to cause the undermounted spare tires to fall off and affect braking ability.

•NHTSA is looking into whether it should formally investigate engine-stalling problems in 2006 Toyota Corolla and Matrix vehicles. The agency has received 26 complaints.

•A former in-house Toyota lawyer has filed a lawsuit that alleges the automaker didn't fully disclose rollover crash test results to NHTSA as the government was trying to formulate new standards for roof strength. The lawyer, Dimitrios Biller, also alleges that Toyota withheld data from plaintiffs' lawyers in rollover accident lawsuits against the automaker, resulting in more than a dozen formerly settled lawsuits being reopened.

"It was the perfect storm," says Jake Fisher, a senior automotive engineer for Consumer Reports about the cascade of safety allegations. "If people are now questioning whether Toyota is going to be safe and reliable, that could really hurt their sales."

That would hurt a nascent sales recovery by Toyota. Better results in recent months and a big share of last summer's cash-for-clunkers trades have left Toyota's 2009 sales through 11 months down 23.8% — almost exactly the industry's overall average decline in the recession, Autodata figures show.

And by holding steady with the industry decline, Toyota actually gained some U.S. market share from those with greater falls and will finish the year as the second-largest-selling automaker in the U.S., behind only General Motors.

Toyota officials say they're pleased with their sales results, especially an uptick in November, and are confident recent safety questions won't dent the company's image or sales recovery.

"Our reputation for 30 years is built on quality, reliability and durability," says Bob Carter, a group vice president for Toyota's U.S. sales operation.

One move to protect that reputation, he says, is a permanent fix for the floor-mat issue. Owners initially were told to remove the driver's mat. Now they've been notified to bring in their vehicles for a temporary solution that involves cutting off part of the gas pedal. A final fix, expected by April, will be the installation of a newly designed gas pedal.

Evaluating Toyota's overall response to the mounting trouble, Carter says, "I am absolutely confident we acted appropriately."

Deadly crash sounded alarms

Others aren't so sure.

Toyota's biggest trouble, the unintended acceleration charges, burst into the open after the August crash in Santee, Calif., near San Diego.

A 911 call was received from a passeneger of off-duty highway patrol officer Mark Saylor, who was driving a Lexus ES 350 loaner from a dealer. The caller said the sedan was racing out of control at more than 100 mph and Saylor could not stop it. The car ended up crashing into another vehicle, killing Saylor and the others.

A NHTSA report found that the gas pedal design could allow a loose floor mat to jam it wide open. But it also cited other factors in the car's design that could make it difficult to stop in a runaway situation:

•Saylor's Lexus, and many others, have an off-on button instead of a traditional key-twist ignition. Toyota's design requires — though it is not marked with a warning — pressing the button for three continuous seconds to shut off the engine.

•The automatic transmission lever's design could make it confusing and difficult to find the neutral position in an emergency.

•The power brake system requires 150 pounds of pressure on the pedal, instead of the normal 30 pounds, to stop the car at high speed with the throttle open.

In Tokyo in October, Toyota's new president, Akio Toyoda, publicly apologized to surviving members of the Saylor family and acknowledged the safety issue.

"Customers bought our cars because they thought they were the safest. But now we have given them cause for grave concern," he said at a press conference. "I can't begin to express my remorse" for the crash.

Toyota's Carter insists that floor-mat jams remain the only confirmed cause of unintended acceleration.

But a review of NHTSA safety records by the Los Angeles Times found more than 1,000 Toyota and Lexus owners have reported sudden acceleration since 2001 — resulting in at least 19 deaths — and that jammed floor mats were not cited as a contributing cause in many of the incidents.

Safety experts say more research is warranted. "There is increasing evidence that the problem is not just caused by floor mats," says Sean Kane of Safety Research & Strategies.

He also criticized Toyota for being too slow to respond when problems were first reported and says that has prolonged and deepened its public-relations trouble.

APA website that tracks new car pricing says six of the 10 best days of the year to buy a car are coming this month.

You already missed the best day of the year to buy a car: Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving.

"Over the past four months, there have been great opportunities for consumers to buy a new car - from cash for clunkers to Black Friday," said Jesse Toprak, vice president of trends for TrueCar.com. "Our hope is that this list will help the consumer who missed out on those opportunities, plan for a purchase when the time is right for them."

Looking at transaction data, TrueCar lists the best days coming and the discounts as:


December 24th
7.25%

December 21st
7.13%

December 31st
7.04%

December 28th
6.90%

December 14th
6.86%

December 16th
6.74%

December 2, 2009 | 3:02 pm
The first Kia built in the U.S. at the South Korean automaker's $1-billion plant in West Point, Ga., the 2011 Sorento is a crossover that Kia believes has been “right-sized” to appeal to customers who are abandoning traditional SUVs for less thirsty crossovers. Basically, it will be aimed squarely at Toyota RAV4 and Chevy Equinox consumers when it is released in January.

After a busy year or so that included new releases of its Soul, Forte and Forte Koup, Kia is also keeping the younger, family-oriented buyer in mind with the Sorento, a budget-friendly five-seater that can seat seven in a pinch. Other nice touches in a reworked interior include leather seating on upscale models, large driver-friendly dials and a touchscreen LCD console that sits on a square-looking central stack.

The exterior of the new Sorento has a deeper, wraparound front grille that chief of marketing Michael Sprague described as “very contemporary” that stretches into Kia's Schreyer line that extends to the vehicle's rear and defines the car's monocoque shell. The Sorento has independent suspension; multi-link at rear.

The second-generation Sorento has two engine choices: a 3.5-liter V-6 that puts out 276 horsepower and a 2.4-liter four-banger that delivers 29 mpg highway. Both are mated to a proprietary (or developed in-house) six-speed automatic box.

SYDNEY – November 24, 2009: Further exemplifying its exceptional quality and safety, the 2010 Kia Soul has yet again been recognized by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) in the US and been given a 2010 'Top Safety Pick' award for the second consecutive time this year in the Small Car category.

On the heels of earning a '2010 Automotive Excellence Award' from Popular Mechanics, being named to TIME.com's 'Most Exciting Cars of 2010' list and being named one of '10 Great and Safe Rides for Teens' by AutoWeek magazine, the youthful Kia five-door was one of only five small cars to earn the organization's top honor for earning 'Good' ratings - the highest achievable - in frontal, side, rear and rollover impact crash safety tests.

"Since its launch in March, Soul has lived up to its tagline of being Kia Motors' affordable halo vehicle by winning numerous awards and consistently being a media and consumer favorite," said Michael Sprague, vice president, marketing of Kia Motors America (KMA).

"Soul being honored with a 'Top Safety Pick' for a second time solidifies it as a top contender in its segment and a vehicle that offers consumers the entire package."

Ratings from the Institute are based on results from frontal, side and rear impact crash tests and, for the first time, a good performance in a roof strength test to measure protection in a rollover also was required to win.

Each vehicle's overall evaluation was based on various measurements specific to each crash angle and overall impact on crash test dummies inside the vehicle at the time of collision. All vehicles must have electronic stability control available to be eligible as a 'Top Safety Pick'.

Kia Motors' funky five-door Soul is a perfect embodiment of the brand's current design-led transformation with its unique design and all Soul models are equipped with a high level of standard safety equipment.

Greg Kulbick stops to pose with Melanie Lee, General Manager of Kia Autosport. Greg was the winner of a pair of FSU mens basketball season tickets. This is our first of many Facebook fan appreciation contests. Look out for our next one soon!

Special to the News

Amy Weaver
Staff Writer

Published: November 5, 2009

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Days after the doors to Opelika’s BFGoodrich tire manufacturing plant closed for good, those at Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia opened up indefinitely.

Both Opelika Mayor Gary Fuller and KMMG officials are hopeful the reopening of Kia’s online application process for production or maintenance team member positions at the West Point, Ga., assembly facility will be an opportunity for those people who weren’t looking for a job during the first application process nearly two years ago, but are now because of recent plant closings.

“There are many qualified individuals who were secure in their employment a couple years ago, but who have lost their jobs since then,” said Randy Jackson, Kia’s director of human resources and administration. “We’d love to have them join our team.”

The closure of BFGoodrich last week left about 1,000 salaried and hourly workers unemployed.

“Those folks that were at BFGoodrich, the company couldn’t say enough good things about their performance. They all were high-performing with a good work ethic,” Fuller said. “I expect many of them to go to Kia, if they haven’t already.”

About 1,200 individuals were hired from Kia’s initial application process that drew more than 40,000 applications in a 30-day period in January 2008. This application period will remain open indefinitely. To apply, visit http://www.kiajobsingeorgia.com.

“After you’ve applied, if you meet our qualifications, we’ll invite you for an interview,” Jackson said. “If you pass the interview, we’ll invite you to the 40-hour, pre-employment assessment training delivered by Quick Start at the Kia Georgia Training Center. And if you pass that, there are still two or three further steps before the final job offer.”

October Auto Sales: Kia
(AP)

IRVINE, Calif. — Kia Motors America said Tuesday its October U.S. sales rose on strong demand for its Kia Forte compact and Rio subcompact.

BY THE NUMBERS: Kia sales rose 45.3 percent to 22,490 vehicles from 15,483 in the same month last year. For the first 10 months of the year, Kia sales rose 7.2 percent to 261,060 units from 243,571.

TOP SELLER: Sales of the new Forte totaled 4,984, while sales of the Rio increased 74.8 percent to 4,005.

Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

New Kia plant in Georgia begins production
The Associated Press



WEST POINT, Ga. -- The newly completed Kia Motors plant in West Point is open for business.

Production began at 7:30 a.m. Friday on the first road-ready crossover vehicle. The first shiny new Sorento will be displayed in the factory's lobby.

The plant is the South Korean company's first U.S. manufacturing plant. It cost $1 billion to build and created about 1,200 jobs.


Kia broke ground on the plant, which is near the Alabama state line, and plans to hold a ceremonial first car roll-out on Nov. 16.

Kia has plans to hire 1,200 more workers next year as production increases.

On top of the jobs created at the Kia plant, Georgia Tech estimates 20,000 new job will be created by 2012 at Kia suppliers in a nine-county area that straddles the Georgia-Alabama border.

Wards Auto talks about the all new Cadenza, coming in 2011.

Kia revs up activity at West Point plant - Business - Ledger-Enquirer.com

Hello everyone I just returned from the KIA Motors America Southern Region Dealer Show in Atlanta and I have to tell you it's an exciting time to be a KIA dealer and a KIA Sorento owner!

On Tuesday we took a tour of all new state of the art KIA Motors Manufacturing plant in West Point Georgia. The all new 2011 KIA Sorento will be built for America by Americans at this plant. The plant represents a 1 billion dollar investment in the USA by KIA and also is the largest investment the state of Georgia has ever seen. In addition to this record breaking investment this plant has already created over 1,200 jobs and we haven't even begun to produce vehicles. What an exciting time for neighbors in Georgia! By the time the plant is open and operational with all vendors, the site will employ up to 10,000 people. In an uncertain time where jobs are short the plant couldn't have opened at a better time.

As we toured the plant you would be amazed at the technology that will go into producing the all new Sorento. There is more robotic technology in this facility than any other plant in the United States. It's amazing to see the speed and accuracy of these machines. In the main stamping building where they produce the steel body panels there is one huge press. This thing is enormous and came all the way from Korea. The pieces traveled from Savannah to West Point with special arrangements with Georgia's Highway Patrol. In total the equipment weighed over 3,500 tons. It took the equipment over 3 days to make the journey. I would have hated to be on the road following that equipment around.

It's not all robots and huge machines, as I mentioned earlier there are already 1,200 team members producing test vehicles and more continued to be hired daily. As I walked through on our tour the team members were smiling and excited to be building vehicles. They are so thankful to have jobs and told all of us on the tour how dedicated they are to building quality vehicles. They stressed to us the want and desire to be the best of the best in the United States. As we continued our tour a different team member guided us and showed us each stage of the assembly process they complete. They did this with great pride and made me confident that they will achieve they absolute best quality vehicle for us and our customers.

Each and every Sorento produced in West Point will come off the line be quality tested in several, several different types of test, and go straight to the test track outside. I was most excited to see this track. It's 2 miles long and has several different obstacles that each and every Sorento must pass to be ready for sale. This track had over 6 different driving surfaces to create real road noise and traction. It also had a steep hill and downhill breaking scenarios to test the different breaking functions and a test for the automatic breaking system. I could go on and on about the different testing but just know that every Sorento will go through more quality test than any other vehicle on the market today. This will insure that the vehicle we deliver to you will be the best of the best.

After we had the vehicle test drivers take us on a spin we were able to get behind the wheel and see what the new Sorento could really do. I have to tell you as a 2007 KIA Sorento owner myself, I can't wait to own this vehicle. The fit, style, and performance of this vehicle surpasses every other SUV on the market today. You will definitely see why KIA Motors has the Power to Surprise when you drive this vehicle. It will come standard with blue tooth, satellite radio, and the longest warranty in the business. Not to mention more than this blog can fit of standard options. KIA has also crash tested several vehicles and anticipate a 20 star crash test rating. Along with the best gas mileage in it's class, this vehicle will definitely be on every one's shopping list.

So with all that I also need to share some other great news. In 2010 you will see a new Sportage and a new Optima. These vehicles are amazingly designed and full of equipment. I'll keep you posted as they release more information to us.

Well, I just wanted to let everyone know how exciting it is to know our vehicles will be made just up the road from us. It's also great to know that in a time where auto makers are sending jobs out KIA is bringing jobs in. I couldn't be more excited to share my experience this week with you and invite you to visit http://www.kia.com/#/upcoming/?fvVehicleID=sorento&fvPageID=intro for more information about the all new Sorento.

They told us that probably by April the plant will be open to the public for tours. We will have the all new Sorento in our showrooms by January.

I'll continue to keep you posted on KIA's growth but remember until then I wanna see ya in a KIA!!!

Melanie Lee
General Manager