Everything substantive you'd like to know about the 2010 Kia Soul is in our first drive.
At today's official unveiling at the LA Auto Show, Kia indulged in a little self-effacing wackiness. At least a dozen Souls were in attendance, easily surpassing Ford's collection of Mustangs, lending a packed-in feel to the press conference.
As Tom Loveless, vice president of Kia Motors America, spoke, his apparently college-age twins appeared on web cam, LOL-ing and OMG-ing via IM as he told us the story of the Kia Soul. We don't need to tell you much about target demographics, then.
We were also touched by the metallic "SOUL" sculpture that inflated like Jiffy Pop (in the images below), as Loveless and Tom Kearns, chief of Kia's U.S. design team, closed out the conference. There's no functional need for this bit of installation art, but it reminded us of the giant Fiat 500 at this year's Geneva show. It's just fun and weird. That's all.
Now for the informative stuff: The U.S.-spec 2010 Kia Soul goes into production in January 2009 and will be at dealers by early spring.
Kia doesn't want to talk about pricing, yet -- other than to let you know that it will be "aggressively priced," Loveless said. We take that to mean that you'll be able to get into a decent one for about $15,000.
Annual sales numbers, too, are anybody's guess, but, says Loveless, "There are two ways to look at 2009. One way is doom and gloom, oh my gosh, it's a 13-million-unit market.
"But we don't think we're held by the industry. The Soul is going to change the way people think about us. And we're coming right behind that with the redesigned Spectra."
Erin Riches, Senior Editor
dougtheeng says:
01:05 PM, 11/20/08
Its a good looking KIA...in general I like where the latest couple of KIA models are headed. This is maybe the first KIA vehicle I'd consider purchasing.
On a side note, I hate when people try to imitate the 'internet talk' of the younger generation. It looks ridiculous, as can be seen in that picture with the chat bubble.....it just comes off as an old rich man talking about how he is 'hip to the ways of the youth'.
vvk says:
06:30 PM, 11/20/08
Another awesome new car! I love Nissan Cube, I love Soul. Outstanding design inside and out. I am really glad they decided to offer the 1.6l engine in the US.
ateixeira says:
10:48 AM, 11/21/08
The Kia Sedona has a $5000 rebate so ironically they will both have about the same base price. :D