“The entire process from start to finish was completely satisfying and I am very happy I bought from them. David May was an outstanding help as a Sale’s Consultant and I will be back.” -LPJ

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Kia Motors America (KMA) today announced it will work with Google to provide content and search-based solutions enabled by Application Program Interfaces (APIs) for the second-generation of the automaker’s innovative UVO eServices telematics system.  These new solutions will initially be introduced on the new 2014 Sorento CUV. The immediate integration of Google solutions will utilize Google Maps  and Google Places to acquire driving directions and locate Points of Interest (POIs) in a seamless and organic manner. KMA and Google look forward to continuing to work together to bring innovative navigation solutions to enhance the connected car experience.

Available with the 2014 Sorento CUV, the new Google-powered UVO system will serve Kia owners whether they are in their cars or away from them. Enabled by the Send2Car feature, Kia owners can send a POI or destination to their car directly from the Google Maps via their Smartphone UVO app. From within the car, Kia owners will benefit from Google Places, which will provide POI and destination resources such as a dealership location, and Google Maps, which will provide directions to virtually anywhere and everywhere a car can travel.

“The newest iteration of the UVO platform is a breakthrough as one of the industry’s first mobile pure app-based telematics systems, and now with the Google solutions and APIs, we take the platform to yet another level of enhancement for the Kia customer,” said Henry Bzeih, head of the connected car program and chief technology strategist, KMA. “Due to the popularity and ease-of-use of Google Maps, owners can remain confident in the technology and information being delivered to them.”

UVO continues to offer drivers hands-free mobile phone management capabilities and hands-free control of music from a variety of media sources, including CD, radio, USB, media player, and the Digital Jukebox.  With UVO eServices, users will now be able to control the 2014 Sorento’s on-board navigation system through voice commands when the vehicle is outfitted with the UVO eServices/navigation package.  Also new with UVO eServices is an enhanced telematics suite that offers a number of maintenance and infotainment functions, including 911 Connect, enhanced Roadside Assist, Automatic Diagnostics, Manual Diagnostics, Scheduled Diagnostics, vehicle maintenance, and eServices Guide, many of which are run through the owner’s Smartphone equipped with the UVO eServices app available at no charge.

Advanced Voice Recognition makes it simple to operate many of UVO eServices functions, including the Sorento’s voice activated navigation system. USB connectivity allows users to download music files from a memory stick into the Digital Jukebox. The large eight-inch touch screen is easy to operate and incorporates Sorento’s rear camera display, Infinity Premium Sound System and My POIs (personal Points of Interest via online maps), a feature that makes it easy to customize the owner’s most visited locations. UVO eServices is compatible with iPhone at launch and Android phones are expected to be compatible in the second quarter of 2013.

Key Features of UVO eServices:

• Google Integration: Utilization of Google Maps and Google Places to provide direction and location information.
• eServices Guide:  Accessed via the touch-screen or voice command, eServices Guide places a phone call via Bluetooth hands free connectivity to a voice response system that explains UVO eServices to the driver in an interactive manner.
• Car Care Web:  Through the UVO eServices owner’s portal, known as “Car Care Web,” owners can check vehicle diagnostics, vehicle status, maintenance schedules, driving behavior, and schedule appointments with their preferred or nearby dealer via their home computer or mobile device. Owners also can earn awards for safe and eco-friendly driving viewable on Car Care Web should they rank high enough among their fellow UVO eServices owners.                                                                                                                                      
• My POI:  Also available to UVO eServices owners is My POI, a feature that allows owners to send a destination from Google Maps through their Smartphone to their UVO eServices vehicle.  In the convenience of their home or office, the customer selects a destination from the Web via Google Maps, once the customer’s Smartphone receives the destination it will send the destination to the vehicle’s navigation system the next time the Smartphone is paired via Bluetooth^® wireless technology. In addition, all destinations sent from Google Maps will be copied to the owner’s Car Care Web. (My POI is only available with UVO eServices vehicles equipped with navigation).
• Vehicle Diagnostics:  If UVO’s eServices identifies a problem by way of the Automatic Diagnostics function, it will communicate the vehicle’s issue(s) and its location to Kia’s 24/7 call center or will schedule an appointment online with the nearest Kia dealership upon user request.  With Manual Diagnostics, at the owner’s preference, UVO eServices can connect the user with Kia’s 24/7 call center or schedule an appointment online with the nearest Kia dealership, should an issue be found.  Additionally, the user can take advantage of Scheduled Diagnostics from their Smartphone, setting a monthly diagnostic check of the vehicle.  Upon completion, any issues found are automatically forwarded to Car Care Web.
• 911 Connect: In case of an airbag deployment, the Crash Notification Assist function will alert emergency services. During a 10-second window, the driver has the option to cancel the call, otherwise UVO eServices will dial 9-1-1, read the vehicle’s location out loud to the emergency services operator and allow the operator to speak with the vehicle occupants.
• Parking Minder: If the driver happens to forget where they parked the car, the Parking Minder function helps find it by sending the location of the vehicle to the driver’s phone.  If preferred, the owner also can take pictures of the surrounding area for reference, write a reminder note, email his or her location and set an alarm if the car is parked at a meter.  To guide the owner back, the UVO eServices Smartphone app will display the owner and the vehicle’s locations on a map. 

Following the introduction of UVO eServices in the Sorento, the system will be offered in other models in the Kia lineup, including the all-new 2014 Forte sedan.

Courtesy of Kia Media

“Everyone was helpful and very friendly and made sure that we were happy with our experience. They answered all of our questioned and took note of the things that were important to us.” -Happy Customer

“Second purchase at this dealership this year! Came back based on our first experience and was not disappointed!!! No high pressure tactics here, just friendly, knowledgeable and professional staff.Will definitely buy from them again and refer them to friends and relatives.” -Real Customer

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Kia Motors America (KMA) and the LPGA today announced the fourth-annual Kia Classic will move in 2013 to Aviara Golf Club located at the Park Hyatt Resort in Carlsbad, Calif.  The move comes with the announcement that KMA has signed a multi-year contract extension as title sponsor of the tournament.  The 2013 Kia Classic, which will feature a 144-player field, will be played March 18-24.

“Kia is one of the fastest growing auto brands in the U.S., and sports marketing initiatives such as our involvement with the LPGA have significantly raised awareness and consideration for the brand and our vehicles,” said Michael Sprague executive vice president, marketing & communications, KMA.  “With the success of the past three tournaments, we are pleased to continue as title sponsor for the Kia Classic and bring the tournament to the luxurious Aviara Golf Club in 2013.”

The venue for the 2013 Kia Classic, Aviara Golf Club, which was named by Golf Digest and Golf Magazine as one of the best resort golf courses in America and the No.1 golf resort in San Diego according to the readers of Condé Nast Traveler, overlooks the beautiful Batiquitos Lagoon ecological reserve and is the only San Diego golf course designed by Arnold Palmer.  Aviara features a memorable par-72 coastal layout that stretches 7,007 yards and is uniquely sculpted through rolling hillsides, native wildflowers and plenty of bunker and water challenges.  The golf club is part of the AAA Five Diamond-rated Park Hyatt Aviara Resort, which features 329 guest rooms, four on-site restaurants, full-service spa, tennis courts, fitness facility and more.

“We are thrilled to extend our relationship with Kia for the Kia Classic,” said LPGA Chief Marketing Officer Jon Podany.  “Kia has been a terrific partner, and the Kia Classic is one of the core pillars of the opening of our domestic season on the West Coast.  Kia has also done an outstanding job of integrating with the LPGA and activating behind the Kia Classic to make this tournament better every year.  We look forward to many more years.”

The 2013 Kia Classic sponsor exemption will be given to the winner of the UC Irvine Women’s Golf Anteater Invitational presented by Kia, February 25-26 at the Santa Ana Country Club.  This partnership will make the UC Irvine Women’s Golf Anteater Invitational presented by Kia the only collegiate tournament in the country that will allow the winner to qualify for an LPGA event.  Additionally, the Kia Classic will continue to host a hole-in-one giveaway contest for both the Pro-Am and the tournament with a 2013 Kia vehicle as the prize.

“The Kia Classic has established itself as one of the premier professional golf events, and we’re honored to have the opportunity to host a field of the world’s best female golfers,” said Mark Stiebeling, General Manager for Park Hyatt Aviara Resort.  “Our commitment to excellence will ensure that the players and fans alike are treated to a first-class experience on the golf course and throughout the resort.”

In 2012, Taiwan native Yani Tseng, the No. 1 player on the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings, won the third-annual Kia Classic at the La Costa Resort and Spa.  In 2011, the Kia Classic was the stage for another breakout win as Germany’s Sandra Gal became a Rolex-First Time Winner with her thrilling one-shot victory over eight-time LPGA Tour winner Jiyai Shin at Industry Hills Golf Club.

Kia’s Southern California-based LPGA tournament complements its sports marketing activities in the U.S., including its partnership with two-time LPGA winner Michelle Wie, who is the brand’s official golf ambassador.  Kia is also the Official Automotive Partner of the NBA (National Basketball Association), and recently completed its inaugural campaign in the Pirelli World Challenge auto racing series.

Courtesy of LPGA.com

With bowl season upon us, and Notre Dame and Alabama set to battle it out for the NCAA Division I championship, we’re still a few weeks away from sorting out most of the winners and losers in this year’s college football season-but there is at least one team that has clinched a share of gridiron greatness for the year: Kia, which recently announced it had become a founding sponsor of the new College Football Hall of Fame.

The 94,000-square-foot Hall is expected to open in Atlanta near the beginning of the 2014 college football season, and will be located next door to the Georgia World Congress Center-one of the largest convention centers in the country-and the city’s famed Centennial Olympic Park, built for the 1996 Summer Olympic Games. Of course, this is far from Kia’s first foray into the sport of college football. The brand also is currently a sponsor of the 2013 Outback Bowl, slated for a New Year’s Day broadcast on ESPN, and Official Automotive Partner of the NCAA’s Southeastern Conference (SEC)-home base for the previous six BCS champions as well as one of this year’s challengers, the University of Alabama.

However, there may be another reason that Kia has gotten involved with the College Football Hall of Fame, as explained by Michael Spraque, executive vice president of Marketing and Communications for the brand: “Kia is proud to call the state of Georgia home to our U.S. manufacturing plant. We are excited about the addition of a new attraction to the Atlanta-area and the opportunity to showcase the fantastic Sorento and Optima vehicles built nearby in West Point, Ga.”

Providing a two-pronged approach to winning in the marketplace, the Kia Optima and Kia Sorento are the brand’s top sellers on the car and crossover sides of the business, respectively, with the company’s striking mid-size sedan delivering 140,391 units through the end of November (+90 percent) and its versatile mid-size crossover attracting 108,630 customers during that time. And while that’s actually down slightly as compared to the first 11 months of 2011, the all-new 2014 Kia Sorento is poised to launch early next year and resumed its winning ways.

Sitting on an all-new platform, the 2014 Sorento also will offer the next generation of Kia’s voice-activated UVO telematics system, a new 290-hp V6 engine with direct injection, an enhanced Torque On Demand all-wheel-drive setup with Torque Vectoring Corner Control, driver-selectable multi-mode steering, LED exterior lighting, a reconfigured and more ergonomic center-stack, and a range-topping SX Limited that’s chock-filled with premium features.

The Optima, on the other hand, introduced its SX Limited trim for the 2013 model year, and the upgrade has truly helped up-end the standings in the mid-size sedan segment. In November, for example, the Optima outsold rivals like the Chevy Malibu, VW Passsat, Dodge Avenger and Chrysler 200, and moved within 2,400 units of the Ford Fusion. But customers looking for high value also should note that the starting price of the 2013 Kia Optima is an affordable $21,100 that is lower than not only the Malibu and Fusion, but also the Toyota Camry, Honda Accord, and Nissan Altima.

Courtesy of Kia Media

Fog, snow and rain will cut down your visibility in winter.

Check your wiper blades, which have a lifespan of about a year. If your car doesn’t have the newer “beam blade” style wipers, consider a pair, especially for the winter months. The beam style blades don’t have an external spring to freeze up.

When snow or other freezing precipitation threaten, make sure you turn off the wipers when you park so that the next time you turn on your car, the wiper motor’s not fighting to get frozen wipers moving. This can burn out the motor.

Some folks pop their wipers up so they’re not touching the windshield. This little trick will make it easier to scrape your windshield. Some folks believe this wears out the spring that keeps the blade on the glass. And some folks think it’s an affectation. We’ll leave it to you.

Courtesy of KipLinger