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Hyundai, Kia and U of M studying 'highway hypnosis'

Next up on the hot-button list of things that can kill you behind the wheel: "highway hypnosis." That's the zombie-like, autopilot phase you get into on a long highway drive when there isn't much to distract you, like curves or traffic. Digging further into what it is and how to combat it, Hyundai-Kia engineers and the University of Michigan are commencing a study that will measure brainwave activity in order to track the body's slide into highway hypnosis.
We're not sure how much overlap this has with Mercedes-Benz's Attention Assist, which tracks more than 70 in-car parameters to determine when you're not focused on the road anymore. That system is billed as an alarm against fatigue, in our experience it does more than that - if you use your phone while driving, for instance, it will chirp.
They don't know what form a warning system will take yet, but Hyundai-Kia plans to develop a method for warning drivers when they being to zone out. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, there were more than three thousand deaths and nearly 400,000 injuries due to distracted driving in 2011.

Kia GT five-door approved, will tackle A7, Panamera

Kia might finally be entering the four-door coupe market in the near future with a production version of its GT Concept from the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show. According to Edmunds, Kia execs at that Paris Motor Show confirmed that the swoopy model finally has been given the green light to go on sale, and that would likely be sometime in 2016 in the US.
Kia would reportedly focus the GT on the US market, but a European version with a diesel is also a possibility. As with the K900 premium sedan, the brand is taking on some established competition with the new model, including the likes of the Audi A7 and Porsche Panamera. Judging from the rest of the Korean company's range, an attractive feature for many buyers would likely be a price several grand lower than the challengers in the segment.
"Four-door coupes aren't necessarily sales champs, but right now they are popular, just as the retro theme was the "in thing" 15 years ago," said auto industry analyst Dave Sullivan from AutoPacific to Autoblog. Something like the GT would also help with Kia's increasing focus on improving its design design because it can "make a statement about what your brand stands for."

Kia Provo Concept is a Mini-sized hatch debuting in Geneva

The machine you see above is, according to a report from Autocar, the Kia Provo Concept, and it's set to debut at the rapidly approaching Geneva Motor Show. As you can see, the Korean concept draws inspiration from young and hip hatchbacks like the Mini range and the Citroën DS3.
We can't say how much of the Provo's somewhat radical conceptual design will make it into production, such as the contrasting roof color, oversize wheel arches filled with some pretty radical wheels, and one-piece headlight and taillight housings. Suffice it to say, though, we're definitely intrigued by what we see.
Also note the diamond stitching in the interior with chrome, suede and carbon fiber accents. The flat-bottom steering wheel is also rather interesting. These details, along with the racy elements of the exterior design, make us think Kia may be targeting performance-minded buyers with the Provo.