2006 Kia Spectra5 Base Hatchback 4-door 2.0l on 2040-cars

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Hyundai-Kia fuel-economy errors trigger $300M in federal penalties [w/video]

This amount includes $100-million in civil penalties, the largest such fines in EPA history.
Hyundai and Kia are getting more than a slap on the wrist for overstating the fuel economy of an estimated 1.2-million vehicles in their 2011-2013 model ranges. The Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Justice and the California Air Resources Board are hitting the automakers with collective penalties valued at around $300 million for Clean Air Act violations. This amount includes $100-million in civil penalties, the largest such fines in EPA history. Specifically, Hyundai is paying a $56.8 million penalty and relinquishing 2.7-million greenhouse gas emissions credits. Kia is paying $43.2 million in penalties and giving up 2.05-million credits.

Kia K900 confirmed for LA Auto Show debut

Although there has been plenty of news about the Kia K9/Quoris over the past year and a half, we've yet to hear anything from Kia regarding the US fate of its flagship, rear-wheel-drive sedan. That changes today, however, as Kia has confirmed the recent rumor that the car would be renamed K900 for the US market, and that the luxurious sedan would debut next month at the LA Auto Show and go on sale next year.
Along with the announcement, Kia also released its first image of the US-spec K900, and, not surprisingly, this profile shot is identical to what we've seen in images for the Korean-market K9 and globally named Quoris (click above to enlarge). Unlike the closely related Hyundai Equus, the Kia K900 will offer customers the option of V6 or V8 engines, but it will be fitted with just as many luxurious amenities as its Hyundai counterpart.
We'll probably have to wait until closer to the K900's on-sale date for any official word on pricing, but last we heard, it will be priced between $50,000 and $70,000 - a significant step up from the current top-drawer model, the Kia Cadenza. Scroll down for the brief press release, and check back in a few weeks for live coverage of this car's debut.

2015 Kia K900

Let's be honest, Rich America. When you drive your fullsize luxury sedans, you don't clock any laps of the Nürburgring. You don't view your car as an alternative to air travel, ready to wheel between countries at triple-digit Autobahn speeds. Heck, you don't even take the long way home. Instead, you commute in fender-to-fender gridlock looking to be assuaged by sybaritic luxuries, your ride serving as a four-wheeled extension of your living room. Yet when it comes time to vote with your pocketbooks, you overwhelmingly skew toward European driving values - German ones, more specifically. You favor the firm rides, firmer seats and quick steering of cars like the BMW 7 Series and Audi A8. What gives? That's what Kia is clandestinely asking with its new 2015 K900.
According to Kia PR director Scott McKee, this 200.6-inch bruiser of a sedan is all about "at-ease luxury." That's a notion that was once very much synonymous with American automakers' approach to big high-end sedans - effortless comfort above all other considerations. Sprawling room in every direction. Fine materials no matter where the hand falls. The automobile as an isolative cocoon. Once upon a time, Cadillac and Lincoln owned the Comfort First game, but these days, there's almost nobody playing - the Lexus LS and Hyundai Equus are the only cars in this end of the market, everyone else is busy aping German values.
Kia planners could claim that the K900 has been intentionally targeted at a different sort of customer - and indeed, during the press conference ahead of our first drive in Santa Barbara, there was some discussion of "a different kind of luxury" and seeking "confident individualist" buyers. But the truth is, the Korean premium car shoppers that this car was primarily designed for crave exactly the sort of plush luxury experience the K900 dispenses. In other words, Kia is hoping that there are a few thousand like-minded Americans willing to overlook the badge on its nose and give this car a chance.