2016 Kia Optima Earns Kelley Blue Book's KBB.COM "Best Buy Award" | Mark Kia Scottsdale

Kia’s passionately designed and obsessively crafted midsize sedan garners top honors from The Trusted Resource®

All-new 2016 Optima is part of an elite group of 12 Kelley Blue Book Best Buy Award Winners

Kia’s head-turning design, driving dynamics, and value continue to garner praise.

Kia Motors America’s (KMA) passionately designed and obsessively crafted all-new 2016 Optima is the Best Buy of the Year among midsize cars according to Kelley Blue Book’s KBB.com. With an extensive yearlong data collection process, vehicle testing and evaluation of 2016 model-year vehicles, Kelley Blue Book narrowed the list of 49 Best Buy Award Finalists down to an elite group of 12 winners.

“The all-new 2016 Optima has matured in all the right ways, from the European sport-sedan design to the premium interior materials to its vastly improved ride and handling,” said Orth Hedrick, vice president, product planning KMA. “To be recognized by the experts at Kelley Blue Book as a Best Buy among some of the toughest competition in the industry is a true honor and strong indication that the all-new Optima is poised to continue its sales success and the ongoing elevation of the Kia brand.”

The Kelley Blue Book Best Buy Awards provide a significant service to consumers by identifying the top 2016 model-year vehicles. More than 300 new-car models were tested and evaluated in order to determine the finalists and, ultimately, the winners.

“We at Kelley Blue Book named the 2016 Kia Optima the Best Buy in a very crowded and competitive field of midsize cars because its combination of design, features, driving dynamics and value topped the competition,” said Jack R. Nerad, executive editorial director and executive market analyst for Kelley Blue Book’s KBB.com. “No single attribute set the Optima apart; instead it was the all-new Optima’s combination of high-value elements that prompted us to bestow on it our prestigious Best Buy Award.”

Find your 2016 Kia Optima at Mark Kia. To get a test drive arranged, give us a call, send us an email, visit us on Facebook or just walk in!

For more information on Kelley Blue Book’s Best Buy Awards, visit http://www.kbb.com/car-news/all-the-latest/best-buy-awards/2000011397/.

Source: http://www.kiamedia.com/us/en/media/pressreleases/10909/2016-kia-optima-earns-kelley-blue-books-kbbcom-best-buy-award?utm_campaign=NewsAlert_352&utm_medium=Email&utm_source=KiaMedia.com

Breakthrough Technology, Rugged Beauty, and Functionality all in One Full-Size Sport Utility Vehicle the Kia Telluride | Mark Kia Scottsdale

Elegant and Sophisticated, the Kia Telluride Combines Breakthrough Technology, Rugged Beauty, and Functionality in a Full-Size Sport Utility Vehicle

• Telluride takes Kia’s design language in a bold new direction and suggests styling of a possible future premium large SUV in the brand’s lineup

• Telluride pushes the boundaries of technology with unique in-cabin health-and-wellness technology and luxury

Glimpsing a future that is grounded in reality but not bound by the present, Kia Motors America (KMA) today unveiled a cutting-edge vision for a full-size SUV at the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS). The Telluride, a striking three-row, seven-passenger, luxury SUV concept features a modern and upright shape, muscular stance, and state-of-the-art technology to care for its occupants. Purely conceptual, the Kia Telluride is based on an existing platform and reveals the brand’s interest in potentially offering a premium SUV positioned above the current hot-selling Sorento.

“The Kia Telluride makes an aesthetic statement for the Kia brand as a bold, all-new luxury SUV with an abundance of advanced technology, focusing particular attention on the experience and comfort of second-row occupants,” said Tom Kearns, chief designer, Kia Design Center America (KDCA). “Longer, wider and taller than the recently redesigned Sorento CUV, Telluride allows us to envision what a full-size seven-passenger SUV from Kia could look like.”

Telluride’s front doors and rear-hinged back doors swing open 90 degrees in opposing directions, creating an expansive and inviting portal into the panoramic interior space and revealing a technological showcase. Four beautiful black-leather captain’s seats appear to float within the spacious cabin in front of a folded third-row bench. The large cabin allows the middle seats to recline nearly flat and include large fold-away footrests for sublime comfort. All four seats include a series of precise diamond-cut openings in the seatback, each embedded with Smart Sensors to capture a passenger’s vital health information. Once obtained, these vitals are displayed on the interior door panel screens, which then systematically synchronize with a Light Emitted Rejuvenation (LER) system. The LER system utilizes a massive, wing-shaped LED panel mounted beneath the oversized sunroof that displays a pattern of therapeutic light to treat desynchronosis (jetlag) and improve the passengers’ energy levels.

Another unique technology introduced in Telluride is Swipe Command – a thin, touch-sensitive, interactive band mounted to the second row center console – which allows rear-seat passengers to quickly scroll and select desired media by simply swiping their hand. The selected media is then played either through the seven-speaker premium Harman Kardon® audio system, or via a set of portable Harman Kardon® headphones that wirelessly charge when stowed in the console. Up front, a compartment in the center stack allows for wireless cell phone charging, and Kia’s first use of 3D-printed components add a distinct, modern design element to the dashboard, door panels, and steering wheel.

Telluride’s interior and exterior were penned at the brand’s California-based studio, Kia Design Center America (KDCA). Finished in Dark Pyrite green paint, the tall stance is amplified by the overall size of the vehicle. At 70.9-inches tall, 79.1-inches wide and 196.9-inches long, Telluride is 4.4-inches taller, 4.7-inches wider, and a sizable 9.5-inches longer than the current Sorento. Underpinning the Telluride is a modified Sorento chassis with a wheelbase stretched 11.9 inches to 121.3 inches, giving Telluride a dominating presence. It’s modern and muscular appearance is accentuated by flared fenders stretching around massive 22-inch five-spoke wheels wrapped in Hankook® Ventus ST 275/45R22 tires. Telluride’s front fascia incorporates a much larger version of Kia’s signature tiger nose grille, and its menacing face brings an attitude all its own with recessed quad-LED headlamps, pronounced horizontal LED indicator lights, and an aggressive polished-metal skid plate below the bumper. In the rear, thin vertical taillights align with the modern design language of the SUV, while consistent styling cues across the front and rear door handles, hood scoops and dual exhaust tips enhance the vehicle’s solid appearance.

With an innovative combination of cutting-edge technologies, the Telluride’s powertrain is a near-future, no-compromises propulsion system, offering both power and efficiency. A finger-print activated push-button start unleashes Telluride’s tremendously potent yet extremely efficient PHEV powertrain. Utilizing a 3.5-liter gasoline direct injected (GDI) V6 engine and powerful electric motor, Telluride’s transverse-mounted powertrain combines to produce 400 horsepower (270 horsepower from V6 and 130 horsepower from the electric motor) while achieving more than 30 mpg on the highway. Power is routed to all four wheels via an advanced all-wheel drive system.

While there are currently no plans to bring the Telluride to production, Kia has a history of delivering production vehicles that bear strong resemblance to preceding concepts, and Kia’s large SUV is anything but a utopian fantasy.

Tips and Tricks for Driving in Rains | Mark Kia Scottsdale

As rainy weather sticks around, it is time to brush up on some driving tips to keep you safe.  

Officials say a few basic practices can help commuters get through.

Turn on headlights.

“If your windshield wipers are on, you should have your headlights on,” CHP Officer Juan Galvan said.

Not only do headlights help the driver see potential hazards ahead, they also help other people see the vehicle, Galvan said. Plus, it’s required by the state.

Slow down.

“Drive at those speeds that you can maintain control of the car,” Los Angeles Police Department spokesman Drake Madison told The Times. Often that means going below the speed limit.

How can a driver tell how fast is too fast? Don’t outpace the flow of traffic, Madison said, and “if you feel you’re not adhering to the road very well, if you’re slipping and sliding, that’s a clue.”

Also, make sure not to drive so fast that rain collects on the windshield faster than the wipers can clear it away, Galvan said.

Don’t tailgate.

It takes longer for vehicles to stop on wet roads, so leave even more distance than usual between your car and the one ahead, Galvan said.

Avoid standing water.

“Don’t be the first one to drive through it, and don’t follow another vehicle -- just because they make it doesn’t mean you’re going to make it,” Galvan said.

“Your engine can stall and then you’ll be stuck in there. If it’s a strong current, you might even get swept through that water.”

Plan ahead.

Do preventive maintenance to minimize the odds of breaking down and becoming part of an accident, Galvan said. Before heading out in the rain, he said, replace the windshield wiper blades if needed and check the vehicle’s tires and fluids.

Madison said October and November are particularly good months to check wipers and tire treads.

“In the summer months, all the heat is hard on the rubber,” he said.

Pay attention.

“Keep your eyes on the road and be aware of your surroundings,” Galvan said. “Accidents are not caused by the rain. It’s how we drive in the rain.”

Source: http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-drive-in-the-rain-20141202-story.html