Online site says Kia may be gone in 2011 Options

[elantragt]

I think the article is way off but according to an online source, Kia may go the way of Pontiac and Hummer in 2011. This was from an article entitled "10 Brands That May Disappear in 2011". While some of the brands they mention like BP and Radio Shack seem feasible I just don't think Kia is going anywhere. Here's what they said:

Kia Motors Corporation is one of the two car brands of Hyundai of South Korea. It has always been a marginal brand. Its stable mate, Hyundai USA, has a reputation for high quality cars like the Sonata and Genesis. Kia sells “low rent” cars and SUV nameplates like the Sorento and Rio. As GM and Ford have already discovered, it is expensive to maintain multiple brands and storied car names, including Pontiac, Saturn, and Mercury, are disappearing. Most Kia cars sell for $14,000 to $25,000. Hyundai has several cars in the same price range (LINK). Hyundai’s Sonata has quickly become one of the best-selling cars in America, and its Genesis flagship model competes with mid-sized BMWs and Mercedes. The parent company will take a page from several other global car companies and dump its weakest brand.

Here's the link to the article which is featured on Yahoo's front page:

http://finance.yahoo.com/banking-budgeting...sappear-in-2011

[Bobzilla]

Smoking. Crack.

[sarge]

yea something about that doesn't seem right.

If KIA wasn't doing as great as I think they are that may make sense, but why would Hyundai kill them off? They've just released a great Forte that has people talking. The Optima is a nice looking machine, the Soul is also selling pretty darn well from what I'm remembering.

[ROC4GT]

One of the two KIA dealers in town just closed.

[streetfighterguy]

Well sure if you have two Kia dealers then i could see one getting boarded up to streamline the operations and limit local area market share to one dealer. But as a brand, i don't think a car company that is doing that well would just say "you know what since we are moving on up we might as well call it quits before something bad happens"....

I don't see it

My mom has owned 2 of them now and she really likes the improvements from the first to the second one.

[elantragt]

Over the past couple years quite a few Kia dealers locally have closed up shop. That may be partly due to the economy or maybe Kia cracking down on crap dealers, I'm not sure. On the other hand with Kia clearly on the rise, Hyundai would have no reason to shut them down. The author of the article is clearly misinformed.

[streetfighterguy]

Either that or trying to create the idea they are doing bad to steer people away from the brand.

Just a little label bashing... Others are out there worrying about there brands falling apart so why not try and drag someone else into the fire as well!

[bhorste]

One of the two KIA dealers in town just closed.

And one just opened up out here, taking over an old Saturn dealership.

[Doohickie]

Over the past couple years quite a few Kia dealers locally have closed up shop.

Fort Worth has done pretty well during the downturn. I've seen new Kia dealerships opening up. I think the bad economy will result in a culling of the weaker dealerships from all brands, but overall I don't see Kia as doing any worse, and maybe doing a little better, than other brands.

Some of the dealership closings can have an upside. When Pontiac tanked, the Dodge-Hyundai dealership I go to for service bought the Pontiac dealership building next door and they are now the biggest Hyundai dealership around, with dedicated Hyundai mechanics (not dual-certified). It's pretty sweet.

If Radio Shack was bought out, by the way, it would be bad for Fort Worth since their headquarters is here; we would probably lose about 1000 jobs locally if they were swallowed up by someone else and moved.

[Neanderthal]

I've heard at other sites that a lot of Saturn dealerships have been picked up by KIA and brought back to life.
This sounds like a BS rumor with no foundation.
KIA is selling well, has new products and will have an entire new lineup within 20 months including the Optima this autumn.
BS.

[only1db]

yeah i dont think they are going anywhere.

[Tom06]

Isn't Hyundai's parent company only a minority owner of Kia? I don't think they could "shut them down" even if they wanted to.