#KIA Set To Pull "Sedona" Name In 2022, Replaced With Handsome #Carnival Model

[Auto Styling News] 

The 2021 Kia Sedona will be the last vehicle of that name, internet sources are revealing. In 2022, the vehicle will get an entirely new design, and take on the name used already overseas, Carnival. (Sorry, Arizona!)

Now KIA has to pray that Carnival Cruise Lines does not have a major disease outbreak on board one of its ships, or other disaster in the coming years that will associate the name with something bad, or even tragic. 

Photos obtained from the Sedona forum blog end the Korean Car Blog (and posted here) show an incredibly handsome new vehicle with a much longer wheelbase and an updated front fascia.

What's really interesting is that we know from the Korean model (currently on the road there as a 2021 model) exactly what next year's Carnival will look like here in North America.

The handsome grill work, surrounded by chrome is a zigzag pattern, surrounds LED daytime running lights that are visibly much smaller than the current Sedona.

A single character line runs the length of the car, with bold wheel arches and sharp lines giving a more modern, sculpted appearance. 

A key design highlight of the 2022 KIA Carnival will be the new ‘island roof’ design, with blacked-out A- and B-pillars beneath a body-colored roof. An eye-catching new C-pillar signature design also stands out, with a chrome fin bearing a subtle diamond pattern.

The rear features a wide, distinctive new look, accentuated by a full-width light bar. Another element of its SUV-inspired design is the metallic lower skid plate, further affording a more robust appearance.

In South Korea, they also currently enjoy a "Hi Limousine" model that comes with a large luxurious chair in the second row, and with curtains in all the rear and side windows, accepting the passenger and driver window up front. 

This is supposed to be the ultimate luxury model, which it's a safe bet that it will not come to America, because, to the casual observer, it resembles very strongly a hearse. Sales would not likely be very good for that reason.

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Auto Styling News is a blog that covers car concepts, newly released models, and the auto industry.

New Fleet-Focused Electric Truck, #Lordstown Endurance, Garners 100k Pre-Orders

[Auto Styling News] 

Lordstown Motors Corp., an emerging producer of electric light duty trucks focused on the commercial fleet market, says it has received more than 100,000 non-binding production reservations from commercial fleets for its Lordstown Endurance all-electric pickup truck, with an average order size of nearly 600 vehicles per fleet.

“Receiving 100,000 pre-orders from commercial fleets for a truck like the Endurance is unprecedented in automotive history,” said Steve Burns, CEO of Lordstown Motors. “Adding in the interest we have from federal, state, municipal and military fleets on top of that, I think you can see why we feel that we are about to revolutionize the pickup truck industry.”

The Lordstown Endurance is a full-size, all-electric pickup that has a range of 250 miles, the equivalent of 600hp and can tow up to 7,500lbs. After successful prototype and Alpha builds, Lordstown is now building the first Beta Endurance vehicles and is on track for start of production in September of this year. The initial Endurance is a crew cab configuration with medium bed length, priced at $45,000 after federal rebate.

Lordstown Motors, an Ohio-based original equipment manufacturer of light duty fleet vehicles, was founded by CEO Steve Burns with the purpose of transforming Ohio's Mahoning Valley and Lordstown, Ohio, into the epicenter of electric-vehicle manufacturing. 

The company owns the 785 acre, 6.2 million square foot Lordstown Assembly Plant where it plans to build the Lordstown Endurance, believed to be the world's first full-size, all-electric pickup truck designed to serve the commercial fleet market. 

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Auto Styling News is a blog that covers car concepts, newly released models, and the auto industry.

Tesla (Nearly) Meets Its 2020 Goal Of 500k Teslas Built And Delivered

[Auto Styling News]

 

In 2020, Tesla Motors says it produced and delivered half a million vehicles, in line with its 2020 goals, according to a company news release.

Well, almost. An actual spreadsheet included in the very same news release, shown below, indicate 499,550 delivered, with actually more than a half-million cars built last year. Company officials say that when all the data from 2020 is in, they may very well have reach the "500,000 delivered" goal, as well.

In addition, the release says Model Y production in Shanghai has begun, with deliveries expected to begin shortly.

For such a young company, it is quite an achievement. And CEO Elon Musk is thrilled with the result, tweeting,

"So proud of the Tesla team for achieving this major milestone! At the start of Tesla, I thought we had (optimistically) a 10% chance of surviving at all."

It was a vindication for Musk, who, in a 2014 interview, below, rather audaciously (at the time) predicted the company would be able to produce 500,000 vehicles by the end of 2020.

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Auto Styling News is a blog that covers car concepts, newly released models, and the auto industry.

#Kia Motors Wins Design Awards for K5 and Sorento Models [Auto Styling News]

[Auto Styling News] 

The Kia Optima was already a very good looking car. But the Korean car company's latest incarnation of the Optima, the 2021 K5, is winning some prestigious awards for great design

In fact, Kia Motors has earned two design prizes for its latest models, as the new third-generation Kia K5 sedan and fourth-generation Kia Sorento SUV won accolades in the Transportation category of the annual GOOD DESIGN Awards.

This is the latest in a string of design awards for Kia in recent years, with previous generations of both the Sorento and K5 also earning GOOD DESIGN Awards in 2015. The Telluride and Soul have also received prizes from the organization.

Kia’s third-generation K5 is one of the e brand's most powerful mid-size sedans to-date, offering drivers an inspired and technology-packed alternative to traditional rivals. 

Its exterior design is characterized by Kia’s hallmark ‘tiger nose’ grille and ‘heart beat’ daytime running lights, while its interior layout conveys a futuristic and high-tech appearance, aided by its 12-inch digital instrument cluster.

The all-new Kia Sorento redefines the successful design of previous generations of the SUV, while incorporating elegant and sophisticated new styling elements, with sharper lines, high-tech details and elongated exterior proportions. 

I also features the ‘tiger-nose’ grille, displaying a wider shape which organically wraps around the integrated headlamps on each side, gives the new model a confident and mature presence. 

Celebrating its 70th anniversary, the GOOD DESIGN Awards program is one of the oldest design competitions in the world. Every year, the program selects a list of products and industry leaders in design and manufacturing that have chartered new directions for innovation and pushed the envelope for competitive products in the world marketplace.

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Auto Styling News is a blog that covers car concepts, newly released models, and the auto industry.