Auto News 5

Dana Point, CA -- The Kia Sedona was a latecomer to the van wars, and has made up for lost time. “Sedona” may not be the household word that Grand Caravan is, but Kia intends to challenge that with the new 2015 iteration. This van has made huge leaps forward in quality, ranking just below Toyota in defects per 100 vehicles, and well above Ford. Kia intends to take on both the volume leader (Grand Caravan) and the quality leaders (Toyota Sienna and Honda Odyssey). After driving the 2015 Sedona, I think they are ready.


What is a Kia Sedona?
The Kia Sedona is a seven- or eight-passenger minivan that is versatile enough to be considered a Multi-Purpose Vehicle (MPV). The all-new platform has more high-strength and ultra-high-strength steel than the previous generation, making the chassis much more rigid. Kia was able to do this because they own their own steel mills and all of the steel and a significant portion of the powertrain were all manufactured in-house.

2015 Kia Sedona Price and Specs
Kia has given the Sedona a broad market appeal by providing seven trim levels that span in price range. The basic Sedona L is considered a value leader and starts at $27,495. Trim levels in this grouping include the L, LX and LX+. A midrange Sedona starts with the SX and the additional trim level is the SX+. At the top is the SXL with the SXL+ doing duty as the premiere trim level coming in at $45,995.

The Sedona L may come with steel wheels and wheel covers, but the cloth interior, standard back-up camera and very comfortable seats mean there is no wrong decision when trying to decide which trim level to purchase. Move up to the SXL+, the cloth has become leather and the front bucket seats are both heated and cooled. In addition, an Infiniti sound system, GPS, satellite radio, and connectors for most personal entertainment devices are included.

Driving the 2015 Kia Sedona
Kia provides one powertrain, namely a 3.3L GDI (gasoline direct injected) engine that puts out 276 horsepower and 248 lb-ft of torque and is mated to a 6-speed, electronically controlled automatic transmission. The trim level doesn't affect driveability very much. However, fuel economy does change depending on the trim level. The L and LX models are rated at 13.2L/100km in the city and 9.7L on the highway. The SX and SX+ are rated at 12.9L and 9.5L/100km for city and highway, respectively. The SXL and SXL+ are 14.2L and 10.5L/100km. Kia explains that the differences are due to electric power steering on the SX and SX+ versions, while the SXL and SXL+ versions carry extra weight due to increased equipment levels.

Everyday driving is what the Sedona does best. Visibility is excellent all around. The engine has enough power that changing lanes in traffic or getting up to speed on an on-ramp will never be an issue.

Inside and Out of the 2015 Kia Sedona
Designers managed to give the 2015 Sedona a much more powerful looking stance than the previous generation while making it look balanced and comfortable. Kia installed its traditional style grille up front, while the rest of the front fascia is designed to minimize the drag coefficient (down to .33) which helps provide better fuel economy. At the rear, a clean and smooth fascia incorporates large taillights as well as a full-height liftgate.
Inside, the SXL interior has leather-faced bucket seats up front and in the second row. A third row of leather (which can fold into the floor) can hold three if they are friendly. Second-row seats do not fold into the floor. Kia engineers found that they could not make “stow and go” seats as comfortable as the method they chose which has been dubbed “Fold and Stow.” When needed, a single actuating lever lets the seat slide forward and stand up against the backs of the front-row seats.
All the expected electronic items are present at various trim levels. Bluetooth™ is standard on all but the base L model, as are inputs for most personal music players. The only item not provided from the factory is a dealer-installed rear entertainment system.

Comparing the 2015 Kia Sedona
Given the price range of the Kia Sedona, the main competitors would be the Dodge Grand Caravan, Honda Odyssey, and Toyota Sienna. In terms of value for every dollar spent, the 2015 Kia Sedona is more than competitive at all levels.

From GMM

Mere days after the Suzuka race, F1 authorities are continuing to withhold official video footage of Jules Bianchi's horror crash.

So far, despite widespread reports that the sport's commercial rights holder FOM did film the incident with its high definition trackside cameras, the footage has not been released.

Even the now widely-circulated amateur footage of the crash has been repeatedly removed from social media sites at the request of FOM, ostensibly for reasons of copyright.

But it has also been suggested that F1 and the governing FIA are reluctant for the official footage to be seen because it might implicate the sport's authorities amid the controversial circumstances surrounding Bianchi's crash.

Questions are being asked about the rain conditions, the fading light, the pre-race discussions about re-scheduling to avoid typhoon Phanfone, the waving of green flags near the crash site, and whether Charlie Whiting should have deployed the safety car when Adrian Sutil's incident brought out the recovery vehicle.

Doctors around Jules Bianchi, after the crash. (Photo: WRi2)

But Michael Schmidt, the highly respected correspondent for Germany's Auto Motor und Sport, claims the reason the FOM footage is not being released is for one reason only: "Consideration for the victims of the accident."

Schmidt is referring not only to the seriously injured French driver, but particularly his parents and family as they cling to hope Bianchi, 25, will pull through.

Schmidt claims the official footage shows that the Marussia driver lost control of his car after "driving too fast under yellow flags".

"F1 is not protecting itself, but Jules Bianchi himself. The footage of the accident and the telemetry data may prove that it was the driver to blame," he added.

Schmidt quoted an F1 official as saying: "It (releasing the information) would be unfair to Bianchi, because he cannot defend himself at the moment."

Separate to the circumstances of the crash, however, is a discussion about arguably the last remaining true vulnerability when it comes to F1 cars -- the drivers' exposed heads.

After Felipe Massa's 2009 crash, and again in 2012 when Mario de Villota crashed during a Marussia test, F1 and the FIA looked deeply into the possibility of enclosing the cockpits with a forward roll-cage or canopy.

But Germany's Bild newspaper reports this week that Red Bull and Mercedes were the most opposed to the idea, with Red Bull boss Christian Horner saying the proposed solutions were "shockingly ugly".

The issue was then sidelined completely when Bernie Ecclestone argued that closed cockpits were contrary to the basic idea of F1, Bild claims.

"Try telling that to the Bianchi family, though," correspondent Oliver Brown wrote in the Telegraph. "The sanctity of no sport is worth protecting so ferociously that it compromises the sanctity of human life."

On the other side, there are those who insist F1 should not overreact after Bianchi's crash.

One of them is Mika Hakkinen, even though his life-threatening crash in 1995 preceded F1's move to raise cockpit sides to better protect the drivers' heads.

"After this (Bianchi's) accident, there will certainly be a comprehensive analysis," the Finn, who went on to win two titles after returning in 1996, said.

"But we also should remember that there have been no deaths in formula one races for more than 20 years," he said in an interview with his sponsor Hermes. "That's a long time."

Mercedes-Benz will get extra credit on U.S. fuel economy standards for putting start-stop systems in its luxury cars -- but not as much as the automaker had hoped.

Mitsubishi Motors expects to meet its full-year guidance for operating profit for the 2014-15 financial year, but is not yet certain it can meet its forecast for sales, a spokesman for the company said on Wednesday.

The average fuel economy of cars and light trucks, driven by wider use of technology, rose to a record 24.1 mpg in the 2013 model year, though the pace of improvement slowed. Fuel economy will average 24.

Johnson Controls fired a consulting firm after learning that one of its principals had an extramarital affair with CEO Alex Molinaroli.

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Audi wants to rein in costs by about $2.5 billion a year to offset surging spending on new technology, according to people familiar with the matter.

Audi wants to rein in annual costs by about 2 billion euros ($2.5 billion) to offset surging new technology spending and to safeguard profit margins, sources said.

Daimler and industrial gases maker Linde will build 20 hydrogen fuel stations in Germany over the next few years to boost support networks for fuel cell cars. Daimler aims to bring competitively priced fuel cell vehicles to market by 2017.

Daimler and industrial gases maker Linde will build 20 hydrogen fuelling stations in Germany over the next few years to boost support networks for fuel cell cars. Daimler aims to bring competitively priced fuel cell vehicles to market by 2017.

International Automotive Components (IAC) has opened the company's new global headquarters in Luxembourg.

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles CEO Sergio Marchionne sees potential to form a new No. 1 automaker as companies grapple with low returns on the growing amount of money needed to develop a new car.

International Automotive Components (IAC) has celebrated the opening of its European headquarters in Düsseldorf, Germany.

GKN claims it has developed the world's first Disconnect All-Wheel Drive System for A-, B- and C-segment vehicle platforms and says it improves fuel economy during steady state cruising by up to 4%.

Fiat-Chrysler chief Sergio Marchionne is reportedly planning to step down on completion of the merging group's current five-year strategic plan in 2018.

Shiloh Industries has acquired Warren, Michigan- based, Radar Industries.

Mercedes-Benz posted its strongest-ever sales month in September delivering 162,746 vehicles, an increase of nearly 14% over the same month a year ago.