Yes, but they don't want to be the "Holy crap! You can get the Flux Capacitor and Continuum Transfunctioner in the Rio!" brand anymore. At one point or another their top car is going to get the best features first, and then the rest of the models will follow suit. Not the Optima having the same machine gun turret as the K900...
Thats what I meant by "relative to the competiton" , certainly higher tiers would require more "stuff" , lower , less but competitive to their set of like competitors . A key strategic issue I see looming is whether they see more upside in rolling out their E brand or something meaningful to allow consumers to embrace a higher tier without the Kia bagage . From the feedback I read here it seems like many existing Kia customers are relatively happy trading up to a Stinger with Kia branding while several 'New" customers opt to rebrand ..................
I don't think Kia is going to start a sub brand. I really don't. I think Kia is going to try Hyundai's "Plan B" which was just "be Hyundai" - but a better Hyundai. If Kia is going to have products as good as Audi or BMW, they're eventually going to get recognized for it without having to create and spend money on a separate brand. This would allow them to sell competitive products priced lower in return for average service. If Kia's service ever improves to the point where they can raise prices to the same point as Audi and BMW, then they'll have achieved what no other mainstream brand has. It's possible - but it'll take generations...
I think Kia USA is the culprit for the content and pricing issue , not corporate . In Canada our GT Limited is is fully loaded with all the options including 360 camera , rear heated seats etc , and it was MSRP $49,995 ................Personally I think they left $5K or more on the table , regional marketing ( countries ) seems to differ globally in some ways
The accountant in me doesnt disagree with the cost logic , the marketer in me sees it in other ways . I agree to a point , WHY then would they do E for their domestic market for the Stinger, they are thinking about this ............Looks like the next premium vehicle ontap is the Telluride , which likely wont launch in Korea , how will they handle that with the learning from Stinger. As for Stinger , the horse is out of the barn now and it would be a disaster to rebrand it away from Kia now BUT this E thing really makes me think they are thinking about another tier , they certainly have not curtailed the selling of E or Stinger badging for ther after market so they clearly arent trying to contain E................just thinkin
The accountant in me doesnt disagree with the cost logic , the marketer in me sees it in other ways . I agree to a point , WHY then would they do E for their domestic market for the Stinger, they are thinking about this ............Looks like the next premium vehicle ontap is the Telluride , which likely wont launch in Korea , how will they handle that with the learning from Stinger. As for Stinger , the horse is out of the barn now and it would be a disaster to rebrand it away from Kia now BUT this E thing really makes me think they are thinking about another tier , they certainly have not curtailed the selling of E or Stinger badging for ther after market so they clearly arent trying to contain E................just thinkin
You lost me on this ??The Phaeton failed because it was too much of a price increase for Volkswagen buyers AND it was too similar to the Audi A8. Hyundai and Kia need to make sure their products are significantly different and not priced sky-high.
I think Kia is going to work "E" the way Buick is working "Avenir"...
What? Avenir? Avenir is Buick's high luxury line of vehicles. It's a different badge that goes on their "special" vehicles - like the "E" on the Stinger and maybe a few other cars...
BUT it still has the Buick badge , Somehow Kia decided to drop their branding in Korea for the Stinger ..............I wonder what they plan to do with it , or what they think the market response is vs Kia Stinger for the rest of the world . Theres more to this
That's true, not like the Riviera...
There is a good joke in your first line but I can’t commentI don't mind the lower parts being hard myself .... even my 1 Series BMW has fairly hard lower parts, even the entire lower part of the middle console etc.
But one thing you mention irritates me: The streering wheel center is really odd with it's hard palstic round shape. I geuss that's a candidate for aftermarket work
but I agree unfortunately most cars use the same consistency for the lower door panels, unless your buying a rolls Royce!Better than saying your soft bits lol
Yes, it just indicates that the car has a higher level of luxury. Back when the Buick Riviera was still roaming the streets - there were no Buick badges. Only a scriptish looking "R"...
Lol I noticed this as well.There is a good joke in your first line but I can’t comment
My question isnt the model , Stinger is their model name globally , lots opinions on why / what / how . But generally I think people are finding it a refreshing departure from alpha numeric branding (G70 etc ) ..................
