Kia undecided on 2nd Generation Stinger

[19GT-AWD]

It would only be "bad" if it didn't look good on the car. Will wait for unmasked version before deciding ...

 

[General_Vodka]

Next stinger will be a rear engine supercharged 2.0 four banger, dual electric motor in the front, AWD, convertible coupe hybrid beast thing. With VTEC. You heard it here first.
Source: me

 

[StingerLover]

Next stinger will be a rear engine supercharged 2.0 four banger, dual electric motor in the front, AWD, convertible coupe hybrid beast thing. With VTEC. You heard it here first.
Source: me

A little too much Vodka?

 

[General_Vodka]

A little too much Vodka?

Well within the limit officer !













•••ps I want a stinger wagon

 

[RVance]

Jason Cammisa's column in the October '19 Road and Track is an excellent rant on the state of the market in America. Decrying the lack of availability of sport wagons, sedans, hot hatches, etc. and the proliferation of SUV's, he blames the dealerships for establishing a "feedback loop responsible for the homogeneity of the American car market." The dealers (not the customers) are the ones who order vehicles from the factory, and they like to sell the bigger margin, loaded SUV's. And the factories provide more incentives to help them along. So the same people who measure performance by rows of seating, cup holders, and cargo capacity dictate what is available here. Whereas in Europe, customers order exactly what they want from the factories. Which might also explain Europe's affinity for their own German brands. They can get just what they want. When I "ordered" my Stinger GT2 AWD WTF, it was driven 250 miles (unbeknownst to me) from a dealer in Oakland, CA. So I bought a slightly used car (take it or leave it), but I'm glad I did.

 

[MerlintheMad]

Ummm, is this good or bad for the Stinger? https://thekoreancarblog.com/2019/09/23/next-gen-kia-optima-spied-with-stinger-mirrors/
Next-gen Kia Optima Spied with Stinger Mirrors

I don't get what you're on about. Mirrors? What about the rest of the car? The engines are the only specific mentioned: and they have nothing in common with what is under the hood of a Stinger. The Optima will remain FWD. So, no comparison at all. Mirrors could even be "CF" and this would not impact the Stinger in anyway.

 

[NS_Stinger]

I don't get what you're on about. Mirrors? What about the rest of the car? The engines are the only specific mentioned: and they have nothing in common with what is under the hood of a Stinger. The Optima will remain FWD. So, no comparison at all. Mirrors could even be "CF" and this would not impact the Stinger in anyway.

I assume he's suggesting that KIA could discontinue the Stinger but canabilize it's design using it on the Optima and other models. That would suck and basically erase the "halo" status of the car. I don't see that happening though, as the Stinger is more closely related to the Genesis than anything in the existing KIA lineup.

 

[westcoastGT]

I assume he's suggesting that KIA could discontinue the Stinger but canabilize it's design using it on the Optima and other models. That would suck and basically erase the "halo" status of the car. I don't see that happening though, as the Stinger is more closely related to the Genesis than anything in the existing KIA lineup.

I think Kia has borrowed design ques from the Stinger and applied them to several of their cars already , look at the Forte and Sportage as examples, they will keep the design language and possibly discontinue the car ..............but if you consider the Cadenza , it was a much worse sales performer and it made it to Gen 2 ..........the difference now is the HUGE success they are having with their SUV lineup esp Telluride , the Sorento is being completely redesigned from the ground up and they have the Mohave coming as well ..............the logistics of "too many" models impacts production right through to showroom space .......................If they transitioned the Stinger to a Genesis ( G70 GC ) it might work . Kind of a BMW strategy where they have the 4 series sedan and 4 series Grand Coupe . I could imagine that working , but again Genesis is betting heavy with SUVs and will launch 3 new entries in the next 2 years .......................its a tough call ..................emotionally I'm sure they want to keep it , from a financial perspective the Stinger is probably a boat anchor ...................

 

[TwiceStung]

A little too much Vodka?

I’ll have what he’s having........

 

[19GT-AWD]

Next stinger will be a rear engine supercharged 2.0 four banger, dual electric motor in the front, AWD, convertible coupe hybrid beast thing. With VTEC. You heard it here first.
Source: me

Ummm ... sign me up? lol

 

[Peeso33]

I don't get what you're on about. Mirrors? What about the rest of the car? The engines are the only specific mentioned: and they have nothing in common with what is under the hood of a Stinger. The Optima will remain FWD. So, no comparison at all. Mirrors could even be "CF" and this would not impact the Stinger in anyway.

Afraid of the cannibalization of the Stinger design, platform, and parts. Exactly what NS_stinger said.

 

[Ty Davis]

My concern is that with Kia “undecided” as to whether or not they will produce a next gen Stinger...
Are they investing an adequate amount of dollars into the next gen?
By now, the all new Stinger should be at a fairly advanced stage of development. Multiple prototypes should be in testing by now. Massive amounts of R&D dollars should have already been spent.

But, I find it hard to fathom that Kia is investing a (relatively) significant amount of dollars into a model they know they might not even sell after this current iteration.
Hopefully if we do get a 2nd gen, it won’t be the same chassis with a new body.
That being said, Kia already has most of what it needs to step this platform in the corporate parts bin.
G70 parts, Aussie Gt parts, even Euro parts are an upgrade. Add in some sound deadening and tighter quality control (fit/finish) and the Stinger may actually get away with just a newly styled body. Maybe with the G70 (and to a lesser degree, the G80) sharing the same platform, Hyundai/Kia group isn’t shy about investing dollars into the platform, despite an uncertainty about the Stingers future. The other models will most surely survive.

Whatever the case, I believe Kia knows whether they will make a 2nd gen or not.
Could this announcement be just a ploy to drive sales?
Surely they’ve heard people’s (and blogs) quandaries about the Stingers future status as a “collectible”.
I don’t think it will be, but I’d love to be proven wrong. ()

Most companies don’t like to publicly share info about a models demise, until it is officially on the chopping block.

I’d love to see a new Stinger in 2022/2023. So I’ll be patiently waiting to see what happens.

 

[RVance]

I think Kia has borrowed design ques from the Stinger and applied them to several of their cars already , look at the Forte and Sportage as examples, they will keep the design language and possibly discontinue the car ..............but if you consider the Cadenza , it was a much worse sales performer and it made it to Gen 2 ..........the difference now is the HUGE success they are having with their SUV lineup esp Telluride , the Sorento is being completely redesigned from the ground up and they have the Mohave coming as well ..............the logistics of "too many" models impacts production right through to showroom space .......................If they transitioned the Stinger to a Genesis ( G70 GC ) it might work . Kind of a BMW strategy where they have the 4 series sedan and 4 series Grand Coupe . I could imagine that working , but again Genesis is betting heavy with SUVs and will launch 3 new entries in the next 2 years .......................its a tough call ..................emotionally I'm sure they want to keep it , from a financial perspective the Stinger is probably a boat anchor ...................

I looked at the (even porkier) Genesis G80 Sport and decided the Stinger was the better car for me. And I do hope the Stinger stays in the Kia stable. While I like the Genesis concept, I'm semi-disturbed that they felt it necessary to copy the Bentley badge to make their case. I'm happy that my Kia badges confuse and confound the car-curious public who riddle me with questions. But I could never tolerate a pair of flying Bentley wings on my rice rocket.

 

[NS_Stinger]

Maybe KIA will take the Jeep Wrangler approach and only do a refresh every decade haha

 

[westcoastGT]

Maybe KIA will take the Jeep Wrangler approach and only do a refresh every decade haha

I think they will try some very intersting things for the refresh if they believe its a last ditch effort ( beyond body tweeks )

 

[Manaz]

The pricing is fine, it's the lower end models w/ the base 2.0T engine which doesn't sell.

Precisely my point - the pricing strategy across the entire range needs adjustment. The price for the GT is fine, but they need to drag the starting price for the range down, at least in our local market here.

Right now, the base Stinger sits at least $5k north of other (and better specced) "large family sedans" in the market - Camry, Accord, Commodore, etc

It is at least $5k more than sporty cars - Toyota FT86/Subaru BRZ, WRX, Golf GTI, etc.

It sits on no-man's land - too expensive to compete in either market, and a 2.5L turbo engine won't fix that.

Dropping the price of the base Stinger would give Kia an opportunity to gain something they're simply not getting at present - sales volume. Sales volume will increase awareness of the vehicle because there's more of them on the roads. Increased awareness will lead to more sales.

Right now, you can get a fully loaded Optima GT for $45k on road, and the base Stinger for $50k on road (both before negotiating). The Optima is basically the same size, has the same engine, is potentially a little faster (FWD is more efficient, it potentially weighs less) and it's species up substantially over a base Stinger 200S.

Stinger already outsells Optima 3:1 - they'd be much better to sell more Stingers (there is an untapped RWD family car demographic still floating around here, who have been forced into FWD cars against their wishes).

A RWD sedan in the low to mid $40k price range (it can't be unprofitable - if they can sell a loaded up Optima for that price, a base-model Stinger will be costing Kia less) would be a great thing in the market, and offer Kia a real differentiator over their competitors, as well as tap a currently untapped demographic.

 

[RVance]

Right now, you can get a fully loaded Optima GT for $45k on road, and the base Stinger for $50k on road (both before negotiating). The Optima is basically the same size, has the same engine, is potentially a little faster (FWD is more efficient, it potentially weighs less) and it's species up substantially over a base Stinger 200S.



The stateside Optima is not available with the 3.3 TT engine. But the rest of what you say makes sense in an upside down kinda way. Oh... you meant the turbo 4? If so, the base Stinger with that motor is way cheaper than $45k- $50K.

 

[Manaz]

No, our Optima GT is a 2.0L turbo as well - exactly the same engine as the 2.0L turbo Stinger.

 

[RVance]

No, our Optima GT is a 2.0L turbo as well - exactly the same engine as the 2.0L turbo Stinger.

I edited my remarks when I re-read...

 

[MerlintheMad]

The stateside Optima is not available with the 3.3 TT engine. But the rest of what you say makes sense in an upside down kinda way.

Oh. Here I've been thinking that I read somewhere that the top trim (SX?) of the Optima had a 6cyl engine and turbos: and when I saw an Optima with twin exhaust pipes I was seeing one of those up-engined Optimas. (The sins of a "not a car guy" ) But, having admitted that: what is the difference between single and double exhaust pipes on the Optima trims? An Optima S, for instance, usually shows twin exhaust pipes; but some have only a single pipe. https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/...i1SmG5-a6dtlYx3UUYDdC7Vif0Ta4_AozAQ4URN5g2cAQ