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The huge banner promotes the 2019 Kia Telluride as the Motor Trend sport utility vehicle of the year. It’s a perfect marketing location for the manufacturer since the signage is hanging above the Los Angeles Convention Center, the site of the 2019 LA Auto Show.
Named the 2020 SUV of the year, the Telluride also has a new stablemate, the 2021 Kia Seltos. It’s positioned between the Kia Soul and Sportage as an entry-level SUV.
Michael Cole, the newly named President of Kia Motors America, is our guest on Day 2 of The Weekly Driver Podcast special episodes from the LA Auto Show.
Co-host Bruce Aldrich and James Raia speak with Cole about two hours after he presided over the reveal of the Seltos to a large crowd of media representatives on Day 2 of this year’s show.
While seated in a conference room overlooking a showroom floor, we discuss with Cole the anticipated debut of the entry-level SUV.
According to Kia, the Seltos “combines the SUV capability of available All-Wheel Drive with advanced driver assistance technologies, available Bose premium sound and exceptional cargo space.”
While the price of the Seltos hasn’t been announced, it’s expected to debut next February.
Cole also discusses the history of Kia, how the company decided on its new SUV’s name, the status of the industry and the continuing popularity of the SUV segment.
Kia hasn’t announced its plans for the electric or autonomous vehicle segment but Cole commented: “We’ll be ready, rest assured.”
Join us for an engaging episode. Cole is enthusiastic and optimistic about the future of Kia. And he convinced us.
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Article Last Updated: November 20, 2019.
- About the Author
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A sports, travel and business journalist for more than 45 years, James has written the new car review column The Weekly Driver since 2004.
In addition to founding this site in 2004, James writes a Sunday automotive column for The San Jose Mercury and East Bay Times in Walnut Creek, Calif., and monthly auto review and wellness columns for Gulfshore Business, a magazine in Southwest Florida.
An author and contributor to many newspapers, magazines and online publications, co-hosted The Weekly Driver Podcast from 2017 to 2024.
