KIA SOUL CONCEPT (OR FULL-ON PRODUCTION PROTOTYPE?)
Kia said many months ago that their ‘Soul’ crossover is now in the product pipeline, with a sales launch in the US slated for late 2008. The Soul was originally unveiled as a concept car during the 2006 Detroit Auto Show. The car on display at the LA Auto Show was called, still, a ‘concept’, so if the company has run into production problems or money problems with the Soul is not known, at least not publicly as yet. Stuck in a small corner of the LA Convention Center, in fact in the spot where Audi’s large, two-story display had been for many years, Kia, the Korean step-child of its parent company, Hyundai, was this year ensconced. Audi had moved across the aisle from their original location, and the square feet Audi took-up this year seemed less than half of what they had paid-for in past shows. Nevertheless, Kia’s two concept cars caught the attention of show-goers who might have wandered into the Kia display while looking for a rest room. This “Scion xB”-looking vehicle was called (
