Weekly Recap: Kia forges fresh identity with LeBron James, racing and a luxury car

Filed under: Motorsports, SEMA Show, Marketing/Advertising, Chrysler, Jaguar, Kia, Design/Style, Luxury, Fiat

"The truth of the matter is we have some pretty damn good quality." - Michael Sprague

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Kia is on pace to post it best-ever sales year in the United States, yet executives admit the company is still hampered by the lingering memories of its old products, which were often viewed as cheap and unreliable.

"Quality continues to be an issue for us from a perception standpoint - not from a reality standpoint," said Michael Sprague, Kia's executive vice president of sales and marketing.

For emphasis he added: "The truth of the matter is we have some pretty damn good quality."

Scores from J.D. Power and others bear this out, though Kia is still frustrated that public perception has lagged. This has led to a number of high profile - and expensive - efforts to change the hearts and minds of consumers, including signing NBA mega star LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers as a spokesman. James, a noted car aficionado, is being used to pitch the K900, Kia's first luxury sedan. Though the K900 isn't expected to generate a large sales volume, Kia hopes the V8-powered, rear-wheel drive luxury car will burnish the brand's image.Continue reading Weekly Recap: Kia forges fresh identity with LeBron James, racing and a luxury car

Weekly Recap: Kia forges fresh identity with LeBron James, racing and a luxury car originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 08 Nov 2014 11:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.



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