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2004 New York Auto Show: Kia
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| 2005 Kia Spectra5 |
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| Updated |
Mar 17, 2005 19:41:50 |
| Rating |
 431 ( -36 -8.35% ) | | Author | Christian Wardlaw |
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Description:
Question: What do Kia Motors North America President and CEO Peter Butterfield and pop music's Sugar Ray front man Mark McGrath have in common? Nope, not insatiable lust for Britney Spears. Huh-uh, not ownership of a brilliant orange Cadillac Escalade with 22-inch spinners and 10 LCD entertainment screens. Give up? Tattoos. And the 2005 Kia Spectra5.
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To kick off Kia's sponsorship of the latest Sugar Ray tour, the band came by the Kia booth during the unveiling of the new 2005 Kia Spectra5 hatchback at the 2004 New York Auto Show, and Butterfield took the wraps off of a temporary tattoo plastered onto his left bicep depicting the Sugar Ray and Kia logos. It was a somewhat cheesy end to two days of press conferences, but at least we got a chuckle out of it.
What's not funny is the 2005 Kia Spectra5. Think that name looks plenty like a recently deceased Mazda product? This new Kia looks like the Protege5, too, especially in the rear quarters.
"Frankly, it's just a cool car," enthused Butterfield. "It's going to appeal to Gen Y buyers. The all-new Spectra5 is going to be right where the action is." Fred Aikins, product strategy manager for Kia Motors America, added, "This is the sportiest Kia ever."
Here's what Kia thinks will draw the kids in droves. The 2005 Kia Spectra5 is powered by a 138-horsepower, 2.0-liter inline four-cylinder engine that is covered by a 10-year/100,000-mile warranty. That might not sound like much go-power to you, but the Spectra5 is relatively light, so the motor will feel pretty spunky, especially with the standard five-speed manual transmission.
Added to this zippy engine is a sport-tuned suspension, 16-inch alloy wheels wearing Goodyear performance tires, a strut tower bar under the hood to stiffen the front end and increase steering and handling responsiveness, and four-wheel-disc brakes.
The 2005 Kia Spectra5 is sporty looking, too, with a black mesh grille, fog lights, blackened headlamp bezels, a rear spoiler and a rear valence panel under the back bumper. Inside, the Spectra5 includes metal pedals, leather wrap for the steering wheel and gearshift knob, and metallic trim pieces.
Aside from performance and a racy appearance, the 2005 Spectra5 includes air conditioning, a six-speaker CD sound system, remote keyless entry, power windows, and power heated exterior mirrors. Top it all off with a five-year/60,000-mile bumper-to-bumper warranty and a half-decade unlimited mileage roadside assistance plan, and it's no wonder the twenty-something crowd will want to take a closer look.
What will the 2005 Kia Spectra5 cost? Prices were not announced, except to say that the car will be competitive with the Ford Focus ZX5, Toyota Matrix, and Mazda 3. We think that means you're paying about $16,500 for a well-equipped Spectra5.
Or you could pick up 1,650 copies of the latest Sugar Ray CD. Yeah, we think the car offers better value, too.
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