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Hands-On Defensive Driving Education For Teens And Their Parents

IRVINE, Calif., Oct. 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- B.R.A.K.E.S. (Be Responsible and Keep Everyone Safe), a non-profit that conducts free defensive driving classes for teens and their parents in cities nationwide, will come to the D.C., area for the first time on Oct. 15 & 16.  The classes, utilizing a fleet of vehicles provided by Kia Motors America (KMA), will serve as the unofficial start of National Teen Driver Safety Week, Oct. 16-22, an initiative designed to educate teen drivers on best practices to stay safe behind the wheel. The B.R.A.K.E.S. classes will be held at the Rosecroft Raceway in Fort Washington, Maryland.  Registration for the lifesaving instruction nationwide is available at PutOnTheBrakes.org/Schedule.

Participating teens and their parents will receive hands-on defensive driving education from B.R.A.K.E.S.' team of highly skilled professional instructors, which includes current and former race car drivers, stunt drivers and law-enforcement training officers. Instruction includes a distracted driving course, emergency braking practice using anti-lock braking systems, evasive maneuvering and skid-control. The program adheres to a low three-to-one student-to-teacher ratio to ensure personal attention is provided to every driver. Parents also participate in the courses to ensure proper driving techniques are reinforced following the training.As the Official Vehicle and presenting sponsor of the B.R.A.K.E.S. Teen Pro-Active Driving School, Kia provides a fleet of more than 44 vehicles. With Kia's support, B.R.A.K.E.S. continues to increase the number of schools offered and expand into new markets.

"Car crashes are the number-one cause of death among teens in this country, and we started B.R.A.K.E.S. eight years ago to deal with this nationwide epidemic," said Doug Herbert, who founded B.R.A.K.E.S. in 2008, after he lost his two young sons in a tragic car crash. "After years of hard work, we recently trained our 20,000th student, and the program continues to build momentum. We're thrilled to be able to bring B.R.A.K.E.S. to our Nation's Capital for the first time, and to be part of National Teen Driver Safety Week, which will help educate even more teens and prepare them for emergency situations that they'll face on the roads."

As the Official Vehicle and presenting sponsor of the B.R.A.K.E.S. Teen Pro-Active Driving School, Kia provides a fleet of more than 44 vehicles. With Kia's support, B.R.A.K.E.S. continues to increase the number of schools offered and expand into new markets."Kia places a priority on vehicle safety, and our partnership with B.R.A.K.E.S. reflects our commitment to keeping drivers safe on the road, which begins with practical, hands-on driving experience," said Michael Sprague, chief operating officer and EVP, KMA. "The B.R.A.K.E.S. program has been proven to improve driving skills and help teens make better decisions when behind the wheel."

To finish out the 2016 calendar year, additional B.R.A.K.E.S. courses will be held in major east-coast markets, including: Orlando, Florida; Englishtown, New Jersey; Hazel Park, Michigan; Concord, North Carolina; and Knoxville, Tennessee.  Full details for each upcoming B.R.A.K.E.S. course can be found by visiting putonthebrakes.org.

The four-hour B.R.A.K.E.S. programs begin with a classroom session followed by behind-the-wheel driving exercises, including panic braking, crash avoidance and car control, and distracted driving avoidance, all free of charge and taught by professional instructors.

The B.R.A.K.E.S. training curriculum includes the following:

• Crash Avoidance/Slalom: This forces students to make a split-second decision to execute a quick, evasive lane change when encountering an unexpected object without losing control of the vehicle. Students must navigate their vehicle around cones while focusing on weight transfer, hand positioning and eye scanning.
• Distracted Driving: The course demonstrates the danger that cell phones, text messaging, and other distractions can pose while driving.
• Drop Wheel/Off Road Recovery: The drop-wheel recovery course teaches students how to effectively recover when one or more of their wheels veers off the road surface and onto the shoulder, regaining control of the car and safely returning to the roadway.
• Panic Stop: The panic-stop course instructs students on proper braking techniques to help stop a vehicle in the shortest distance possible while maintaining control. Students and their parents experience firsthand the pulsating brake pedal effects of Antilock Brake Systems (ABS) and how to control the vehicle when ABS is engaged.
• Car Control and Recovery: A wet skid pad simulates wet-road conditions. Students learn how to recover from both oversteer (rear wheel) and understeer (front wheel) skids.
• Other learning experiences vary by school but can include an eye-opening view from the driver's seat of a big-rig truck with a discussion about safe zones and blind spots, as well as demonstrations from police and fire-rescue agencies.

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New Kia Soul price revealed

Kia has cut the price of its update Soul crossover in an attempt to increase sales above the paltry 65 units sold up to the end of September this year.

The rejuvenated Soul will now be priced from $24,990 drive away compared to its previous position of $26,990 plus on-road costs, a significant saving of almost $6000.

2017 Kia Soul. Photo: Supplied

A range of exterior design tweaks have been undertaken to help bring the Soul into line with the rest of the car makers range and include a new grille, bumper, air takes, fog lamps and wheels.

While on the inside the the Soul has had a reworked front fascia, cloth door trim, seat covers and now features a 5.0-inch screen and drive select modes.

Kia has also reduced the cost of paint options with single tone metallic paints costing $520 and two models - with contrast roof and body colours - costing $390 for non-metallic white and red paint and $910 for metallic red and black paintwork.

The Soul is still powered by the same 113kW/191Nm 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol engine which is mated to a six-speed automatic transmission.

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Kia Motors America September Sales Continue Winning Streak

Over and over again, it seems like The News Wheel has to publish an article about Kia’s increasingly awesome sales—and the South Korean carmaker’s September 2016 sales are no different. For the ninth month in a row, Kia Motors America has posted a sales gain.

This September sales increase means that Kia has officially posted its highest sales total through the first three quarters in company history. With a total of 49,220 units sold in September, Kia saw a 3.3% year-to-date increase.

“On the strength of double digit gains for the Rio, Forte, Sportage, and Sedona nameplates through the first nine months of the year, Kia’s upward trajectory continues despite the industry showing signs of little growth,” said Michael Sprague, chief operating officer and EVP for Kia Motors America.

While the Rio, Forte, Sportage, and Sedona all saw double-digit gains last month, the true heroes of Kia’s September sales were the Forte and Sportage. With a total of 8,256 units, the Kia Forte subcompact saw an increase over last year’s total sales of 5,388. The Kia Sportage crossover sold a total of 6,282 units, which was also a significant increase over last year’s total sales of 4,012.

As for the year-to-date sales, Kia continues to come out on top. At this time last year, the carmaker had sold a total of 475,980 units in the United States. This year, it has sold a total of 491,764. It looks like Kia won’t be stopping its upwards trajectory anytime soon.

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Kia cars to drive off and park themselves within 5 years

Autonomous self-parking tech will be available on new Kias by 2021 and we’ve seen it in action

Automatic valet parking will be available on new Kia models from 2021 as the South Korean firm moves closer to its target of a fully autonomous car by 2030. 

The auto-parking tech is currently being tested on a Kia Soul EV and we jumped in the passenger seat to try it out at Kia’s Central Advanced Research and Engineering Institute on the outskirts of Seoul.

Activated via a mobile app or smart key, the Soul uses a range of RADAR and LiDAR cameras to navigate to a nearby parking garage before finding an empty space to park in. 

The technology allows you to turn up at the door of your office, hop out and send your car off to park on its own before collecting it at the end of the day. We stayed in the vehicle for our parking test to see how it got on, although we left the driver seat empty so we weren’t tempted to take over control.

There was really no need, though, as it drove from outside on the street and down into a basement car park, before reversing into a bay. It even paused to straighten up. 

One of the biggest restrictions to the roll-out of the auto valet parking is the requirement to have car parks electronically mapped. This could mean it’s limited to office car parks or large public lots at first.

This Soul EV is just one of 20 models Kia is currently testing around the world under its Drive Wise sub brand that was launched last year. The firm has invested billions into the development of sensors and radars as well as vehicle-to-infrastructure tech as it looks to become a “global leader” for autonomous driving. 

The model also features traffic jam assist and auto lane change with Kia promising this type of functionality on partially autonomous models from 2020 – the same year it expects to have a mass-produced FCEV for sale. 

And while some manufacturers claim they’ll have a fully autonomous car available within the next five years, Kia remains set on a longer 2030 goal. Senior research engineer Jeongwoo Lee added: “Customer acceptance and liability will be challenging.”

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Kia Soul Turbo: The Sporty Box

Kia’s Soul is one of the most original vehicles on the road today: its boxy shape makes it very unique and practical, while it’s frugal engine and low entry price point makes it quite popular here.

For those who complained that the small vehicle lacked some grunt off the line, Kia launched a new variant at the Paris Auto Show. With a turbocharged 1.6-litre four-cylinder mill borrowed from the Hyundai Veloster Turbo, the Kia Soul SX now has 201 horsepower on tap.

This is 37 more than the most powerful engine currently offered in the Soul.

This new engine gets a seven-speed, dual-clutch automatic transmission; there was no mention of a manual gearbox, but since there is one offered in other vehicles with this turbocharged engine, it stands to reason that we should eventually see one.

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IIHS TOP SAFETY PICK+ award goes to the 2017 Kia Sedona

The addition of optional automatic braking technology has qualified the 2017 Kia Sedona for the highest award from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).

Like earlier models, the minivan earned good ratings across the board in IIHS crashworthiness evaluations. The addition of autobrake boosts its front crash prevention rating from basic to superior.

In IIHS track tests at 12 mph and 25 mph, a Sedona equipped with the new front crash prevention system avoided collisions. The system also includes a forward collision warning component that meets National Highway Traffic Safety Administration criteria.

To qualify for 2016 TOP SAFETY PICK+, a vehicle must earn good ratings in the small overlap front, moderate overlap front, side, roof strength, and head restraint tests.

It also must earn an advanced or superior rating for front crash prevention.

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