I enjoy an occasional...
I enjoy an occasional early morning ritual of reading newspapers, post and E-mail while negotiating a giant, freshly cooked breakfast at the Village Market Pump and Grille located in "my" quiet, car-mad corner of the US. The modest little eatery conveniently sits a few minutes" drive away from my humble States-based office and studio, which is also home for my faithful and astonishingly fault-free 10-year-old 4.0-litre Jeep Cherokee. Crude but strangely appealing, the US box on wheels is still very efficient and reliable - despite the fact that I abuse it terribly and often park it up, exposed to the elements, for months on end.
If you want help selling...
If you want help selling your Soul, who better to lend a hand than Lotus? Kia has turned to the legendary engineering firm to work its magic on its forthcoming supermini-MPV.
We drove the car in October 2008. In response to our findings, Norfolk based Lotus has been quietly creating a unique ride and handling package to help the new car cope with British roads. ň€śThis is the first Kia to have been developed specifically with UK drivers in mind,ň€ť said a spokesman.
ň€śIt has secretly been on test here since late 2008, and evaluation has been fed back to the factory in Korea, as well as to research and development teams in Europe.ň€ť Kia claims Lotusň€™ input has resulted in changes to the suspension settings.
ň€śThese mean the Soul is more compliant with UK roads, adding refinement to the ride, yet allowing the dampers to do more work under the chassis,ň€ť the spokesman added. He told us the result is one of the most complete cars Kia has produced, with individual suspension set-ups for Europe, the US and UK. The car arrives in showrooms here in March ň€“ but it wonň€™t be the only collaboration between Kia and Proton-owned Lotus.
The two firms joined forces when buying the rights to the Elan in the mid-Nineties, and the Kia spokesman continued: ň€śAll models heading for the UK market will get individual attention from Lotus as part of the final tuning package.ň€ť
A replacement for the Sorento SUV and a new mini-MPV are both due here later this year.