[Number 3]

First, KIA is Hyundai. They are financially linked.

Second, I work with a young man from Korea who has friends working for Hyundai. They hold deisgn contests. The winner is a Hyundai....................second place is the KIA. 3rd hand, I know. But I trust the source.

Hyundai/Kia is doing some great things. Mass? Excellent. They are getting it there. Powertrain? For FE they are getting that too. The two combined make a car that drives pretty well. Sonata 36 and Elantra at 40 with no ECO package. Pretty darn impressive.

However, the folks I trust rate Hyundais (include KIAs) as pretty average to poor for ride, handling and NVH. Things GM is typically very good at and what makes the Cruze and Malibu such outstanding cars.

So the content GM puts into NVH, Ride and Handling, Hyundai is putting in to push button start and features/content.

So swoopy styling and a little better FE vs. refinement, ride and handling.

Also Hyundai has made pretty strong gains in quality at least as far as CR and JD Power. Begining to look more like a threat than the joke they were 10 years ago.