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Kia's Names New Midsize Sedan 'Optima'

28 July 2000

    IRVINE, Calif. - Kia's new 2001 midsize sedan, set to be unveiled in October 
at the South Florida Auto Show in Miami, will be called Optima.  The new 
model is scheduled to go on sale in December.
    
    Optima, the biggest and most luxurious Kia to reach American soil, will
come with either a 2.4-liter, four-cylinder engine or a 2.5-liter V6.  The
standard four-cylinder engine is expected to produce 149 horsepower, while the
optional V6 is expected to produce 170 horsepower.

    "Most people in the focus groups associated the name with being optimal,
outstanding or top of the line," said Dick Macedo, Kia's executive vice
president of marketing and sales.  "They thought the name was very appropriate
for the way the car looked."

    The introduction of the Kia Optima will conclude the most ambitious year
in Kia's brief history in America.  In May, Kia introduced the Spectra
hatchback sedan and, in August, the company will launch the Rio subcompact
sedan.

    Kia Motors America is the sales, distribution and service arm of Kia
Motors Corp. in Seoul, South Korea.