Weekly Recap: Kia forges fresh identity with LeBron James, racing and a luxury car
 

<p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/motorsports/" rel="tag">Motorsports</a>, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/sema/" rel="tag">SEMA Show</a>, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/marketing-advertising/" rel="tag">Marketing/Advertising</a>, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/chrysler/" rel="tag">Chrysler</a>, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/jaguar/" rel="tag">Jaguar</a>, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/kia/" rel="tag">Kia</a>, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/design-style/" rel="tag">Design/Style</a>, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/luxury/" rel="tag">Luxury</a>, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/fiat/" rel="tag">Fiat</a></p><a href="/2014/11/07/weekly-recap-kia-forges-fresh-identity-with-lebron-james-racin/#continued"><img alt="Lebron James 2015 Kia K900" data-caption="Lebron James 2015 Kia K900" data-credit="Kia" data-credit-link-back="undefined" data-mep="549152" src="http://o.aolcdn.com/dims-shared/dims3/GLOB/crop/628x417+0+0/resize/628x417!/format/jpg/quality/85/http://o.aolcdn.com/hss/storage/midas/3e6e744c748d2a317e182eba0 2353fa3/201053843/9452_LEBRON_JAMES_SHINES_ THE_SPOTLIGHT_ON_KIA_S_FL AGSHIP_SEDAN_AS_THE_BRAND _S.jpg" /></a><br />
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<blockquote class="pull-quote pull-quote-right">
<p>"The truth of the matter is we have some pretty damn good quality." - Michael Sprague</p>
</blockquote>
<a href="http://www.autoblog.com/kia/">Kia</a> is on pace to post it best-ever <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2014/11/03/october-2014-by-the-numbers/">sales</a> year in the United States, yet executives admit the company is <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2014/10/11/kia-brand-perception-lags-behind-reality/">still hampered</a> by the lingering memories of its old products, which were often viewed as cheap and unreliable.<br />
<br />
"Quality continues to be an issue for us from a perception standpoint - not from a reality standpoint," said Michael Sprague, Kia's executive vice president of sales and marketing.<br />
<br />
For emphasis he added: "The truth of the matter is we have some pretty damn good quality."<br />
<br />
Scores from J.D. Power and others bear this out, though Kia is still frustrated that public perception has lagged. This has led to a number of high profile - and expensive - efforts to change the hearts and minds of consumers, including <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2014/10/17/lebron-james-kia-k900-brand-ambassador/">signing NBA mega star LeBron James</a> of the Cleveland Cavaliers as a spokesman. James, a noted car aficionado, is being used to pitch the <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2014/01/29/2015-kia-k900-review-first-drive/">K900</a>, Kia's first luxury sedan. Though the K900 isn't expected to generate a large sales volume, Kia hopes the <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2014/11/05/kia-k900-650hp-sema-2014/">V8-powered</a>, rear-wheel drive luxury car will burnish the brand's image.<p><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2014/11/08/weekly-recap-kia-forges-fresh-identity-with-lebron-james-racin/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>Weekly Recap: Kia forges fresh identity with LeBron James, racing and a luxury car</em></a></p><p style="padding:5px;backgr ound:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2014/11/08/weekly-recap-kia-forges-fresh-identity-with-lebron-james-racin/">Weekly Recap: Kia forges fresh identity with LeBron James, racing and a luxury car</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.autoblog.com">Autoblo g</a> on Sat, 08 Nov 2014 11:02:00 EST. Please see our <a href="/rss-term-of-use/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2014/11/08/weekly-recap-kia-forges-fresh-identity-with-lebron-james-racin/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.autoblog.com/forward/20990323/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2014/11/08/weekly-recap-kia-forges-fresh-identity-with-lebron-james-racin/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>

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