By John LeBlanc for MSN Autos

Among the annual “big” international auto shows, stereotypically, the Los Angeles gig is about “green” cars, the Detroit circus is about “power”, the Geneva salon is about “exotics” and the New York event focuses on “traditional American luxury.” And while both Cadillac (with its new 2014 CTS) and Buick (with its refreshed Regal and LaCrosse) will be showing off new versions of their traditional American luxury sedans, the relatively fresh genre of crossovers will dominate the debuts during this week's Big Apple media days.

By Dale Jewett, AutoWeek

Kia is priming the pump for its reveal at the Geneva motor show in March with a few shots of its concept car.

Naturally, it's not giving out many details at the moment. It's obvious that it's a small car -- Kia calls it an urban concept car. The automaker notes in its press release that the "signature tiger nose morphs into a mischievous yet friendly grille and headlight arrangement, coupled with strong styling lines that exude speed and energy from every angle."

By Mark Atkinson for MSN Autos

Remember the negative-style rendering we showed you back in July of the upcoming Rondo Kia would be showing in Paris? Well, we finally have our hands on some 'real' images of what the people-mover will look like when it hits the street.

Obviously, the design between these and the upcoming Forte line is very strong, but don't forget that the Rondo will still be a five- or seven-seater mini-minivan. We'd guess the optional V6 is as dead as the original Rondo, leaving a regular and turbocharged four-cylinder as the prime motivators. 

No photos of the interior yet, but we'd guess it'll be done in typical new-Kia blacks and greys with good materials and a European flair.

So given that the second-gen Rondo is almost certainly coming to Canada, if you were in the market for a mini-mini, which one would you choose? The Mazda5 with its convenienet sliding doors and athletic responses, the Chevrolet Orlando with the most room and quieter cabin, or the Rondo?

Let us know.

By John LeBlanc for MSN Autos Canada

The last long-weekend of the summer is upon us. Then it’s back to work or school for most Canadians, as yet another summer has come to an end. For new car dealers, it’s time to start stocking up on the new 2013 model-year inventories. But some new cars won’t be returning.

Here’s a list of new vehicles that are being canned for 2013. Let us know which—if any—you’ll miss as they drive off into the sunset:

By John LeBlanc for MSN Autos Canada

Along with a high-performance version of its subcompact box-on-wheels, the above headline is the question Kia will ask soon enough, as the Korean automaker ramps up for the launch of its second-generation Soul family next year.

By Mark Atkinson for MSN Autos Canada

Last week, we had some typically optimistic renderings of the new 2013 Kia Forte before its big debut at this year's Los Angeles Auto Show. But as with most things nowadays, car companies somehow feel the need to take most of the suspense away by releasing official images weeks or months ahead of time...

So here we are: 'real' photos of the Forte (known as the K3 in Korea and Cerato everywhere else). Although the current Forte is handsome enough, the new one takes plenty of cues from the smaller Rio and larger Optima and will feature LED lights front and rear. The new Forte grows in nearly every direction except height - it's lower than the current car. A longer wheelbase will provide more rear-seat room too. 

Kia promises class-leading fuel economy with a new generation of engines, but we've already seen those in its corporate Hyundai Elantra sibling. Direct-injection four-cylinders of 1.8 litres with 148 horsepower and six-speed transmissions. 

Meanwhile, over at Mazda, company bosses posed for photos at the plant in Japan where the latest 6 is going into production. The pictures also included a side-view of the shapely Mazda6 Wagon that continues to be available in markets other than North America. Perhaps we can convince Mazda Canada to test the waters again? It's a gorgeous design, and with the possibility of SKYACTIV turbo-diesel power, we'd be more than pleased. What do you think?

For more info on the new Mazda6 Sedan, check out this post from last week.

By Mark Atkinson for MSN Autos

Kia's approach to introducing the Rondo consisted of just putting them into showrooms with little or no promotion and let word of mouth bring potential customers through the doors. It seems to have worked, especially in Canada where the Rondo is one of only three offerings in the mini-minivan segment, the others being the Mazda5 and the Chevrolet Orlando.

And while it's certainly hard to make a one-box design attractive, the Rondo is certainly the homeliest...

No more, though. Kia released a couple images of its upcoming redesign that'll break cover at the Paris Motor Show this September. Based on the renderings, it appears to be lower, sleeker and prettier, taking design cues from the most recent Kia family additions, including 18-inch wheels.

We can certainly expect the option of five or seven seats, a family-friendly layout and storage cubbies and cup holders galore. We'd bet heavily on an all-four-cylinder direct-injection engine lineup; probably the Forte's 1.8-litre as the 'base' cars with a 2.4-litre with around 200 horsepower as an option?

We'll give you full details and better photos when the Rondo makes its official debut.

By Mark Atkinson for MSN Autos

The compact Kia Forte was the first product in the company's renewed range that made us sit up and perhaps take the Korean automaker seriously. No longer just a set of wheels or basic transportation, the Forte was aimed directly at the Honda Civic in style and performance while bettering the Japanese in value for money. Canadians took notice and the Forte has been a strong seller here since it replaced the unloved Spectra in 2008. It's been a global hit too with over a half-million finding homes around the world in 2011 alone. 

Time for a serious update, then.

Kia plans to give the latest Forte its own dose of corporate styling that's been so successful on the Optima and Rio and crib less from Honda's handbook. While automaker sketches rarely translate into such dynamic designs when those vehicles hit production, they do serve to give us a hint of what to expect...

Mechanically, the Forte will share the same mechanicals as its award-winning Hyundai Elantra cousin, meaning a direct-injection 1.8-litre four-cylinder with around 150 horsepower and six-speed transmissions. Like the newly expanded Elantra line, which features a five-door GT and two-door coupe alongside the original four-door sedan, expect all Forte models (including Koup and Forte5) to eventually hit dealerships suitably updated.

Kia promises it'll preview the 2014 Forte at this fall's Los Angeles Auto Show, and we'd expect sales to start sometime early in 2013.

By Jake Lingeman, AutoWeek

The Kia K9 sedan went on sale in South Korea on Wednesday. Kia's first rear-wheel-drive vehicle comes equipped with a V6 and an eight-speed transmission. The K9 also introduces some features for Kia that will trickle down to other models.

The K9 is based on the Hyundai Genesis and is the biggest sedan to roll out of Kia's factory. The engine and the A-pillar are pushed back, accentuating the long hood and the short front overhang. Kia says the K9 has a large “prestige distance,” which is the distance between the center of the front wheel and the A-pillar. It's an indicator of luxury.

The K9 sedan is a big car with a large cabin. From the outside, it bests the BMW 5-series and the Jaguar XF in length, width and height.

By John LeBlanc for MSN Autos Canada

GENEVA – Here we go again—another Geneva auto show, another batch of new wagon debuts that will never make the trip across the Atlantic Ocean to Canada.

At the close of the first media day at the 82^nd Geneva Motor Show, let me start with what I think was the most beautiful new wagon introduced here: the Jaguar XF Sportbrake (above) a more spacious (and to my eye, better-looking) version of the existing XF mid-size sedan. But don’t get too excited. Jaguar doesn’t have any plans to bring it to Canada, despite having natural rivals like the Cadillac CTS and Mercedes-Benz E-Class wagons.