Kia Stinger Declining Sales

[Rob M]

Seen plenty of dogs driving Subaru’s and similar. Least on TV. Can’t seem to teach my Dobie to do that.

I heard that in New Zealand they've entirely scrapped the idea of driverless vehicles. Here's a video of a typical cab service there:

 

[TwiceStung]

I heard that in New Zealand they've entirely scrapped the idea of driverless vehicles. Here's a video of a typical cab service there:

As long as the girl comes with the car, I’m in.

 

[Mike_TX]

As for sales of the 2.0 vs the 3.3, the preponderance of 3.3 sales underscores the fact Stinger buyers are mostly there for max performance. I still personally think the 2.0 is WAY underrated, and it makes for a great GT car as well as a really good car for scooting around on urban roads and freeways.

Drop the new 2.5-liter in (which I expect them to do) and 290-300hp is going to make it even more attractive. Dropping the turbo 4 from the Stinger would be a really poor decision right now IMO.

 

[westcoastGT]

I cannot disagree. But I think all (most) on this forum would agree that the stinger platform is generations ahead of what most people still think of when they hear “Kia”. Just a shame that Kia doesn’t want more people to know this.

And they may be counting on us to keep the car relevant and intriquing ...........................

 

[50StingerGT2]

So the Stinger market in the non-Korean markets is....under advertised, limited, not known? However, I enlisted my Korean buddy to help me search for what the ROK is doing with the Stinger, and it’s staggering. The Korean’s are not posting their content for the world to see, just their market. This car is not going away, production wise, from what I’ve seen on their home market. There is a massive following in their country, which almost makes me think that we (non-ROK) are an after thought.

I wish I could link examples, but, not being able to read Hangul, I’m not able to communicate and/or join the Korean forums. I’ll see if my buddy can help me out with some more info.

 

[eljay]

I enlisted my Korean buddy to help me search for what the ROK is doing with the Stinger, and it’s staggering. The Korean’s are not posting their content for the world to see, just their market.

Kia sponsored the Blackpink tour and did videos for various models, including Stinger. Egads, now I know I'm really old, since these K-pop stars were completely off my radar, even though they drew 20,000 to the Forum, a half-hour drive from my house.

Never saw any promotion for the tour, but this video was on YouTube.

 

[TwiceStung]

Kia sponsored the Blackpink tour and did videos for various models, including Stinger. Egads, now I know I'm really old, since these K-pop stars were completely off my radar, even though they drew 20,000 to the Forum, a half-hour drive from my house.
View attachment 38053
Never saw any promotion for the tour, but this video was on YouTube.

Damn I AM old. They’re all younger than my daughter.

 

[westcoastGT]

..................just reported .......E Stinger ,,,,,,shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh . you heard it here first !

 

[Flameangel]

Kia sponsored the Blackpink tour and did videos for various models, including Stinger. Egads, now I know I'm really old, since these K-pop stars were completely off my radar, even though they drew 20,000 to the Forum, a half-hour drive from my house.
View attachment 38053
Never saw any promotion for the tour, but this video was on YouTube.

A couple of my older kids were right into the K Pop bands a few years ago, not Black Pink as they must be relatively new. Mostly the boy bands like BAP, BTS, Big Bang and a couple of girl bands like Girl's Generation and 2NE1. They even went to some of the Concerts in Melbourne. They have a big following and the place was packed with all these screaming preteens and Teenagers, glad I didn't go

 

[Nasscar]

..................just reported .......E Stinger ,,,,,,shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh . you heard it here first !

Just reported where??

 

[Flameangel]

..................just reported .......E Stinger ,,,,,,shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh . you heard it here first !

C'mon spill the beans .................

 

[BlueByYouGT]

Just reported where??

Two options:

1. One of those integrity free car blog cites where random anonymous people make up information to spread to the public for click revenue.

2. No where.

 

[Hockster]

Yeah, I have yet to see a 2.0L in my city r dealer lot.

Canada doesn't get the GT Line for 2020. City had a few 2019's but not many. Kia West Edmonton has one, but for what they want for it it'll be sitting there a long time.
2019 Kia Stinger GT-Line for sale in Edmonton - Kia West Edmonton

 

[stung cb]

Very poor product promotion over the television. "Come see KIA's full line of Cars and SUV's"!!! Or "It's presidents day sale at your local KIA dealers"!!! These kind of advertisements sure grab my attention and make me want to rush right to a dealership and buy one. No words about J.D. power quality awards, "compare the Stinger to Audi or BMW"!! I can't recall any advertisement that states
"10 year/100,000 powertrain warranty"!!!

 

[BTA]

I hope they stop importing the Stinger to the US today. I like driving a car that is not on every street corner. Driving a car you don’t see everyday is special. I bought my GT2 in Oct 19 and have not seen another one yet. Glad we owners have is website to share info.
Really cool.

 

[MerlintheMad]

I hope they stop importing the Stinger to the US today. I like driving a car that is not on every street corner. Driving a car you don’t see everyday is special. I bought my GT2 in Oct 19 and have not seen another one yet. Glad we owners have is website to share info.
Really cool.

Short term gratification of your pride. Long term death of this car. We need infrastructure to survive. Cancelled cars mean hard or impossible maintenance.

 

[Moses]

I hope they stop importing the Stinger to the US today. I like driving a car that is not on every street corner. Driving a car you don’t see everyday is special. I bought my GT2 in Oct 19 and have not seen another one yet. Glad we owners have is website to share info.
Really cool.

I don't. I enjoy driving an uncommon car, but I've been on the flip side of trying to repair an uncommon car. Less parts, less support, more of a pain to keep it running and driving.

 

[Buzz]

With the largely shared platform of the G70 which will likely keep kicking for a long time, we shouldn't be in too much trouble there, It sells considerably better than vehicles like the Alpha Giulia and that can be more difficult to get parts for. Heck it nearly doubles the sales of the Miata each year, (while unlikely the Stinger will last for a full decade like the MX5) and it isn't a difficult car to get parts for.

I don't foresee the Stinger failing to last for at least a couple years after a visual refresh. Basically if the car makes it to 2022 or 2023 model year I think we will have an easy platform to support for the long haul and the aftermarket ecosystem will only get better as the car price drops down to something more 20-somethings take to the track and do completely irresponsible modifications to!

 

[SomeBlondeGuy]

It seems like there are so many things that they could do with only a little engineering investment: (speaking from owning a GT 3.3 Canadian spec)

1. Add a security system similar to the Tesla. Since the car already has 360 cameras, Lane Keeper assistant, and some form of digital storage (the radio buffers SirusXM stations). It would seem that with a little software coding they could use those resources to make a kick-butt security system. Even upsell higher definition cameras for those that want them. Like any other software, they only have to spend the development costs once and then sit back and let the money roll in with each upsell. I for one would be willing to pay $500 for it.
2. Anyone who watched the Superbowl probably saw the Hyundai Sonata "Smart Park" commercial. Again, that might be able to capitalize on the 360 cameras, Lane Keeper assistant and the adaptive cruise control. (Just not sure on reverse), but with those three things it knows it surroundings, steers, regulates speed, so it should primarily be software related. As before, I'd be willing to spend $500 for it, though I do like to park my car away from others and hug the wall, so it would be very cool if you could set the distance from the passenger side mirror to whatever is on that side (like set it to 6 inches, so that when you put it in the garage your car is strategically placed).
3. As mentioned by others, make the remote start app etc available in the U.S. I love it on my Canadian spec.

I'm sure the list could go on, but what would make this even better. Think of the marketing and free publicity they could get if they did all this for free!! Yes I understand they would have to bear the burden of development costs. But what if they put on the Hyundai "Smart Park" commercial and at the end said.. "and for you loyal existing Hyundai or Kia owners. For eligible models we will upgrade yours for free!!" That shows they care even after the sale driving brand loyalty.

Just my $0.02

How'd you get a Canadian spec in the US?

 

[scar_007]

How'd you get a Canadian spec in the US?

Apparently a Canadian dealership wanted to unload about 5 of them and my local dealership picked them up. Not sure on all the details, but after the fact I was told that Kia frowned on this. It has made servicing a bit difficult as I have to use a third party warranty company or else take it to Canada. I recently had to get the radio replaced (due to volume fading to back seats), the local dealership did not even have the Canadian radio part number in their system.

In the end, I'm thrilled with the car, no matter where it came from...