After a brief address from Kia Motors America president and CEO BG Lee, COO Len Hunt helped introduce the automaker's new chief design officer, Peter Schreyer, best known for the Audi TT and now with Kia as of the past 18 months of so. With help from Schreyer, Hunt said, Kia plans to bring more passion to the brand's designs.



Schreyer introduced the brand's latest concept car, called the Kue. Part sports car and part crossover vehicle, the Kue brings utility attributes and matches them with "an exhilarating driving experience." To us, it looks more sports car than utility vehicle, which is fine. The Kue was created by the U.S. design team and will help set the brand's global design language, according to the presentation.



The mid-size Kue measures 186 inches long and sits on a 114-inch wheelbase, with huge 22-inch wheels in muscular fender flares. The rear storage area is accessed by two center-hinged doors, while a scissor side doors allow ingress/egress for four.



The interior has individual bucket seats for all, and a "technology-driven interface," with touch-pad and motion-activated controls for audio and climate functions, with an interface that's fully customizable.



The Kue is powered by a powerful 4.6-liter V-8 engine, making 400 horsepower and 400 lb-ft of torque, with full-time all-wheel drive.



At the conference, Hunt confirmed that the boxy, upright Soul compact utility vehicle concept from last year's Detroit show is bound for production and expected in calendar year 2008.