[abe]

Does the KIA car brand name bother you?

Korean car manufacturer, KIA, builds cars that are at least consistent with the level of quality demanded by America consumers and at a level of safety mandated by the U.S. government. Their goal, AFAIK, is to sell as many cars as they can and to keep their profits as high as they can and to get as many repeat buyers as they can, not only in America but everywhere else in the world where they do business.

But anyone in the military knows that the initials, KIA, also stand for "Killed In Action." And out of a silly, irrational superstition I would not buy or own a KIA automobile because of the mental association I'd make to that military abbreviation.

I'm interested in knowing how you all feel.

Does the KIA car brand name bother you?

Yes. But not enough to prevent my buying one if I liked it.

Yes. I'd never own one due to the name.

No. I assign no negative thoughts to the name.

No. I recognize the similarity but I'm neither superstitious nor conspiratorial.

Hmmm. I didn't know about this but will give it some thought.

[MacosNerd]

No, its just a name and to be honest I never even made the connection. I don't think too many people made any connection to that either.

So there you have it case closed and the thread can be locked now

[aristotles]

You might want to seek professional help about your phobia. Are you a kiaphobe or something?

[rickey939]

gokia.®

[::maroma::]

I heard Kia is coming out with a new model. They call it Mia.

The all new Kia Mia™: Inadvertently giving flashbacks since 2007.

[KeriVit]

When my friend got to Iraq to work as a contractor- they gave her a car to use over there. When she saw it was a KIA (with bullet holes mind you) she was terrified. But all is well, she said that car was the best.

[Peter]

Their goal, AFAIK, is to sell as many cars as they can and to keep their profits as high as they can and to get as many repeat buyers as they can, not only in America but everywhere else in the world where they do business.

WHOA.

[Spook E]

Everytime i see a Kia or Daweoo or any other cheap shitty car, i think of all the raw materials, pollution and cheap labour that went into making that car.

But thats just me at the moment, sick of the waste we humans make and the its subsequent deminishment of natural resources at the expense of a cheap buck. Can't we all just gas (not petrol) powered buses (there's no public bus service out to the town where i live so i have to drive my 77 mini to work everyday)

[d4nth3m4n]

omg

[imitchellg5]

I would rather get a Hyundai, not Kia.

[design219]

Originally Posted by Peter 

WHOA.

[IceEnclosure]

Hyundai and Kia. Apparently great cars for cheap and with great warranties. There's just something about them that sucks. I'd drive a V6 Tiburon though. Fun little car, great seats too!

Rodney King drove a Hyundai.

[abe]

Originally Posted by ::maroma:: 

I heard Kia is coming out with a new model. They call it Mia.

The all new Kia Mia™: Inadvertently giving flashbacks since 2007.

[ghporter]

Until JUST NOW, I never thought of the name (a word) as an acronym. Thanks for planting that in my brain.

I always saw it as a word, and pronounced it that way. Having a very serious military background, some might be inclined to think that I would have instantly gone for the alternate meaning. But the context is completely wrong so it never occurred to me.

Similarly, I had to have someone explain the apocryphal "Chevy Nova" thing in Spanish.

[abe]

Originally Posted by ghporter 

Until JUST NOW, I never thought of the name (a word) as an acronym. Thanks for planting that in my brain.

I always saw it as a word, and pronounced it that way. Having a very serious military background, some might be inclined to think that I would have instantly gone for the alternate meaning. But the context is completely wrong so it never occurred to me.

Similarly, I had to have someone explain the apocryphal "Chevy Nova" thing in Spanish.

By the way, I think it was on these very pages that someone debunked what I always thought was a true story about the No Va.

And speaking of KIA...

Kia Vaughn filed a lawsuit today against Don Imus, who settled with CBS for $20 million.

[TheoCryst]

Originally Posted by abe 

By the way, I think it was on these very pages that someone debunked what I always thought was a true story about the No Va.

It isn't true? Jeez, next you're gonna tell me that the Fake Steve Jobs blog isn't really written by Jobs...

And no, I'd never made the connection before.

[ort888]

Originally Posted by IceEnclosure 

Hyundai and Kia. Apparently great cars for cheap and with great warranties. There's just something about them that sucks. I'd drive a V6 Tiburon though. Fun little car, great seats too!

Rodney King drove a Hyundai.

Hyundai is also a military acronym.

HYbrid UNDerwater Assault Imminant

I could never drive one. I would always be on the lookout for commandos coming out of bodies of water. It would be like 1998 all over again. All the time.

[Sealobo]

Originally Posted by abe 

Does the KIA car brand name bother you?

Korean car manufacturer, KIA, builds cars that are at least consistent with the level of quality demanded by America consumers and at a level of safety mandated by the U.S. government. Their goal, AFAIK, is to sell as many cars as they can and to keep their profits as high as they can and to get as many repeat buyers as they can, not only in America but everywhere else in the world where they do business.

wow... this is some statement.

[abe]

Originally Posted by ort888 

Hyundai is also a military acronym.

HYbrid UNDerwater Assault Imminant

I could never drive one. I would always be on the lookout for commandos coming out of bodies of water. It would be like 1998 all over again. All the time.

That's cute but the military acronym KIA is all too real.

[abe]

Originally Posted by Sealobo 

wow... this is some statement.

1) Korean car manufacturer, KIA, builds cars that are at least consistent with the level of quality demanded by America consumers

2) and at a level of safety mandated by the U.S. government.

3) Their goal, AFAIK, is to sell as many cars as they can

4) and to keep their profits as high as they can

5) and to get as many repeat buyers as they can,

6) not only in America but everywhere else in the world where they do business.

Which part(s) do you take exception with?

And why?

[irunat2am]

I know what KIA stands for, but I've never once associated it with the car company. I associate crap with the brand KIA, not a military acronym.

[Captain Obvious]

Originally Posted by abe 

Which part(s) do you take exception with?

The intelligence of the author

[design219]

Originally Posted by Captain Obvious 

The intelligence of the author

How about a productive comment instead of an insult.

[MacosNerd]

Originally Posted by abe 

1) Korean car manufacturer, KIA, builds cars that are at least consistent with the level of quality demanded by America consumers

2) and at a level of safety mandated by the U.S. government.

3) Their goal, AFAIK, is to sell as many cars as they can

4) and to keep their profits as high as they can

5) and to get as many repeat buyers as they can,

6) not only in America but everywhere else in the world where they do business.

For me its kind of a duh statement. Just about every company (not just automotives) do this, its business 101 kind of stuff, you know maximize profits, stay within regulations, keep/increase repeat buyers.

[Kevin]

Originally Posted by Spook E 

Everytime i see a Kia or Daweoo or any other cheap shitty car, i think of all the raw materials, pollution and cheap labour that went into making that car.

But thats just me at the moment, sick of the waste we humans make and the its subsequent deminishment of natural resources at the expense of a cheap buck. Can't we all just gas (not petrol) powered buses (there's no public bus service out to the town where i live so i have to drive my 77 mini to work everyday)

You remind me of that girl on the movie "Mean Girls" that stood up in the girl crowed and talked about love and rainbows and stuff. Yet she didn't go to that school.

[MacosNerd]

Originally Posted by Spook E 

Everytime i see a Kia or Daweoo or any other cheap shitty car, i think of all the raw materials, pollution and cheap labour that went into making that car.

But thats just me at the moment, sick of the waste we humans make and the its subsequent deminishment of natural resources at the expense of a cheap buck. Can't we all just gas (not petrol) powered buses (there's no public bus service out to the town where i live so i have to drive my 77 mini to work everyday)

So put your money where your mouth is and walk or ride a bicycle to work.

I have no problems buying a car, cheap or expensive. Seems hypercritical to me that you complain how badly cars destroy the environment yet you drive one every day.

[Wiskedjak]

Originally Posted by abe 

2) and at a level of safety mandated by the U.S. government.

3) Their goal, AFAIK, is to sell as many cars as they can

4) and to keep their profits as high as they can

5) and to get as many repeat buyers as they can,

6) not only in America but everywhere else in the world where they do business.

Are there any successful businesses that these statements don't describe?

[Laminar]

Originally Posted by MacosNerd 

...hypercritical...

hehe

[SirCastor]

When I was young, I asked my Dad what Kia stood for as we passed a dealership. He said "Korean Import Automobiles". I have no idea if the name is actually an acronym, but it has never occurred to me that KIA also stood for Killed in Action.

If there's any reason for me not to buy a Kia, it's because I seem to have the impression that they are unsafe or unreliable. I can't trace this to any report or anything, maybe I heard it from people.

[MacosNerd]

Originally Posted by SirCastor 

If there's any reason for me not to buy a Kia, it's because I seem to have the impression that they are unsafe or unreliable. I can't trace this to any report or anything, maybe I heard it from people.

I agree, I now of a few people who bought them (a few years ago now) and they had lots of trouble. I think they've improved a lot as a friend of mine bought a KIA mini-van and that seems to be pretty well quality wise. Personally I buy American when I can, but that's a personal choice.

[Oisín]

When I was young, I asked my Dad what Kia stood for as we passed a dealership. He said "Korean Import Automobiles". I have no idea if the name is actually an acronym, but it has never occurred to me that KIA also stood for Killed in Action.

It’s not an acronym.

The name is Korean, from two words: ki ‘rise’ (起 in Hanja) and a ‘Asia’ (亞 in Hanja), so it means something like ‘Rise, Asia!’ or ‘[the car that] arose out of Asia’. A quick glance at Wikipedia will tell you that (and a bit of background knowledge of the phonetic developments of early Chinese loan words into Early Korean—yes, geeky—will confirm it).

And, for the OP, the name of the car is not KIA, but Kia, which immediately excludes any confusion between the military acronym and the car brand.


So, all in all: no, it does not bother me in the least.

[turtle777]

Originally Posted by rickey939 

gokia.®

And if you don't like it, nokia ?

-t

[turtle777]

Originally Posted by Captain Obvious 

The intelligence of the author

Muahahaha

-t

[Mithras]

Originally Posted by Oisín 

And, for the OP, the name of the car is not KIA, but Kia, which immediately excludes any confusion between the military acronym and the car brand.

Absolutely. To wit, from the company website:


Though admittedly the logo does use a caps kind of look:


But seriously. Are you superstitious about people named Mia?

[Dakarʒ]

The poll seems to be giving the OP the finger.

[Laminar]

So it accurately reflects the feelings of most of the members too?

[Oisín]

Originally Posted by Mithras 

Though admittedly the logo does use a caps kind of look:

Along with lots of other companies (Volvo, Fiat, Porsche, Saab, to stay in the motoring world).

But seriously. Are you superstitious about people named Mia?

I’ve always thought it rather unfortunate for a girl to be called, in Spanish/Portuguese/Italian [if you ignore accents] ‘mine’, and in Greek ‘one’. Seems just a little belittling and possessive, doesn’t it?

[Kenneth]

Image/marketing problem? I think the quality of Korean cars improve a lot.

[abe]

Originally Posted by Captain Obvious 

The intelligence of the author

I guess you are right. Any moron should know that __(fill in the blank)_________________ actually hides behind any grown man's superheroic facade.

1) Pettiness
2) Jealousy
3) Homo-erotic fascination
4) Masochism
5) Manipulative toying
6) Arrested emotional development

I admit ignorance.

[turtle777]

Originally Posted by Dakarʒ 

The poll seems to be giving the OP the finger.

Originally Posted by Laminar 

So it accurately reflects the feelings of most of the members too?

Touché

-t

[turtle777]

Originally Posted by abe 

I admit ignorance.

I bet you do.

-t

[Laminar]

Originally Posted by turtle777 

Touché

-t

I'm glad somebody noticed.

[Dakarʒ]

Originally Posted by turtle777 

I bet you do.

-t

Eh, what?

[abe]

Originally Posted by design219 

How about a productive comment instead of an insult.

Thanks.

Just when I thought that I was out they pull me back in.

Michael Corleone

Seriously, you know there are some who just like to scrap.

[turtle777]

Originally Posted by Dakarʒ 

Eh, what?

admit ignorance.

-t

[abe]

Originally Posted by MacosNerd 

For me its kind of a duh statement. Just about every company (not just automotives) do this, its business 101 kind of stuff, you know maximize profits, stay within regulations, keep/increase repeat buyers.

Of course. That's exactly what I was trying to establish because I knew one or two posters would come along and simply bash the KIA Motors Corporation or Korean cars or Koreans who might have some strange grudge against America.

I wanted to focus on the KIA military acronym issue and not some question of KIA Motors' product or ethos.

[abe]

Originally Posted by Wiskedjak 

Are there any successful businesses that these statements don't describe?

Thanks. I accomplished my mission.

[Dakarʒ]

Originally Posted by turtle777 

admit ignorance.

-t

Is that supposed to be funny somehow?

[abe]

Originally Posted by turtle777 

Muahahaha

-t

He who laughs last...

[turtle777]

Originally Posted by Dakarʒ 

Is that supposed to be funny somehow?

Ahhh, nevermind.

I guess the quoting function farked up. My original post is fixed now.

-t