Kia Brings Gloriously Ugly Cars to SEMA

Kia's showing at this year's SEMA show can be summed up in one word- disappointing. The company has been building itself in the US as the successor to what Honda was 20 years ago. Kia makes attractive, inexpensive cars that are stylish, well engineered and aimed squarely at younger buyers. It won the Continental Tires Sports Car Challenge racing series with the Forte Koup this year defeating rivals from Volkswagen, Honda and Mini. Kia has done a lot to build goodwill and then it brings such a group of ugly tuner cars to SEMA. 

The first is the Blake Griffin Optima Hybrid by West Coast Customs. Blake Griffin is a basketball player so the car has a basketball motif. That must have taken all of a minute to think of, and about as much thought was put into every facet of this car. The exterior is painted to look like a basketball. That could have worked, maybe, but the interior has a wooden floor like a basketball court with a three point arc painted on it. The whole thing is terribly tacky. 

Next is the Retro Surf Rio 5-door. Again the exterior is not too bad, if a bit too aggressive. Then you see the interior that is covered in plaid. Plaid looks great on the VW GTI because it exercises restraint. Here the plaid is everywhere from the seats to the dashboard. 

The true horror of the bunch is the Kia Soul by West Coast Customs. The exterior has some stupid faux graffiti, but then there is the interior. Clearly given the Optima Hybrid and this, the interior designer at West Coast Customs is a very busy man who is probably also colorblind. That is the only way to explain the interiors of these two cars. That ghastly pink and pastel blue is a shock to the senses, and it is more terrifying that someone okayed these two ideas. 

Finally there is the Hat Trick Forte 5-door. Maybe it is shock from seeing all of the others but this seems almost tasteful. The concept is that this is a car for hockey players with a hockey stick holder in the back and rubber interior. It is maybe a little boring, but compared to the others, this car to understated elegance.