Kia working on a Mazda MX-5 rival

I don't think Kia has the innovations and the technical skills to make a reliable, 2200 lbs best selling roadster. The Miata has been the best selling roadster for the past 20 years for good reasons. It's fantastic. We'll see.

Not difficult making a Mazda MX-5 rival, just make sure it has a spare tire.

I wouldn't say this goal is far fetched. Didn't GM do an okay job of trying to take on the two seater segment with the Sky and Solstice (before their brands got axed)? When u factor in Hyundai/Kia's recent efforts, no one should be in doubt.

What killed the sky/solstice is that they still didn't make them small enough.

so... what vehicle was the top raided from??

this is exactly why deboosting is stupid. Joe has just got deeboosted three times with no real reply to his question.

He cant answer that because its not. The sky and the solstice where well thought of and executed the ONLY reason they went away is because the government removed them and most other specialty cars during the bankruptcy.

to differentiate, they must match the miata's overall balance to get into the game, but then add in a bit more power & performance

Wow. I was thinking just this a few months ago. There is no rival for the Miata even though it's such an amazing car. What better company than Kia to take it on? And with Kia's designers it's going to look more Audi/Aston and offer insane bang for buck.

The Kia Soul is a great car, well designed and well priced for its segment. If it can approach the Miata clone with the same dedication to styling and pricing, plus a "sport" version for the fanatic, it will work!
1. Keep pricing under $25,000
2. Make it infinitely modifiable
3. Make it no heavier than the Miata, no hard top necessary
4. direct injected engine with the durability to carry aftermarket forced induction

In other words, the poor man's S2000, and the key word being "man" - no cutie chick car PLEASE.

They can make it less girly looking. For whatever the Miata is, it is still a chick-car in looks. Unless it is stripped with light weight wheels, a roll cage, and a number on the side for auto-x.

Oh and Toyota had made the MR2 into a roadster last time around. Aside from the quirky looks, it was a fun car. My friend built a custom turbo setup for his and was the first Mr.2 in the country to pull a sub 12 (SCC covered it).

Poor huu76...A Korean must have hurt his feelings a long time ago--that explains why he makes those crazy generalizations about Koreans or perhaps can't let go of history.

Don't count those Koreans out. Look how far the've come in a very short period of time.Further Hyundai owns Kia and could lend a cut down Genesis coupe platform for this car. I think Kia can come out with somthing interesting. Another side note that a lot of you may or may not remember.When Lotus stopped making their FWD Elan guess who they sold the platform to.....That's right good ol Kia.That car was considered the best handling FWD platform on the market when Lotus was selling it.So Kia does have options here.