Kia ex_cee’d Concept to be shown at Geneva 2007
Kia’s latest in it’s cee’d series of cars will be revealed at th 2007 Geneva International Motor Show - this time a cabriolet soft top version. The Kia ex_cee’d was based on the Kia pro_cee’d 3-door hatch, and shares the same platform, but the most obvious change is the absence of a roof, instead replaced by a automatic fabric roof.
But why soft top instead of an automatic hard top like all the other car manufacturers are doing? “I’m convinced that the fabric roof will have a renaissance. We’ve all lived with the romantic idea of open-air driving for a long time and for me, the fabric roof is the quintessential element of a truly rewarding cabrio,” says Peter Schreyer, Kia’s new Chief Design Officer.
One more photo after the jump.
February 26, 2007 @ 12:17 am
It looks like Merc. The head lamps look very much like Merc’s. I like it. I wonder if it will come to Malaysia.
February 26, 2007 @ 9:41 am
What a load of rot “‘“I’m convinced that the fabric roof will have a renaissance. We’ve all lived with the romantic idea of open-air driving for a long time and for me, the fabric roof is the quintessential element of a truly rewarding cabrio,†says Peter Schreyer, Kia’s new Chief Design Officer.’”
Admit it’s to save costs/ increase profit margins, Peter Schreyer! No one can experience open-air driving in a cabriolet unless the roof is open and once it’s down, it makes no difference whether it’s fabric or metal. The advantages of a solid metal retractable roof far outweights that of fabric, no matter the technology behind the fabric. A solid metal retractable roof is more costly than a fabric roof - from the cost of the additional metal, the mechanism to retract the heavier weight to the licencing cost of using the technology for the retractable metal roof (the inventor has to get paid!). Honestly, the crap these car manufacturers can come up with - do they think all consumers are stupid?
February 26, 2007 @ 3:05 pm
no more fabric roof plz
February 26, 2007 @ 5:39 pm
design wise this car looks absolutely stunning! Dunno how it look when the softtop is up though..
February 26, 2007 @ 5:44 pm
wow… hope naza rebadge dis ASAP! dis is nice! not sure bout its body strenght tho.. satria neo/gen2 cabrio wil b nice too, but not sure wil sell.
February 26, 2007 @ 6:51 pm
OMG.. the rims is so ugly its hurting my eyes ~~!!
February 26, 2007 @ 9:10 pm
Don’t think it will come to Malaysia, or if it did, no one wants a cabriolet. Its too hot unpractical here. Also soft tops have problem where it becomes worse as time goes by. I am not sure how long this car can last.
July 25, 2007 @ 6:03 am
[...] does a designer have such a clean sheet to work with. We started this exciting journey with the Kia ex_cee’d cabrio concept at the Geneva Show back in March, and at Frankfurt I’m sure Kia will surprise the entire [...]
August 19, 2007 @ 6:42 pm
[...] have been coming up with C-segment hatchback convertibles like the Peugeot 307CC and even the Kia ex_cee’d, though that’s still at a concept stage [...]