Comments by "Stephen Hendricks" (@stephenhendricks103) on "" video.

  1. Unfortunately, while there is no official announcement that the Stinger will be discontinued after the 2022 model, all signs point to that outcome. The plant in Korea where the Stinger is built is being repurposed to other models in mid-2022. (That much is confirmed.) And that strongly suggests that the initial plan to introduce a new generation for 2023 (or 2024) has been abandoned. What's the problem? Well, it's no secret that despite strong reviews when it was introduced, sales of the Stinger have been disappointing and declining ever since the introduction. In the first half of 2021 sales of the Stinger in the US amount to 6500 vehicles, essentially flat compared to the horrendous first half of 2020 with sales hamstrung by the pandemic. Even sales in Korea are weak and declining. The bottom line (literally) is that the question Joe raises in the title of this video is irrelevant to KIA. What IS relevant is that while the Stinger sales so far in 2021amounted to 6500 vehicles in the US, sales of the BMW 3 series amount to nearly 24,000 units, up 30% over the first half of 2020. Even more discouraging is that the BMW 4 series has garnered 12,500 sales in 2021, up 217% compared to 2020. And if all that weren't bad enough the Audi A5/S5 Sportback, arguably the most comparable European vehicle to the liftback Stinger (though at a much higher price point) has nearly 12,000 sales so far in 2021. The only good news for the Stinger is that it has outsold the dismal (sales) performance of the Genesis G70 (4800 units) again in 2021. Why such terrible sales for the undeniably appealing Stinger? Well, it began when the Stinger was introduced. Despite strong reviews most KIA dealers had no idea how to sell a vehicle modeled on a European Grand Touring (i.e. GT) sedan. Few consumers interested in such a car ever darkened the doorway of a KIA dealership. KIA's corporate strategy didn't help with virtually no significant advertising muscle supporting the Stinger to this day. Not surprisingly, dealers ordered few examples and sold even fewer. A self-fulfilling prophecy. The Stinger's issues are broader than that, however. As much as self-styled performance "enthusiasts" may hate to hear it, automakers including KIA/Hyundai have determined that the future of performance vehicles involves electrification and the partial or complete abandonment of high performance internal combustion engines. Period. The KIA forthcoming KIA K6 EV is a "coupish" SUV that in its "GT" version will boast 576 HP and a 0-60 time of about 3.5 seconds. Likewise for the Ioniq5. And the Korean brands aren't alone. The Mustang Mach-E is currently outselling every other version of the Mustang. Chevrolet has announced the demise of the Camaro and there are rumors it may be replaced with a "performance" EV SUV to carry on the nameplate. And even now the RAV4 Prime is the quickest Toyota other than the Supra with its BMW engine from 0-60 mph. Whatever else Tesla has accomplished it pointed the way to the demise of ICE performance vehicles. For those who wish to resist, it's time to consider getting an ICE Mustang or a Dodge Challenger/Charger before they go the way of the dinosaur.
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