Life is Poppin'

I believe in sharing my life so I can save you time, money and a few headaches! Always learning from my screw-ups.

  • Drives With Girls
  • Recipes
  • Travel
  • DIY
  • Kid Stuff
  • Reviews
    • Giveaways

2015 SEMA Show Las Vegas – #KiaWanderlust

Nov 8 by Leave a Comment

“Kia unveiled some cool, and wildly entertaining concept vehicles at the SEMA Show in glitzy Las Vegas. All with the purpose of celebrating the spirit of the American Road Trip.”

“View of the Las Vegas Strip from the Hard Rock Tower Hotel”

If you aren’t too familiar with SEMA, here is a brief introduction: The Specialty Equipment Market Association show is a yearly event where the top accessory companies, auto manufacturers and brightest minds in the industry unite and welcome over 60,000 visitors from around the globe. Oh —and it’s nuts, and massive beyond belief.

Over the course of the last decade Kia has managed to transform itself from a low-end, economy car manufacturer, to one of the top ranked brands in quality, safety and resale value, even beating brands like Honda and Toyota. And although all of those qualities are important, Kia has focused on building great-looking cars. Kia’s design team has most definitely hit some home-runs with their latest, awesome creations like the Optima, Sedona and Sorento.

When I first heard the rumors of the concept vehicles Kia was building for SEMA they didn’t make a whole lot of sense, but then I found out the story and meaning behind them, and that’s when I really couldn’t wait to see them in person.

“Everyone anxiously awaited the unveiling of the concept vehicles”

I’ve been to Las Vegas perhaps more times than I really wish I had, but it was my first time attending SEMA, and now that I’ve left and reflected upon my trip —it was hands down my best Sin City trip ever.

The SEMA show itself is beyond belief, it’s enormous and there are outdoor areas with hundreds of cars and even a drift track for high-powered cars to show off their skills, while inside the many halls of SEMA are hundreds if not thousands of vendors, some as small as a one-car garage and some as big as a city block! Then there are the events, shows, celebrities, and how could I forget —parties…

But anyway, back to the cars. Kia set out to honor the American Road Trip, because after all —they’ve been fueling their customer’s desires for freedom and travel with their very own vehicles for many years. Therefore Kia designed four completely new concepts that zero in on a particular region of the country and represent the culture and geography of that area. And I think they’ve got it spot on, what do you think?

PacWest Adventure Sorento

Based on the already pretty sweet Kia Sorento, the PacWest Adventure concept represents the never-ending forests and chill attitude of the Pacific Northwest region of the country.

With a pearlescent green paint job, matte-black body accents instead of chrome, a 6-inch suspension lift and extra-wide fender flares, the PacWest Adventure Sorento is the perfect on and off-road machine to explore the gorgeous and mountainous terrain. And because you may need to cross a river or two, the heavy-duty winch and engine snorkel will help you cross the wildest of rapids. This one is by far my favorite!

IMG_1303

kia-sorento-pacwest-adventure

A1A Optima

Few places in the good ‘ole United States are more iconic than the State of Florida, and the A1A Optima is all about letting the outside in.

There is no better way to enjoy the sights and sounds of the Sunshine state than by cruising topless all the way to Cuba on Highway A1A, and by Cuba I mean the southernmost point of the U.S —Key West (90 miles from Cuba). Oh, and by topless I meant the car, of course… Don’t get too crazy!

With a completely removed roof, suicide style doors, blinged-out wheels and grill, smoked tail lights and a flashy ivory leather interior, the A1A Optima is bound to turn heads on Ocean Dr. and Hemingway’s driveway alike.

kia-optima-a1a-1

kia-optima-a1a-2

Photo Safari Sedona

Truly a photographer’s dream ride, the Photo Safari Sedona is based on Kia’s already amazing minivan, but it adds some outrageous modifications to capture the wild in style!

The Photo Safari Sedona is all about accommodating to thrill-seeking photographers as they go into the lion’s den (literally). With a sliding rear seat that actually hangs out of the vehicle, a photo lab, and a pick-up truck bed it certainly meets all the requirements to chase elephants in the wild —or Kim K. around L.A. (TMZ would pay big bucks for one of these)

FullSizeRender 3

kia-safari-sedona

Forte Koup Mud Bogger

Mud-bogging has deep roots in the south, and therefore the Forte Koup Mud Bogger proudly wears massive mud-digging tires to celebrate such heritage.

Mud-bogging is fun, actually, almost any kind of off-roading is fun, but the fact that mud-bogging is usually done at pretty high speeds make it even more fun. So it’s no surprise the Forte Koup Mud Bogger was outfitted with racing seats, a safety roll-bar (just in case), a four-inch body lift and even an aluminum and alcantara racing steering wheel (because who needs airbags). As if that weren’t enough, the Forte Koup Mud Bogger wraps it all up with a patriotic metallic blue paint job, with red and white body accents. Cuz ‘Merica.

FullSizeRender 2

kia-forte-koup-bogger

Cool huh? Thanks Kia!

Photo Credits: Cielo Roth and Jerry Perez

Related Posts

  • 2015 Kia Sedona: An executive ride to NYC2015 Kia Sedona: An executive ride to NYC
  • 2017 Kia Sportage SX – A Sign of Great Things to Come2017 Kia Sportage SX – A Sign of Great Things to Come
  • Battle of the Car Seats: Britax vs GracoBattle of the Car Seats: Britax vs Graco
  • 5 Reasons Why the 2016 Kia Optima SX Should be Your Next Sedan5 Reasons Why the 2016 Kia Optima SX Should be Your Next Sedan
  • Toyota Highlander Hybrid – Kia Sorento Limited ReviewToyota Highlander Hybrid – Kia Sorento Limited Review
  • 6 Coolest Cars From SEMA 20156 Coolest Cars From SEMA 2015
  • Let Car Safety Technology Help You Have a Safe & Relaxed SummerLet Car Safety Technology Help You Have a Safe & Relaxed Summer
  • 2017 Jeep Grand Cherokee – Kicking off the Year in Style2017 Jeep Grand Cherokee – Kicking off the Year in Style

Don’t Miss the Latest

Celebrating the New Year in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula

We drive the 2021 Mercedes-AMG GLS 63 to the Great White North, where we say goodbye to a rather tumultuous 2020. 2020 has been a year for most of us, huh? So happy to get rid of it and here’s to hoping 2021 is better in every way! Of course, we say this with the […]

Great Smoky Mountains National Park: Family Road Trip In the 2021 Chevy Tahoe

A large and rugged country requires a large and rugged vehicle. With COVID-19 shutting down most things around us or at least applying rigorous restrictions to help slow the spread of the virus, a lot of activities we would normally do with our family are off the table. Luckily, we’ve always loved family road trips, […]

Explore Chicago: The Four Seasons With Kids

We head to the Windy City in the 2021 Toyota RAV4 Prime Once upon a time, we could get away as a couple whenever we wanted wherever we wanted. Early mornings, late nights, breakfast in bed, shows, clubs, parties—you name it, we enjoyed it. But for a while now, we’ve had to play by a […]

2020 Hyundai Sonata: A Tech-Packed, Versatile Sedan

Yes, it can drive forward and backward without a driver, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg of this stylish sedan. Sedans are dying a slow death. No, it’s not just me being negative, but a factual representation of the automotive industry, which in turn, is a direct reflection of customer’s buying habits. People […]

Filed Under: Pit Stop Tagged With: Forte, geography, kia, off road, Optima, sedona, SEMA, sorento, travel, Vegas

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

follow-me-on-pinterest

Get to know Drives with Girls!

Drives with girls, lifeispoppin.com

Gifts for Dads

Fox 59 Segment

drives-with-girls

Popular posts you will love:

Fairy in a Jar Night Lights

Fairy in a Jar Night-Lights

4C Spider

Alfa Romeo 4C Spider

gala

Womens Daily contributor transTODAY.com Parenting Team FC Contributor

TODAY.com Parenting Team Parenting Contributor

Everywhere

This post may contain affiliate links

Copyright ©2023, Life is Poppin'. All Rights Reserved. Custom design by Pixel Me Designs