Latest / Cyrus Webb's tracks / James Bell of Kia America discusses how to navigate car buying in today's economy

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James Bell of Kia America discusses how to navigate car buying in today's economy · Cyrus Webb's tracks

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  Speaker 1: Hello, everyone, and welcome back to Conversations Live. I'm your host,
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  Speaker 1: Cyrus Webb. Glad you all could join us once again
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  Speaker 1: for a radio audience tuning in here in Mississippi at
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  Speaker 1: WYED 94.1 FM and WYEDonline.com. We're glad that you all
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  Speaker 1: can be with us. Also, join us online worldwide via
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  Speaker 1: our podcast at iHeartRadio and Amazon Music. We're glad you
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  Speaker 1: all could be with us as well. This is part
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  Speaker 1: of our News and News segment here at WYED, and
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  Speaker 1: today we're sharing some car buying tips. As Americans navigate
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  Speaker 1: what is a challenging economy and even fluctuating fuel prices,
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  Speaker 1: Hybrid vehicles are becoming an increasingly attractive option for car
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  Speaker 1: shoppers today. For drivers who aren't ready to make the
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  Speaker 1: transition to a fully electric vehicle, hybrids offer an easy
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  Speaker 1: middle ground, delivering improved fuel efficiency without major lifestyle changes.
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  Speaker 1: Here to talk to us more about the different types
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  Speaker 1: that can fit your own lifestyle, but also to give
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  Speaker 1: you some tips as well, we're excited to welcome James
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  Speaker 1: Bale to our broadcast today. James is the head of
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  Speaker 1: Corporate Communications and Public Relations for Kia America and James,
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  Speaker 1: thank you again for stopping by. I really appreciate it.
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  Speaker 2: Hey, a chance to talk cars is a good day,
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  Speaker 2: so let's do it.
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  Speaker 1: I appreciate that. As I mentioned, there are some things
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  Speaker 1: that people are considering when it comes to car buying.
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  Speaker 1: What should consumers consider when shopping for a fuel-efficient vehicle?
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  Speaker 2: I think the first consideration is pretty simple, actually, and
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  Speaker 2: that's being very honest with what you need in your
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  Speaker 2: next vehicle. There's something funny in the American car buying psyche.
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  Speaker 2: We always seem to... want the biggest and the most
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  Speaker 2: and the biggest and the power and then you find
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  Speaker 2: yourself on a day-to-day basis in the car by yourself
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  Speaker 2: or maybe just one or two other people and the
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  Speaker 2: cargo space is empty, why did you buy that car?
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  Speaker 2: You obviously didn't need that much space. So I think
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  Speaker 2: the first thing is to be very honest with what
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  Speaker 2: you're going to do with your next car. If you're
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  Speaker 2: commuting to school or to work versus long highway driving,
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  Speaker 2: look at the body style that's going to make the
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  Speaker 2: most sense. And then look at the powertrain. And if
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  Speaker 2: you've not driven a new modern hybrid, I think you'll
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  Speaker 2: be pleasantly surprised by the way it's changed. I mean,
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  Speaker 2: most people think of hybrids, and assuredly so, they think
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  Speaker 2: of the Prius. And the Prius, while it was an
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  Speaker 2: amazing technological achievement, it really changed the entire automotive industry,
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  Speaker 2: it wasn't really fun to drive. It was a bit noisy,
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  Speaker 2: didn't have a lot of passing power, but it was
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  Speaker 2: very fuel efficient, and therefore it was a big success.
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  Speaker 2: But today's hybrids, in fact, across Kia's lineup, all of
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  Speaker 2: our hybrids are turbocharged. And what I mean by that
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  Speaker 2: is the gasoline power engine, small four-cylinder, runs with a turbocharge,
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  Speaker 2: so it has extra power that would do the job
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  Speaker 2: all by itself. But then we put the hybrid system
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  Speaker 2: and the battery pack in there to give a lot
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  Speaker 2: of torque off the line. So between those two power sources,
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  Speaker 2: both being really optimized for power delivery, you've got a
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  Speaker 2: powertrain that has the fuel efficiency of, say, a Prius
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  Speaker 2: back in the day, but the power of a V6 engine.
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  Speaker 2: In our lineup today, we dropped all the V6s, and
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  Speaker 2: everything now at the top of the line are these
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  Speaker 2: turbo hybrids because they give the power and the feeling
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  Speaker 2: of a big gasoline-powered car, but the efficiency of the hybrid.
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  Speaker 1: You know, Jim, you bring up an interesting point when
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  Speaker 1: it comes to it. I love what you said about
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  Speaker 1: being honest about your needs and what it is that
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  Speaker 1: actually will fit your lifestyle perfectly. But, you know, I
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  Speaker 1: think when we talk about comparisons, I want to ask you,
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  Speaker 1: do hybrids retain their value better than their gas power counterparts?
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  Speaker 1: What can you tell us about that?
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  Speaker 2: That's a great question. In fact, I would say in
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  Speaker 2: years past, it was probably about a one-to-one ratio. The
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  Speaker 2: gasoline power and the hybrid would both resale for about
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  Speaker 2: the same. But now, because the new car market is
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  Speaker 2: so on fire for hybrids, that, of course, inevitably means
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  Speaker 2: that the used car market is going to follow. And
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  Speaker 2: so if somebody's in the market for a new car,
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  Speaker 2: decided it's time to get into electrification, maybe a full
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  Speaker 2: EV is not the right way to go yet for you,
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  Speaker 2: which I could make some arguments, it probably is, but
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  Speaker 2: just in case it's not, and they go with a hybrid,
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  Speaker 2: let's say three years, four years down the road, say, yep,
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  Speaker 2: now I'm ready for an EV. They're going to be
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  Speaker 2: pleasantly surprised when they go to sell that or trade
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  Speaker 2: in that hybrid because, again, the new car market's on fire.
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  Speaker 2: the used car market follows.
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  Speaker 1: I think a lot of us, I have to admit, James,
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  Speaker 1: myself included, are not always easy to be able to
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  Speaker 1: adapt and to change. So if we do have someone
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  Speaker 1: in our audience, though, that is looking to switch from
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  Speaker 1: a gas-powered to a hybrid model, what should they know
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  Speaker 1: before making that switch?
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  Speaker 2: To a hybrid, there's really nothing. The only thing, here's
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  Speaker 2: what you need to know. Because of the efficiency of
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  Speaker 2: the hybrid powertrain, we can put smaller gas tanks in
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  Speaker 2: the car. But yet you're still getting more range than
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  Speaker 2: you would with a gasoline-powered version. In fact, our Telluride
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  Speaker 2: now has over 600 miles of range on one tank
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  Speaker 2: of gas, and again, with a smaller gas tank. So
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  Speaker 2: let's think about that for a moment. You're going to
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  Speaker 2: the gas station less often because you've got more range
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  Speaker 2: on a tank of gas, and when you get to
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  Speaker 2: the gas station, you're putting in less fuel because the
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  Speaker 2: tank is smaller. So... I just can't– I mean, if
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  Speaker 2: you want to say what to get ready for, get
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  Speaker 2: ready for a little nicer life, visiting the gas station
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  Speaker 2: much less often, and then spending less when you get there.
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  Speaker 2: Love that.
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  Speaker 1: These are great tips, James, for our audience who may
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  Speaker 1: have been thinking about making a change, wondering what the
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  Speaker 1: differences might be, what they could expect, especially with a hybrid.
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  Speaker 1: I think this is really good information. Again, everyone, James
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  Speaker 1: Bell has been our guest. He's the head of corporate
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  Speaker 1: communications here. and public relations for Kia America. We're talking
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  Speaker 1: about navigating car buying in a challenging economy. James, where
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  Speaker 1: can our ideas go to find out more information?
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  Speaker 2: I'd recommend actually going to Kia.com, and the reason being
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  Speaker 2: is we've got a great section there that helps explain
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  Speaker 2: hybrid technology and how efficient and smart it is. And then,
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  Speaker 2: you know, we have a full range of vehicles from
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  Speaker 2: small cars all the way to the big Telluride SUV.
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  Speaker 2: I think you'll be surprised to see that we've got
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  Speaker 2: a hybrid option just about every step of the way.
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  Speaker 2: In fact, I challenge your listeners, next time you're on
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  Speaker 2: the highway, look at the car next to you. It
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  Speaker 2: might look just like a normal car. It's probably a hybrid.
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  Speaker 1: Well, make sure to link that up as well. James,
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  Speaker 1: thank you again for stopping by. I really appreciate the time.
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  Speaker 1: I'm looking forward to having you back on the show again.
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  Speaker 2: My pleasure. Thank you.
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  Speaker 1: All right. And we thank your audience for tuning in
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  Speaker 1: to another great segment of Conversations Live. Until next time,
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  Speaker 1: I'm your host, Cyrus Webb, saying, as always, enjoy your day,
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  Speaker 1: enjoy your life, enjoy your world. Thank you for being
• 6:36
  Speaker 1: with us here at Conversations Live. Let us go make
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  Speaker 1: today amazing. Take care.