Female Speaker: Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Vice President of Marketing for KIA Motors America, Michael Sprague.
Michael Sprague: Good morning and thank you all for coming and thanks to those of you who attended our media reception last night of the street. If you did, you've got a glimpse into the minds of the KIA design team and KIA has really been turning heads like never before. Now over the past several years, many of you have noticed KIA's brand evolution and it's no secret that we've really started as a no-frills value provider, but overtime, we've improved our reliability and been recognized time and again for vehicle safety. So as KIA has grown, our engineers have also turned up that fun-to-drive factor, but it's only recently that we've added that emotional element of unique and compelling design to the KIA equation.
So design is, of course, the essential defining personality of a brand. A car's looks or that emotional pull is one of the top consumer considerations in every vehicle segment. Well today, we're going to share with you how we go about doing that. So without further due, please welcome our subject for today's scientific exploration into the mind of an automotive designer, first the designer of the KIA Soul, Mr. Mike Torpey. Mike was just named one of the ten hottest designers, working today by a major automotive magazine. Pretty impressive, Mike, congratulations! Also, the designer of the exciting and soon to be on sale, KIA Forte, Mr. Kurt Kahl.
Now I've spent a lot of time trying to discover what's in consumers mind but today we're employing a new technology that's so cutting-edge, it has not been yet approved by the FDA, nor the New England Journal of Medicine. So-
Mike Torpey: Hey Mike, is this safe?
Michael Sprague: Come on, guys, it's me. Of course, it's safe, no worries. So we've connected these pods to the screen behind them that you can see up here that will show us exactly what they are thinking about, as they speak. Okay Mike, so tell us what's on your mind.
Mike Torpey: My family, I'm hoping I see them again.
Michael Sprague: Okay. Can you just kind of give us an idea of where the Soul started working from?
Mike Torpey: Sure. Well Mike, our assignment from Day 1 with the KIA Soul was, this has got to be a breakthrough design. So instead of thinking about separate vehicle segments, we thought about personality traits. We wanted this vehicle to really radiate and have a dynamic energy, function and strength, all in a real type footprint.
Michael Sprague: That's really good boardroom talk, Mike, but what's the deal with the boar here and is that a backpack that I see?
Mike Torpey: Yeah, you know well for me all those traits that I've just mentioned kind of made me think of this little critter; he is not huge but what can be tougher. Now look at that the Z-Keys. He is definitely capable and aggressive. That sloping back the head forward, he is clearly on some sort of a mission. If you look at KIA Soul, you'll see a lot of this little guy's influences; the strong profile, the tusks which inspire to skid plate upfront, and even the backpack, since the Soul has all kinds of places for your stuff.
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