K&N Drop-In filter for the KIA Picanto

When we usually bring our beloved cars to the service center, one of the things that gets replaced regularly is the air filter and is considered a supply that needs to be regularly maintained and replaced with a clean one during the life of the car. However, this costs money and the service centers usually place a premium price tag on such parts. One of the easiest upgrades that you can do to your Picanto is replace the air filter with a permanent drop-in replacement that can be cleaned anytime and could last a lifetime.

I've tried the K&N replacement filter for the Picanto and I've noticed improvements in fuel consumption not to mention a noticeable acceleration improvement. The cost of the K&N filter actually pays of when you bring back your car to the service center.

The exact part number of the K&N Drop-in filter for the Kia Picanto that I used is 33-2930 and you can find more details at the K&N website.

Nigerian Marathon gives out Kia cars for prizes

The Nigerian Sunday Tribune has an article about the recent MTN People Police Marathon held in Abuja last July 26, 2008. The winner of the 10km class, 17 year old Emmanuel Gyang, won a Kia Rio, while in the 21km category, Pvt. Stephen Jurbe, a solider from the 1st division won a Kia Picanto. The female police category winner, Bunmi Odejobi got herself a nice Kia Rio as well. You can check out the full

Congratulations to the winners! I'm sure they are definitely happy with their prizes, not to mention the joy they will have in the years to come using their Kia cars!

[via The Nigerian Sunday Tribune]

Kia Motors' Profit Jumps 40% on Minicar Sales

There is a report on Bloomberg talking about how the Kia Picanto (Morning in South Korea) has increased the profit of Kia Motors by 40%. Here's an excerpt:

Record gasoline prices helped Kia more than triple domestic sales of Morning minicars in the period and boost total vehicle sales in the slumping U.S. market by 11 percent. The won has also plunged 9 percent against the dollar in the past year, raising the repatriated value of Kia's overseas sales.

I guess even with a global slump in the economy along with the rising costs of fuel and oil-based products, the initial investment of the Kia Picanto (Morning) years ago was very much a wise one.

You can check out the full story here.