Kia Sorento ready for global expedition

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2005-08-17 11:20

Seoul--(뉴스와이어)--Kia Motors Corporation has announced that Christer Gerlach, the record breaking Swedish driver and adventurer, is set to begin his latest epic global journey when he leaves Stockholm to drive a completely standard Kia Sorento SUV more than 24,000 kilometers around the world.

Starting on Thursday, August 18, Mr. Gerlach plans to complete the first ever solo circuit of the globe by car via the largely wild, unmapped Siberian wastelands, and to demonstrate the reliability, durability and quality of Kia’s award-winning Sorento 4x4.

Yong-Hwan Kim, Senior Executive Vice-President and COO of Kia Motors Corporation, who travelled to Stockholm in June to personally hand over the keys for a new Sorento to Mr. Gerlach, looks forward to welcoming the Swede to Kia’s headquarters in Korea in October.

“We are extremely proud to partner with Mr. Gerlach and wish him a safe and successful journey. His global challenge will allow us to demonstrate the quality and excellence of our products all around the world and to bring to life our brand slogan ‘The Power to Surprise’,” said Mr. Kim.

The chosen vehicle for the challenge is a completely standard specification 3.5-liter, V6-engined Kia Sorento, which will run on normal road tires. Mr. Gerlach will travel without a support team and has scheduled a single engine oil change -- at Kia’s headquarters in Seoul, Korea -- as the only maintenance throughout this mammoth motoring expedition.

“This kind of journey can be a high-risk project so I have been extremely careful to choose a vehicle in which I have the fullest confidence, and Kia seemed to be the perfect partner for this trip,” said Mr. Gerlach.

Mr. Gerlach will be leaving behind his wife Lotta and children Hampus (16) and twins Fanny and Hugo (13) at the family’s home outside Stockholm. They will be able to keep track of his trip through an on-line journal, since Mr. Gerlach plans to document his entire journey for his family as well as the media.

After completing the treacherous crossing of Siberia and Mongolia, and visiting the Korean peninsula, Mr. Gerlach will ship his Sorento to the US. He will drive through the famous Route 66 to New York, and then fly to the UK and visit seven European countries on his way back home in time for Christmas.

“Long distance, solo driving is a bit like an addiction. Once you’ve done it, you can get hooked. Driving is literally a down-to-earth way of traveling and you can learn a great deal about each country. For me, the road is the destination and that’s why I choose to travel alone,” said Mr. Gerlach.

His family has become used to Mr. Gerlach taking trips when he is not working as a journalist. His global adventurers have already earned him a place in the Guinness Book of Records.

웹사이트: http://www.kiamotors.com