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Kia's Borrego: right vehicle, wrong time? No matter how good the engineering, high gas prices and a soft economy are tough hurdles for any SUV to overcome.

Article Excerpt
Four years ago, when gasoline was $2 per gallon, a vehicle like the Borrego made a lot of sense. SUVs were still flying off the shelves, and nearly every automaker (even Ferrari was rumored to be working on a high-performance SUV) either had one on the market or were planning to add one to their fleets. Profits for these vehicles stood well above those of smaller cars, and buyers from more affluent backgrounds drove them. It was the perfect opportunity for a brand like Kia to make an impact on buyers it might otherwise never reach. All that began to change, however, as gas prices started a relentless charge toward record highs, though this has lessened a bit in recent months. Nevertheless, a shell-shocked consumer has reined in spending, dropping annual vehicle sales in the U.S....