Note to self: Entering automotive research and development centers as visitors may lead to the confiscation of cameras for the duration of the stay.

We recently learned of Kia's decision on the Borrego model's fate: Its hiatus is permanent. That's too bad, because our long-termer has served us well over the past 15 months and 37,312 miles.
Associate editor Allyson Harwood and photographer Julia LaPalme used it to prerun a couple of trails north of Santa Barbara for an SUV comparison story. During those days off-road, the Kia performed flawlessly.

Badge engineering. No, it's not the art and science of manufacturing emblems shaped like bow ties or blue ovals. It's when a carmaker introduces a vehicle that's essentially a clone of an existing corporate model with minor styling changes, such as a different grille, taillights and, of course, badges. Nowadays there are even Saabs based on Subarus and Chevrolets.