Kia's Optima-zation plan.(Brief article)

It's the kind of thing that can make a competing automaker go crazy. First, Kia announces it's building a $1.2-billion plant in West Point, GA, with the capacity to produce 300,000 vehicles per year. Next, it plunks down $70-million to expand its U.S. headquarters in Irvine, CA--including $17-million for an on-site design center. Then it launches the 2006.5 Optima (it started production too early to be classified a 2007, and too late for the start of the 2006 model year) for $16,355. This base price is $45 less than the smaller 2005 model, despite having $1,900 more content than i