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Kia Optima Hybrid. Photo: Kia media website. If you've been waiting anxiously to be able to control your Kia from an Alexa-powered Amazon device, your moment has arrived. Kia Motors America announced on Monday that they have added the ability to remotely control a number of functions, such as starting and stopping the engine or heating and cooling car interiors, using simple voice commands. The new features are enhancements of Kia's UVO Skill system, UVO being an acronym for "Your Voice." UVO Skill also allows owners to lock doors, sound the horn and flash the lights, and start and stop charging a Kia plug-in or electric vehicle.

Kia made great waves among us car guys and car gals earlier this year when they unveiled the stunning Kia Stinger, a high-performance, rear-wheel-drive sedan clearly aimed straightaway at the enthusiast driver. But let's face it: most people who are drooling over a stinger are probably pretty unlikely to buy one. More practical choices, like the Optima, are much more probable. So is any of that exciting vibe trickling down the lineup from the Stinger, the presumptive flagship of the marque, to spice up the models your average Joe or Jane might buy?