Kia's Aggressive Death Valley Testing

Nearly every automaker goes to Death Valley during the summer to test their upcoming vehicles in the most rigorous conditions possible. This also means they’re testing cars that most of the public hasn’t seen or possibly even heard of. The companies cover the cars in black cladding to hide what they look like from the prying eyes of the automotive world’s paparazzi — spy photographers.

USA Today turns in a terrific piece today on Kia’s attempts to test a new sports car and two new SUVs in Death Valley, and there’s even a video of one poor German spy photographer trying to track down his elusive prey in a rental car. For the car nuts out there this is old news, but for car buyers it’s just evidence that car companies really do go to extremes to test every new car that comes to market.

Death Valley's a Hotbed of Car-Testing Intrigue (USA Today)