Kia plans to roll into next month’s Paris auto show with an itty-bitty electric three-seater that looks like a doorstop.

The Korean automaker didn’t offer any details on the car, which is about the size of a Toyota iQ but far more futuristic. The only thing Kia will say is it hopes to bring “innovative design chic and dramatic styling to the city car segment.”

There’s room for two people up front and, supposedly, a third in the back just like the teeny-tiny Murray T25 city car concept. The cool asymmetric dashboard (visible in the top-down view) provides plenty of leg room for the front seat passenger. But since the Pop is just 11 inches longer than a Smart ForTwo, it’s gotta be a tight squeeze in the back.

It’s a concept, so you’ll probably never see the Pop in a showroom. But we’re always happy to see automakers thiinking about electric  city cars.

Images: Kia. More after the jump.

A view from the top.

And from the front. It reminds us of the Nissan Leaf.

You see, the forthcoming 2012 Kia Optima and Cadenza sedans aren't called that outside of North America. Instead, Kia uses a more Teutonic alphanumeric system: the Optima is the K (as in Kia, get it?) 5; the Cadenza the K7, a strategy Kia's vice chairman, Chung Eui-sun, believes can “strengthen” the brand. But the experience of other brands going down this name changing path should be heeded.

Most experts now consider Acura’s switch of its well known Legend and Integra nameplates to RL and RSX a marketing flop. The criticism mainly aimed at the idea of throwing a well-established franchise in hopes of expanding into other customer segments. Which, is exactly what Kia wants to do as well.

So what do you think?

Some Kia car names, like the Soul and Sorrento, are now becoming part of our car culture.

Is it a risk to rebadge them as say, the K-this or K-that?

Do you think Kia copying the typically German naming system puts the rising Korean brand in the same light as Audi, BMW or Mercedes?

[Source: Automotive News]

The Magentis (badged the Optima in the U.S.) front-drive, five-passenger mid-size sedan shares a lot with the latest Hyundai Sonata. Yet despite having the same platform and new four-cylinder gas and gas-electric hybrid drivetrains announced here in NY yesterday, Kia’s done a good job making the Magentis look and feel different than its Hyundai counterpart inside and out.

More important to Canadian new car buyers, Kia also rolled out a new Forte five-door, joining the existing coupe and sedan. Targeted directly at the likes of the VW Golf and Mazda3 Sport, expect the hatch to share drivetrain options with the existing Forte family.