There was a point where a brand new dealer, i believe in Florida, during the recession, had a special on Kias. It was the very cheapest kia offered and you could get Two cars for $10,000. This was the best deal in the USA during the darkest part of the recession.I hear you. It is odd. I'm thinking it has to do with pricing being high on everything now.
Back then you could buy a new economy car for around $13K. I think it was around 2006-7 when regular unleaded spiked to close to $4/gal in my area. I traded my 2005 Chevy Trailblazer for a new 2007 Cobalt around that time. I got the new Cobalt for something like $12100+ tax. With trade equity, it was around $6K.
Now some people drop $60k on a 50k stickered Telluride. Kia / car market has come a long way.