Georgia Town Booms as Kia Ramps Up

WEST POINT, GA – You wouldn’t know there’s a deep automotive recession – with a recovery possibly five years away – by the bustling activity at Kia Motors Corp.’s sprawling plant site here on the Alabama border some 50 miles (80 km) southwest of Atlanta.

“We’re the one spot in America that is straining with development,” boasts Robert Young, executive director of the West Point Development Authority.

Scores of workers’ vehicles, mostly pickups and SUVs, are aligned in ...