Christople

With all this cost cutting, everybody wanting stuff as cheap as possible and that means China made product, cars used to have nice interiors to me.

The other day I sat in a new Civic and the plastic felt so cheap. It was flimsy and hard. I used to think Honda made good interiors, if the civic used to be the low end I could only imagine the Fit's interior.

The new 5 series just didn't win me over as the previous gen. My neighbor just got one and I'm starting to think that maybe its just across the board in automakers.

I sat in the new focus and unless it was leather equipped it was still cheap feeling.

We buy goods that we don't expect to last long like say a vacuum from China, are we wanting the same in a car now outside the engine/trans from lasting a while?
I'm just disappointed that's all. I still think the glory days of automobiles is the 2000's, the 1990's were overpriced, and now the 2010's are overpriced, heavy, and emissions restricted.

rockville

I think the higher end cars do feel just as good. At the lower end it doesn't surprise me. However, look at it from a cost adjusted dollar point of view. I've mentioned this before but here goes...
In fall 1997 a clearance Accord could be had for $17500. That got you a car with the following options (as compared to the base version): power windows and mirrors, AC, manual transmission, stereo with cassette, cruise control. When checked last fall you could get a base Accord for $18k. That base car is basically equivalent to the DX or what ever that model was in '97. In addition to the features listed above (now all standard) that car adds more power, more refinement, more space, more airbags, standard ABS and tire pressure monitoring etc. All for only $500. Now if we look at the inflation adjusted price between '97 and '10 (the time I checked), the $17,500 car became something like $26k. So the new car is actually nearly $8k cheaper despite offering more (on paper). Some of that cost savings is better manufacturing ideas. Some is the reduction in the price of electronics. Some is parts made in China. Some of course is Honda (and the rest of the Japanese) started copying the Americans and doing more, large, plastic panels for the interiors. The older interiors were often a rough plastic or even wood pulp type panel that was then covered to produce acceptable surface finish. The new parts are a single, plastic part that comes with acceptable finish right out of the mold. The old process ultimately looks better to me but was more expensive to make. In addition to requiring a surface finish material (cloth, vinyl, etc), hardware like switches and handles had to be complete sub assemblies that were bolted in. They couldn't be integrated into the whole panel.

The net result is manufactures have found a way to save quite a bit of cost at the expense of feeling somewhat cheaper. I lament the cheaper feel but I sure would have trouble buying something like the '97 car for $26k vs the current car for $18k (assuming I liked the way the current car looks).

TougeS2k

The quicker it breaks the sooner you have to buy a new one. Its the capitalist system. People used to use things through generations, now your lucky to have it last through the year.

dombey

i work in retail and our hardgoods team is CONSTANTLY swapping out materials to save money. Every year, it's a new material that scores 95% of the previous material score with the consumer, but costs half as much...over time it becomes noticeable as it is 95% of 95% of 95%...

I agree the high end cars still use materials that feel and look great; you just have to be willing to pay for it.

RobHimself

I think that they are multiple exceptions to this. For example, I did electrical work for ford dealerships over the last 8 years or so and it is amazing to see how much the quality of their interiors has come up. The trucks especially.

rockville

The domestics have generally improved but they were really bad in the past.

TheDonEffect

My family and I have owned a 95, 01, and 04 civic, and I have several friends with the 2006-2011 civics, and imho the cars are as good if not better as they got older. The older civics were very well made especially when compared to its contemporaries, but the newer ones are as good or better. Keep in mind these cars got drastically bigger, and with bigger comes more surface area. Look at the first pic (1996 civic), look at the center console, that's not soft touch stuff, the door cards have that shaggy sorta carpet, steering wheel airbag cover is jsut an injected molded plastic piece. Granted I did compare what looks like a dx vs. an ex, but you get the idea.
In general I think Hondas' interiors are better today than they were before. I think toyotas haven't gotten better which isnt to say they got worse, they were always well made and they continue to be, their designs got better but they no longer command a large margin of quality difference. Domestics got loads better since the early 90s, I feel BMW and Merc haven't gotten any better either. Lexus I feel is also stagnant. Just the other day I saw a pristine 1993 sc300 with 30K on it, I mean it was mint, and when I sat in it I thought to myself that with a fresher style it could easily pass for a modern competitve interior, but the quality and feel of everything has absolutely top notch.
Anyway, cars are a lot bigger, with alot more surface area, with alot more gizmos and covers and such, things are just getting more noticeable now as consumers become more aware of it. That's my two cents.

TheMuffinMan

I will say, I feel my dad's 2011 Pilot is more cheaply made than my 2003 Pilot (his old one)

fishfryer

I think plastics feel better today than in the past, but things that were switches before are all controlled by electronics on a screen through one knob, so it is hard to compare. But I though the interior in my S2000 was pretty nice considering it is a little jap 2 seater.

PatiWens

Great content and very helpful thank and keep up the good work.