GM strives to boost profits through better interior quality

[NFS4]

http://www.autoweek.com/cat_content.mv?port_code=autoweek&cat_code=carnews&loc_code=index&content_code=05675517

GM wants to match the customer appeal of Volkswagen-Audi interiors, but not necessarily copy the style, Asensio said. German design is too austere for mainstream U.S. tastes, which favor more expressive design, she said.

Muahaha

 

[hoihtah]

you should retitle the thread "joke of the day"

 

[LaBang]

finally no more cheap plastic stuff.

 

[Nemesis77]

Lutz, for instance, has said the Volkswagen Jetta is "clearly one of our benchmarks," adding that the car's rich interior is "one of the ways they get $24,000 for a car that belongs in the Cavalier category."

Lutz has made GM designers and suppliers look at Audi interiors for inspiration. He has displayed an Audi instrument panel at meetings, one supplier executive said, adding, "It wasn't just that. He's brought in door-trim panels to folks at GM and said, 'Study this.' "

Imitation is the highest form of flattery . Everyone seems to agree that the German cars have the best interiors around, it's about time GM realized that as well.

 

[vi edit]

But GM says it has given the call back to designers. That change is central to Vice Chairman Robert Lutz's push for better perceived quality - that combination of materials, colors, textures, craftsmanship and ergonomics that subtly impresses car buyers.

Perceived quality???? I don't want perceived quality, I want REAL quality. Is that too much to ask for? I don't want to hop into a year old vehicle with 10,000 miles and have the fake wood trim on the dash squeeking. I don't want the armrest on the door to wiggle and squeek whever I move my arm. I don't want my seats to be squished down to nothing after 2 years of use because they use cheap foam padding in them.

I can go on and on and on.

 

[Vette73]

Originally posted by: vi_edit

But GM says it has given the call back to designers. That change is central to Vice Chairman Robert Lutz's push for better perceived quality - that combination of materials, colors, textures, craftsmanship and ergonomics that subtly impresses car buyers.

Perceived quality???? I don't want perceived quality, I want REAL quality. Is that too much to ask for? I don't want to hop into a year old vehicle with 10,000 miles and have the fake wood trim on the dash squeeking. I don't want the armrest on the door to wiggle and squeek whever I move my arm. I don't want my seats to be squished down to nothing after 2 years of use because they use cheap foam padding in them.

I can go on and on and on.

GM does have good quality on the interior. The problem is it looks bad compared to a lot of cars out there. I am restoring a 75 Monza and the inside is better looking then a lot of new cars. Just because you don't like the way it looks does not mean it does not have quality. Quality is how it holds up, and functions. I have fixed more panels and trim on Volvos than any GM car. The Volvo looks nicer but the quality is not up to a flat plactic panel in a cheap Cav.
I think what he is trying to do is Maintain quality, but add the look and touch of Volvos, BMW's, etc... Get rid of the plastic look, but maintain its strength, and ease of use and install.

Keep a eye on GM cars in the next couple of years, theres going to be some hot stuff coming out, and the price should not go up much compared to others.

 

[vi edit]

You're entitled to your opinion, and I'm entitled to mine. And where did I once mention about looks?

Having owned a '00 GMC Jimmy with 20k miles on the clock, I have three distinguishable rattles and squeeks that I can't seem to get rid of.

I also just sold a '97 Monte Carlo that had only 48k miles on the clock. The wood trim was squeeking. The door handles squeeked, and something inside the door panels rattle incessently. The seat on the car was smooshed down and uncomfortable by 30k miles, and it was mainly driven by my g/f who doesn't weigh much at all.

It's quite annoying having a relatively new car with that many problems. Hell, one of the headlights and the hood on the Jimmy was loose right from the factory! It took the dealer two days to get those straightened out.

I was looking at buying a cheap used car and was looking at '97-'98 grand ams. Every one of them suffered from "sqeeky arm rest syndrome". Two of the three that I looked at a drivers seat that tilted to the left side of the car giving me a back ache in just 10 minutes of test driving. Dashes sqeeked, and arm rest consoles didn't shut properly any more.

On the contrary, the '95 VW that I had was as solid as the day it was built, and my '94 Camry still has a better put together interior than a NEW GM vehicle.

 

[NFS4]

Originally posted by: Marlin1975

Originally posted by: vi_edit

But GM says it has given the call back to designers. That change is central to Vice Chairman Robert Lutz's push for better perceived quality - that combination of materials, colors, textures, craftsmanship and ergonomics that subtly impresses car buyers.

Perceived quality???? I don't want perceived quality, I want REAL quality. Is that too much to ask for? I don't want to hop into a year old vehicle with 10,000 miles and have the fake wood trim on the dash squeeking. I don't want the armrest on the door to wiggle and squeek whever I move my arm. I don't want my seats to be squished down to nothing after 2 years of use because they use cheap foam padding in them.

I can go on and on and on.

GM does have good quality on the interior. The problem is it looks bad compared to a lot of cars out there. I am restoring a 75 Monza and the inside is better looking then a lot of new cars. Just because you don't like the way it looks does not mean it does not have quality. Quality is how it holds up, and functions. I have fixed more panels and trim on Volvos than any GM car. The Volvo looks nicer but the quality is not up to a flat plactic panel in a cheap Cav.
I think what he is trying to do is Maintain quality, but add the look and touch of Volvos, BMW's, etc... Get rid of the plastic look, but maintain its strength, and ease of use and install.

Keep a eye on GM cars in the next couple of years, theres going to be some hot stuff coming out, and the price should not go up much compared to others.

Hard plastic and flimsy switchgear is not what I call good quality (all true of GM's current Chevy/GM/Pontiac vehicles).

The interior of the Envoy and Trailblazer are both pretty pathetic quality wise compared to their Japanese counterparts. When shopping around for a new SUV, the Trailblazer and Envoy were both discarded due to their sh!tty interiors. The Explorer was a bit better, but they wanted too much $$$ for what basically a stripped out XLT. Ended up going Japanese

And have you actually sat in a Cavalier or an Impala/Monte Carlo. Dog sh!t interiors!!!!

 

[gregshin]

LOL....that would be the day pigs fly...first GM needs to know how to design a decent looking one first

 

[Nefrodite]

Originally posted by: NFS4

Originally posted by: Marlin1975

Originally posted by: vi_edit

But GM says it has given the call back to designers. That change is central to Vice Chairman Robert Lutz's push for better perceived quality - that combination of materials, colors, textures, craftsmanship and ergonomics that subtly impresses car buyers.

Perceived quality???? I don't want perceived quality, I want REAL quality. Is that too much to ask for? I don't want to hop into a year old vehicle with 10,000 miles and have the fake wood trim on the dash squeeking. I don't want the armrest on the door to wiggle and squeek whever I move my arm. I don't want my seats to be squished down to nothing after 2 years of use because they use cheap foam padding in them.

I can go on and on and on.

GM does have good quality on the interior. The problem is it looks bad compared to a lot of cars out there. I am restoring a 75 Monza and the inside is better looking then a lot of new cars. Just because you don't like the way it looks does not mean it does not have quality. Quality is how it holds up, and functions. I have fixed more panels and trim on Volvos than any GM car. The Volvo looks nicer but the quality is not up to a flat plactic panel in a cheap Cav.
I think what he is trying to do is Maintain quality, but add the look and touch of Volvos, BMW's, etc... Get rid of the plastic look, but maintain its strength, and ease of use and install.

Keep a eye on GM cars in the next couple of years, theres going to be some hot stuff coming out, and the price should not go up much compared to others.

Hard plastic and flimsy switchgear is not what I call good quality (all true of GM's current Chevy/GM/Pontiac vehicles).

The interior of the Envoy and Trailblazer are both pretty pathetic quality wise compared to their Japanese counterparts. When shopping around for a new SUV, the Trailblazer and Envoy were both discarded due to their sh!tty interiors. The Explorer was a bit better, but they wanted too much $$$ for what basically a stripped out XLT. Ended up going Japanese

And have you actually sat in a Cavalier or an Impala/Monte Carlo. Dog sh!t interiors!!!!

where are those suvs made?

 

[Perknose]

If anyone can bring The General back to it's former prominence, it's Bob Lutz, a real hands-on car guy. I, for one, hope he succeeds.

He's got the right target for his troops. The Jetta just exudes class and quality, inside and out.

 

[NFS4]

Originally posted by: Nefrodite

Originally posted by: NFS4

Originally posted by: Marlin1975

Originally posted by: vi_edit

But GM says it has given the call back to designers. That change is central to Vice Chairman Robert Lutz's push for better perceived quality - that combination of materials, colors, textures, craftsmanship and ergonomics that subtly impresses car buyers.

Perceived quality???? I don't want perceived quality, I want REAL quality. Is that too much to ask for? I don't want to hop into a year old vehicle with 10,000 miles and have the fake wood trim on the dash squeeking. I don't want the armrest on the door to wiggle and squeek whever I move my arm. I don't want my seats to be squished down to nothing after 2 years of use because they use cheap foam padding in them.

I can go on and on and on.

GM does have good quality on the interior. The problem is it looks bad compared to a lot of cars out there. I am restoring a 75 Monza and the inside is better looking then a lot of new cars. Just because you don't like the way it looks does not mean it does not have quality. Quality is how it holds up, and functions. I have fixed more panels and trim on Volvos than any GM car. The Volvo looks nicer but the quality is not up to a flat plactic panel in a cheap Cav.
I think what he is trying to do is Maintain quality, but add the look and touch of Volvos, BMW's, etc... Get rid of the plastic look, but maintain its strength, and ease of use and install.

Keep a eye on GM cars in the next couple of years, theres going to be some hot stuff coming out, and the price should not go up much compared to others.

Hard plastic and flimsy switchgear is not what I call good quality (all true of GM's current Chevy/GM/Pontiac vehicles).

The interior of the Envoy and Trailblazer are both pretty pathetic quality wise compared to their Japanese counterparts. When shopping around for a new SUV, the Trailblazer and Envoy were both discarded due to their sh!tty interiors. The Explorer was a bit better, but they wanted too much $$$ for what basically a stripped out XLT. Ended up going Japanese

And have you actually sat in a Cavalier or an Impala/Monte Carlo. Dog sh!t interiors!!!!

where are those suvs made?

The Highlander (like what we have) is partially assemebled in Japan and finally assembled in the US. The Envoy and Trailblazer are built here I think...but it doesn't matter where the vehicles are built.

The Camry, Accord, Corolla, Civic, Avalon are all built in America by American workers. And each one of them has a better interior than their domestic counterparts.

Jettas are built in Mexico and they still have better interiors than 95% of American cars.

It has NOTHING to do with where the vehicles are built. It also has to do with management, materials used, and how stingy a manufacturer wants to be with their resources.

 

[UltraQuiet]

It has NOTHING to do with where the vehicles are built. It also has to do with management, materials used, and how stingy a manufacturer wants to be with their resources

I agree. The good news is that GM appears to finally realize what at least one of the problems is with their cars and is responding to the concerns of the consumer. They have relied on owner loyalty for years and now it's going away. All the domestic auto makers are going to have a real oppurtunity here in the next couple of years to regain some market share if the dollar continues to weaken and domestic products start looking better than imports. JMO

 

[LAUST]

Having owned a '00 GMC Jimmy with 20k miles on the clock, I have three distinguishable rattles and squeeks that I can't seem to get rid of.

Take it to a GMC dealership, they will fix it 3 year 36K warr does cover that, if they don't turn em into GM, all the dealerships here will do it, and thankfully with GMC you don't have to sit in a line and wait for the 4 banger POS's.

 

[Soulflare]

From: Autoextremist

"GM. Maximum Bob and Anne Asensio keep waving around Audi interior
bits in Design Staff meetings as the "best-in-class" example of what GM
should be doing. We have two basic problems with this: 1. How can you
talk about improving interior fit, finish and materials when you turn
around and tell your suppliers that you want it cheaper and that you
want them to take another 30% off their price while they're at it? And, 2.
When will GM, or any domestic manufacturer for that matter, start relying
on some original thinking? If you're always holding existing designs up
as "benchmarks," doesn't it follow that you will always be behind those
benchmarks as they're updated - never catching up? Be bolder. Reach
higher. Use your talent. And go big - or go home."

 

[LAUST]

Plastic is plastic to me anyway, when did they make real dashes? pre 80's, give me a metal dask anyday I love going to classic car shows and seeing how a REAL dash should be.

 

[NFS4]

Originally posted by: LAUST
Plastic is plastic to me anyway, when did they make real dashes? pre 80's, give me a metal dask anyday I love going to classic car shows and seeing how a REAL dash should be.

Id hate to see the paramedics pulling bits of your bloody skull off that shiny metal dash

 

[ElFenix]

"one of the ways they get $24,000 for a car that belongs in the Cavalier category."

can't sell a car with that interior for that cheap. the cheapest jetta has nice seats but thats about it. and it still costs more than many cars, including most of the korean ones, and the japanese and american compacts.

When will GM, or any domestic manufacturer for that matter, start relying on some original thinking?

when will toyota stop looking like all they've done is make a wax model of a ford then stuck it somewhere warm for a short while? the tundra and sequoia are obvious knock-offs, the camry (and corolla, since its a mini camry) looks like a taurus that swallowed an air hose. lexus also gets many of its design cues from other makes. SC430 looks like the bastard child of a TT and a boxster. LS430 also gets the cues from elsewhere, but i've forgotten what from where.

I love going to classic car shows and seeing how a REAL dash should be.

used to be made of wood.

 

[LAUST]

Originally posted by: NFS4

Originally posted by: LAUST
Plastic is plastic to me anyway, when did they make real dashes? pre 80's, give me a metal dask anyday I love going to classic car shows and seeing how a REAL dash should be.

Id hate to see the paramedics pulling bits of your bloody skull off that shiny metal dash

but it'll still look pretty when their done, just a little water and a sponge