Why the hatred for "hard plastics"

[BlahBlahYouToo]

for me, it's the hollow plastic that feels brittle that gets to me. like in our old cutlass cierra.

the point is, for the same $25k price point, why not get a quality interior like one found in an accord over a plastic filled interior of a sebring?
no brainer here.

although when we went to the honda dealership, i noticed how much cheaper the accord center console (aroudn the shifter) adn the door handles felt.

 

[MovingTarget]

Originally posted by: KnightBreed
I fucking hate those plastic interior clips. Trying to remove any trim piece results in you breaking at least half of the clips in the process.

First priority for me in any interior is the quality of bits and pieces that I touch regularly. Beyond that it's a crapshoot. I won't say that I don't care about soft touch materials, but a hard dashboard won't make or break a purchase for me.

I forgot about those. I had to deal with them many times and they really are a pain in the ass.

 

[MovingTarget]

Originally posted by: BlahBlahYouToo
for me, it's the hollow plastic that feels brittle that gets to me. like in our old cutlass cierra.

the point is, for the same $25k price point, why not get a quality interior like one found in an accord over a plastic filled interior of a sebring?
no brainer here.

although when we went to the honda dealership, i noticed how much cheaper the accord center console (aroudn the shifter) adn the door handles felt.

The Cutlass Cierra.....that brings back memories. What year did you have?

It didn't bother me too much in my 1984 model. Granted, it was my first car, but it did hold together alright. The worst is when it warps, cracks, or otherwise photo-degrades over time. Newer (by that I mean the past decade) plastic/vinyl interiors do not seem to have that problem though.

 

[zerocool84]

Originally posted by: evident

Originally posted by: exdeath
Interior requirements:

Three pedals: check.
Tach and speedo: check.
Steering wheel: check.
Gear selector: check.

I got hung up on the fancy interior thing for a while too. But at the end of the day, only performance matters.

try again when you have a 70 mile commute each day

I drive all day for work. I'm in commission sales and I live out of my car and my Neon is more than enough for driving around. I don't need fancy everything. It has what it needs to get the job done. Hell it even has a holder for cellphones on the dash.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: TheKub

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus
All cars have a certain amount of plastic on the interior, to me it's all about mixing that with other materials so that it isn't ALL hard plastic. My Maxima and my wife's Lexus have plastic dashboards but the materials don't look like cheap hard plastic, and the rest of the interior is broken up with leather door inserts or fabric and wood.

The wood in my wife's Lexus is made of real hardwood laminates and is used sparingly and tastefully whereas the rental Impala I'm driving has huge expanses of plastic wood stretching from one end of the dash to the other. Everything in that interior that isn't fabric seating surfaces or carpet flooring is hard plastic. The door cards are all hard plastic, the dash is all hard plastic or plastic wood, the steering wheel is hard plastic, the shift knob is hard plastic. It just screams cheap.

You are comparing a car whos starting MSRP is 30k with one whos is 23k that extra 25% can buy you some nicer interior bits.

*This is not an argument for MSRP and no one pays it anyway but it just shows that the cars you are comparing are really in 2 different price brackets.

Edit.
Comparing the Maxima and not the Lexus as you did not state which model but the cheapest one I found was the IS which MSRP is 31K so the argument still stands.

I paid $22.9k for my Maxima when I bought it brand new so I'd say it is a pretty good comparison actually. For that I got a 3.5l DOHC engine producing 255hp, a decent interior, power moonroof, Homelink transmitter built in, split folding rear seats, power everything and keyless entry.

If you get the top of the line Impala I'm sure you'd have an msrp around $32k...which isn't that far off the IS250 (which we currently own). Granted, the Impala is quite a bit larger though.

 

[TheKub]

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus
I paid $22.9k for my Maxima when I bought it brand new so I'd say it is a pretty good comparison actually. For that I got a 3.5l DOHC engine producing 255hp, a decent interior, power moonroof, Homelink transmitter built in, split folding rear seats, power everything and keyless entry.

If you get the top of the line Impala I'm sure you'd have an msrp around $32k...which isn't that far off the IS250 (which we currently own). Granted, the Impala is quite a bit larger though.

I have one of those "plastic" Impalas and I got it for ~17k which is still 6k cheaper than your Maxima.

For that I got 3.5L 211HP, split fold flat seats, remote start (with auto air\heat), power everything, dual climate zones, onstar, ABS w\traction control, and (by my opinion) a fine interior. In my opinion a decent amount of car for the money (concidering I paid in that neighborhood for a 02 Malibu and it didnt have half the features). Either way you cut it you are trying to compare 2 vehicles in 2 different price brackets (yours at a 25% premium).

If you dont like the car\interior thats fine but comparing them like they were the same price point is a bit of a stretch.

 

[BlahBlahYouToo]

Originally posted by: MovingTarget

Originally posted by: BlahBlahYouToo
for me, it's the hollow plastic that feels brittle that gets to me. like in our old cutlass cierra.

the point is, for the same $25k price point, why not get a quality interior like one found in an accord over a plastic filled interior of a sebring?
no brainer here.

although when we went to the honda dealership, i noticed how much cheaper the accord center console (aroudn the shifter) adn the door handles felt.

The Cutlass Cierra.....that brings back memories. What year did you have?

It didn't bother me too much in my 1984 model. Granted, it was my first car, but it did hold together alright. The worst is when it warps, cracks, or otherwise photo-degrades over time. Newer (by that I mean the past decade) plastic/vinyl interiors do not seem to have that problem though.

1994 i believe, too young at the time to know or care.
but don't worry, they haven't updated the car since it was first introduced so it's the same thing.
the turn signal stalk felt like i was snapping a branch off a tree.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: TheKub

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus
I paid $22.9k for my Maxima when I bought it brand new so I'd say it is a pretty good comparison actually. For that I got a 3.5l DOHC engine producing 255hp, a decent interior, power moonroof, Homelink transmitter built in, split folding rear seats, power everything and keyless entry.

If you get the top of the line Impala I'm sure you'd have an msrp around $32k...which isn't that far off the IS250 (which we currently own). Granted, the Impala is quite a bit larger though.

I have one of those "plastic" Impalas and I got it for ~17k which is still 6k cheaper than your Maxima.

For that I got 3.5L 211HP, split fold flat seats, remote start (with auto air\heat), power everything, dual climate zones, onstar, ABS w\traction control, and (by my opinion) a fine interior. In my opinion a decent amount of car for the money (concidering I paid in that neighborhood for a 02 Malibu and it didnt have half the features). Either way you cut it you are trying to compare 2 vehicles in 2 different price brackets (yours at a 25% premium).

If you dont like the car\interior thats fine but comparing them like they were the same price point is a bit of a stretch.

I wouldn't buy that car even at $12k. And hell yes I can compare them. My car is in the shop so this is what I got from the insurance company for a replacement vehicle.

 

[TheKub]

To each his own I guess.

 

[MovingTarget]

Originally posted by: BlahBlahYouToo

Originally posted by: MovingTarget

Originally posted by: BlahBlahYouToo
for me, it's the hollow plastic that feels brittle that gets to me. like in our old cutlass cierra.

the point is, for the same $25k price point, why not get a quality interior like one found in an accord over a plastic filled interior of a sebring?
no brainer here.

although when we went to the honda dealership, i noticed how much cheaper the accord center console (aroudn the shifter) adn the door handles felt.

The Cutlass Cierra.....that brings back memories. What year did you have?

It didn't bother me too much in my 1984 model. Granted, it was my first car, but it did hold together alright. The worst is when it warps, cracks, or otherwise photo-degrades over time. Newer (by that I mean the past decade) plastic/vinyl interiors do not seem to have that problem though.

1994 i believe, too young at the time to know or care.
but don't worry, they haven't updated the car since it was first introduced so it's the same thing.
the turn signal stalk felt like i was snapping a branch off a tree.

Mine was a 1984. They really didn't do squat to the car over that decade. I remember that turning signal really felt like snapping a chicken leg or something...

 

[thomsbrain]

Originally posted by: exdeath
Interior requirements:

Three pedals: check.
Tach and speedo: check.
Steering wheel: check.
Gear selector: check.

I got hung up on the fancy interior thing for a while too. But at the end of the day, only performance matters.

Try resting your arm on the center console of a 350Z for more than 20 seconds and get back to me... after you've finished crying like baby jesus. I would happily pay an extra five dollars to get something that doesn't hurt me when I touch it and doesn't creak and groan like an old whore when given the slightest pressure. That car was a perfect example because Nissan made a lot of compromises in performance to give the car better touring ability and to make it more comfortable (softer ride than S2000, much heavier weight, climate control, etc), yet when it came to the interior materials they completely dropped the ball in ways that make the car uncomfortable to be in, in spite of everything else they did. It turned what would have been an epic GT car into a cheap-feeling car that warrants excuses ("yes, well, they put the money into the engine...") the same way the Mustang does. All over a few bucks.