[ToAllPointsWest]

Alright, I'll start this off by admitting that I've been a Honda Accord owner for over 10 years. I've owned 3 Honda Accords, and recommended their purchase over American cars because of their interiors and vehicle quality.

Right now I want to focus on their interiors:

The interior controls of every Honda I've ever driving feels the same, from ergonomics, to the quality of the buttons and/or dials, it just feels solid. So it's not just the icing on the cake, it's the eggs inside it.

By contrast my wife has owned a Pontiac Aztek (which was actually pretty good), GMC Sonoma, and now (sadly) a Chrysler Pacifica. All of the above have suffered from plasticy feeling consoles, stickers that peeled off after a year or so of use, and placement of controls that can only be described as poorly thought out (I once considered purchasing a Ford Fusion, but decided against it solely because the temperature controls were down by my right ankle)

So with that I'd like to offer the following:

Group the similar controls together in one area that's within range of an arm swing
Use high quality stickers or labeling that don't degrade in a 5 yr period
Recess the hood release, I've seen people's pants catch on the exposed ones
Keep the steering controls simple. I really don't need to control the A/C from the steering wheel, but the radio yes and of course cruise control

Well that's my rant, I just hope that GM can really put out a quality product at a price that won't alienate their consumer base. Good luck.

 

[mkaresh]

They are going to be striving to get the costs of the interior and such as low as possible, because of the cost of the powertrain. So it's going to be tough.

In recent years Detroit keeps saying they understand the need to not cut corners in the interior, but too often they do it anyway.

Others aren't immune, either. Some recent Honda and Toyota interiors have struck me as cheap.

 

[pennor1]

Well well... We Americans sure are getting spoiled now aren't we. Time was we just wanted to get from place A to place B. Now we want to get there in luxury and without the inconvienience of moving our hand very far.

I once considered purchasing a Ford Fusion, but decided against it solely because the temperature controls were down by my right ankle.

That's sure why I'd opt not to buy a car (NOT)!

Perhaps we need to take a step back and look at where we came from:

 

[ToAllPointsWest]

pennor1, you have to remember we'll be plunking down 40K+ for this car, that's nothing to sneeze at.

 

[Glen M]

Have a look at the interiors of the new Malibu or Enclave. GM has gone from worst to first.