And the Cheapest Interior Award goes to...

[Northstar]

The Dodge Nitro. I couldn't find a single high-quality piece in the whole car, and it stickered for $25k.

Now, tell me this isn't cheap:

I was hardly pushing on it at all, and it was flexing like a piece of paper.

[Intrepidation]

That's weird, the one I sat in didn't flex at all.

[ocnblu]

Hmm... a new approach to squishiness? Make the plastic thin, as opposed to padded?

[Dsuupr]

It seemed as if alot of the new Chrysler products had pretty crappy interior pieces in them.

[A Horse With No Name]

Seriously, I do like the Generals interiors better. Much better.

Chris

[Intrepidation]

Seriously, I do like the Generals interiors better. Much better.

Chris

A GM fansite and you like their interiors better? Shocking!

Anyway there's no excuse for that kind of cheapness from any carmaker...but I still think the Caliber is worse. The Chill Zone door doesn't stay open.

[regfootball]

we can agree on this, northstar. i drove a nitro at the local DCX ride and drive. The interior quality is on par with my wife's 80 Citation or a Chevy Celebrity. its that horrible.

[Northstar]

A GM fansite and you like their interiors better? Shocking!

Anyway there's no excuse for that kind of cheapness from any carmaker...but I still think the Caliber is worse. The Chill Zone door doesn't stay open.

His name suggests he is a Ford fan... Ford's interiors were better than Chrysler's, but only slightly. The plastic was still generally hard, but it felt much more substantial than Chrysler's.

I didn't sit in the Caliber because I sat in it last year and didn't want to revisit the experience, but I'd say for the price the Nitro is worse.

[The O.C.]

Any Chrysler product I've seen has been really bad.....cheapest in the business (minus the current LX cars which are still decent.)

I think the actual fit-and-finish are fine.....and the switchgear (HVAC, radio controls, etc.) are top-notch. It's the embarrasingly bad plastics and materials that really let down the latest Chrysler products.

For example......Dodge Avenger versus Saturn AURA.

AURA easily wins the quality-of-materials battle.....even the hard plastics are nicer. Avenger, however, seems much more solidly put-together (no wobbly center console like AURA and no door armrests that pull away from the door panel when you flex it.)

[Northstar]

Any Chrysler product I've seen has been really bad.....cheapest in the business (minus the current LX cars which are still decent.)

I think the actual fit-and-finish are fine.....and the switchgear (HVAC, radio controls, etc.) are top-notch. It's the embarrasingly bad plastics and materials that really let down the latest Chrysler products.

For example......Dodge Avenger versus Saturn AURA.

AURA easily wins the quality-of-materials battle.....even the hard plastics are nicer. Avenger, however, seems much more solidly put-together (no wobbly center console like AURA and no door armrests that pull away from the door panel when you flex it.)

Maybe it was a difference of which vehicles we were in, but the Avenger I was in flexed pretty bad when you pressed on it.

[JT64]

No way. It looks like the panel was misaligned. Someone took it apart and didn't snap it back in all the way.

No way can a car like this exist, unless it's a hand built supercar.

[BrewSwillis]

No way. It looks like the panel was misaligned. Someone took it apart and didn't snap it back in all the way.

No way can a car like this exist, unless it's a hand built supercar.

Yeah, shocking that an interior of an auto show car would be messed up/broken!

Most of the cars I've been in at the Detroit auto shows have been trashed.

[K.C.]

A tough interior could take the abuse. DCX's interiors, on the whole, are cheap feeling and cheap looking, They need some serious improvement here. GM seems to have learned its lesson. It's really very disappointing. . .almost laughable.

Before I'm jumped by all the hemiholics out there, here are some of the worst offenders: Caliber/Compass/Patriot, Charger, Avenger, Dakota, Nitro.

[Northstar]

Let me point out that this was on the first day of the show, and there were very few people there. If it was knocked loose at that point in the show, it has probably fallen off by now...

However, considering it was the first day, I really don't think it was from "abuse."

[Intrepidation]

A tough interior could take the abuse. DCX's interiors, on the whole, are cheap feeling and cheap looking, They need some serious improvement here. GM seems to have learned its lesson. It's really very disappointing. . .almost laughable.

Before I'm jumped by all the hemiholics out there, here are some of the worst offenders: Caliber/Compass/Patriot, Charger, Avenger, Dakota, Nitro.

I agree with the Caliber/Compass/Patriot but not the Charger. It has a pretty good interior with decent quality amterials and good fit `n finish. Same with the Mahnum and 300.

Dakota isn't very good in terms of materials, but i remember it being very comfortble to sit in and the driving position was great. Nitro...average IMO...the one I sat in did no flex like that in any part. I sdunnow hat the hell was up with t he one NorthStar touched.