My trip and thoughts for NAIAS 2011

[BuddyP]

Since having attended 10 of these in the last 12 years I thought I'd throw some opinions of this year.

First off, it was better than last year by a bit (can it get worse than last year?). Porsche was back (woo hoo!). Guess we'll see Nissan Infinite next season. Mercedes was letting people sit in their vehicles again. GM booth was back to 2 levels again, but still not back to where the booth was in the early '00's (same with Ford). Was kinda hoping the show would've gotten moved out toward Novi back when there was discussions about it (rather drive up to Novi vs downtown - not a big deal though).

Getting more and more in love with Audi every year. They went from bland a decade ago to being very good competition and design with BMW and Merc. They had all top of the line models, would have been nice to have been able to see a couple medium optioned vehicles though. Porsche had a nice open and simple display with a nice variety of vehilces. Had a Panamara opened up to sit inside of but was suprised there was no Cheyenne available to sit it (they had turbo model but was locked up).

Chrystler Corp. - Interiors a LOT better than the past. Puts them on par with competition now. Jeep Grand Cherokee.. WOW!!!! That's all I can say about that. Loved the true brushed billit aluminum grill on the new 300. Amazing to not see chromed plastic there, unless this were preproduction units that will be changed for production?? Dodge and Jeep did very well with pulling away the basic tan or gray for interior leather on their new models. It was nice to see some richer tans and earth tones.

Now how about some GM rant?... Interiors! While they came a long way a couple years back they are still a bit behind and going cheap in areas. If you question this, just compare the interior of a Malibu vs a Kia Optima. Look at the interior door panels of the two, end of story. However the Optima is new this year and will give the 2012 Malibu a comparison when it is offically released. I am shocked to believe that I am about to say Dodge had a on par or nicer interior than comparible GM's. Dodge designs are maybe still a bit on the bland side but simple stuff like multiple door panel materials and stitching are just a few of the design cues that stand out. There has to be a better price competitive option to hard plastics, they are getting old. The new LaCrosse it done up very nicely though along with the Regal. Not sure what's up with the poop brown they are starting to use in the mix of a lot of the interiors. It looks ok but not all giddy about it. Also ditch the Titanium gray... bleh! Would be nice to see some richer tan/brown/burgundy leather shades. Let's start pushing aside the same day to day basic tan and gray. Also, GM, stop getting so cheap with the leather! Cover the whole back seat with leather and not just the center portions of each side!! The new Charger even had full leather back seats (except the very center and sides). While I see Cadillac did give you a full leather seating surface in the back, the sides of the front and back seats were still vinyl. This is rediculas especially for the person paying a $1500 upcharge for leather... give them leather! Not just leather accents!

Ford - As most know, Taursus looks huge on the outside, but dash and console is just way too intrusive. I deal breaker for me. new Explorer, very nice looking inside and out. They now have a vehicle with a motor, chassis, drivetrain on par with the Traverse/Acadia but with a nicer interior. I think they made a good call with the back seat also. Instead of a board like 3rd row made for 3 small children, Ford made a nice 2 person rear seat that adults can use and be somewhat comfortable. Nice move IMO.

[NOS2006]

Two things...

1. Porsche did have a Cayenne that you could sit in. I sat in it both times I went to the show (during both the Industry Preview and the Public show).

2. There are hardly any vehicles that have a full leather seat. I was speaking to one of my good friends who used to work for Eagle Ottawa (leather supplier) and now works for Faurecia (interior supplier) and he was saying that even most luxury vehicles that you would expect to have fully leather seats are using vinyl in areas. So I really don't blame GM for using some vinyl on a Malibu seat when much more expensive Mercedes, BMWs, and Audis are doing the same thing.

[Drew Dowdell]

Some of those up level marques are even using fabric on the side of the seat that faces the center console.

[regfootball]

Cruze interior is nicer than current Malibu.

Taurus interior was meant to shock, it's overdone, my bet is they revise the console and stack a bit in the very near future......

[NOS2006]

Yep, the Cruze interior is better than the Malibu's. I suspect that the Malibu and Camaro are going to have a vinyl-wrapped IP sooner than later (perhaps both for 2012).

[BuddyP]

Two things...

1. Porsche did have a Cayenne that you could sit in. I sat in it both times I went to the show (during both the Industry Preview and the Public show).

2. There are hardly any vehicles that have a full leather seat. I was speaking to one of my good friends who used to work for Eagle Ottawa (leather supplier) and now works for Faurecia (interior supplier) and he was saying that even most luxury vehicles that you would expect to have fully leather seats are using vinyl in areas. So I really don't blame GM for using some vinyl on a Malibu seat when much more expensive Mercedes, BMWs, and Audis are doing the same thing.

Ok... well there was no Cayenne opened up when I was there on Friday. The majority of the makes had full leather seating areas in the back seat. Merc, BMW and Audi was full leather seating area and even sides (again referring to the rear seats).

[Intrepidation]

I would be inclined to say Chrysler has leapt ahead of GM in terms of build quality and materials. The brand new 9-5 has build quality issues, and GM has been working to improve its interior for some time now. Chrysler went from recycled plastic interiors with poor build quality to high quality interiors that feature soft touch dashes, stitching, a nice mix of colors and materials, real metal trim and bezels on models like the Charger and Durango. If Dodge can do it in 12 months, what's taking GM so long? GM's got the designs down, they just need to work on the build and materials quality.

Then of course there's Ford, which has all of those attributes plus loads of cutting edge tech sophisticated interior designs.

[FUTURE_OF_GM]

I would be inclined to say Chrysler has leapt ahead of GM in terms of build quality and materials. The brand new 9-5 has build quality issues, and GM has been working to improve its interior for some time now. Chrysler went from recycled plastic interiors with poor build quality to high quality interiors that feature soft touch dashes, stitching, a nice mix of colors and materials, real metal trim and bezels on models like the Charger and Durango. If Dodge can do it in 12 months, what's taking GM so long? GM's got the designs down, they just need to work on the build and materials quality.

GM's too busy shuffling managers and talking $h! to actually improve the product.

Edited January 30, 2011 by FUTURE_OF_GM

[carman21]

Its still fairly evident that Detroit is not quite the center automotive universe as it once was.