Better Interiors?
Interior of the 2005 Cadillac STS
By Ed Welburn
GM Vice President of Design
I have been reading through some of the comments here in the Design forum and have taken particular interest in the interior discussion threads.
I have to admit that most of the postings are right on with respect to past execution elements relating to our vehicle interiors. While I won’t bore you with the details around why things like gray interiors are necessary, I will tell you that GM’s leadership understands the competitive landscape and has made a commitment to intensely focus on this area. We are on an all-out mission to raise the bar on interiors.
We are now turning the corner with some of our new products, such as the Buick LaCrosse, Buick Lucerne, Cadillac STS, Hummer H3, Saturn SKY, Saturn AURA, and Chevrolet Cobalt SS to name a few (see more images). These products are some of the first to demonstrate gains in fit and finishes, thanks in large part to our new product development organization. Progress will continue as additional launches and mid-cycle enhancements are executed.
We think that interior designs currently being released by GM Design are absolutely on the right course. Additionally, all North American assembly plants have implemented ongoing training programs for higher standards of fit and finish. Most importantly, Design, Engineering, Manufacturing, Purchasing and our suppliers are working as strong partners on a continuing journey to improve our interiors.
I hope you all share my passion and enthusiasm as we continue our mission, and I look forward to your comments.
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Thanks for the post, Ed. As I look around I’m noticing a trend towards interior looking a little less generic and a lot more ergonomic and driver friendly, which is a good thing. I’ve often wondered why there’s been so much focus on the exterior looks of a car (obvious answer: marketing and drool-factor) when we spend our time driving on the inside.
My Saab enthusiast whine for the day: The 9-2x was a great crossover idea, I just wish it had been given a Saab dash concept. It would have been a significant step to greater acceptance. Having said that, my reading seems to indicate that it’s forging a path.
Interiors need to look good and feel good. Better quality interiors (both from a visual and tactile perspective) will go a very long way to improving people’s perception of GM cars. I applaud you guys for recognizing this and hopefully you guys can make it happen.
Some things I would like to see:
1) Softer plastics that have some cushion under them. When I hit the plastic, I would like to hear a muted thump and not like I’m hitting against particle board. This may also quiet some of the annoying vibration I hear in certain GM cars…
2) Sparing use of wood trim, fake or real. I would prefer the option of having non-wood trim (such as aluminimum).
3) Please use a matte look for the interior dash rather than a shiny look.
Mr Welburn,
Does your team have any plans for allowing external MP3 players to connect through the audio/video systems of GM models? iPOD is my personal interest, but the other types like Creative, Dell and iRiver would be great also.
Keep up the good work on the interiors. I wish you continued success.
Bart
Exerpt from Mr. Welburn’s piece:
“We think that interior designs currently being released by GM Design are absolutely on the right course. Additionally, all North American assembly plants have implemented ongoing training programs for higher standards of fit and finish. Most importantly, Design, Engineering, Manufacturing, Purchasing and our suppliers are working as strong partners on a continuing journey to improve our interiors.”
GM has been building cars for decades. Why are they only now doing the above. Shouldn’t an industry leader have been doing these processes all along??
Dear Ed,
There is no question that the interiors on some GM products have been improved, if not significantly. However, because of the sins of the past there are still elements braided into current designs that remind us of those sins.
For example, I’ve always been partial to the center stack within a vehicle. Whenever I see a new vehicle for the first time, I always seem to be drawn to the center stack (only after inspecting the exterior first), then to the steering wheel, and finally to the rest of the interior. The center stack or HVAC & radio control center always seem to be lacking in inspiration and design originality. In some cases it is very easy to spot that the radio in one car is the same radio in many of your other vehicles. While this may be cost cutting, it is a turnoff for someone like me.
When it comes to the interior overall, at times it seems as though the wood, aluminum, and plastic are placed strategically rather than artistically. I think what I’m getting at is that the interiors lack emotion, depth, and feeling. For example, many of the premium and middle rate European and Japanese interiors all seem to have some sort of theme or design element the makes you feel as though it was all designed to fit together rather than feeling like it was put together. There is a difference. I would like to say more on this matter however my time is short. Till the next time.
Ed,
Thanks for the post.
I *used* to be a GM-man. Had the GM card, and my family owned GM’s back 3 generations, with the exception of a Fiat that caught fire and Datsun pickup in the ’70s.
But for me – I’ve stayed away from GM products for years. Sure, the value’s been there. The durability. The economy…
But when you have to sit and stare at some of the cheap, outdated dashboards created through the ’90s — it’s that day-by-day that eats at you and drives you away from the brand. (in addition to noisy interiors, old engines, poor suspension tuning, etc., etc.). It’s tough to justify a Cavalier when you can look at the high-quality and beautiful interiors of (say) Mazda and VW.
I’m *excited* by what I see coming out of GM now! The Cobalt, the wonderous Caddy machines, even the Pontiacs. Are any truly class-leading? That’s arguable – but it looks like “The General” is getting serious about being competitive in each market, while excelling in the luxury market.
I think ya’ll are doing a great job, and I think I’d consider a GM product in the near future…
But I gotta admit, from your post, I WANT to be bored and have it explained WHY a grey interior is a necessity!
I am sick of tan and grey. Another thing I am tired of is leather in everyting other than entry-level econoboxes.
Leather is cold in the winter so we have seat heaters. Leather is hot in the summer so we now get seat coolers. All this adds weight, cost and complexity so we can tolerate an interior that scuffs easily and eventually cracks.
Please give some cloth options and preferably in something other than tan and grey.
A 9-2x wishlist
One of the things that GM got right with the 9-7x was the fact that they crafted a Saab-like interior into the car.
Dear Mr. Welburn:
I would like to think that the interiors are improving, but …
I LIKE the exterior styling of the SRX and (in particular) the STS – and this is coming from someone who generally doesn’t like GM, and considers Cadillac “old fart.”
That said, I looked at the SRX and STS at the recent Providence (RI) auto show and, quite frankly, the interiors were deal killers for me.
The SRX interior FOR ITS PRICE RANGE was too generic GM – particularly the rubber looking top of the dash material.
The STS interior was better, but UNIMPRESSIVE given the price GM is asking for this vehicle. I felt the interior was belonged in a vehicle 10-20k less than the asking price of the STS. The new VW Jetta at 20-30k had a better interior than the STS at 60k.
I’m 48 and have always been oriented toward European cars – they have fit and finish, safety and performance (if not Japanese reliability).
The STS (judging by the magazines) has the performance; safety who knows; but the interior compared to the Europeans is still a deal killer for me. I wanted to like the STS, but walked away disappointed.
I really would like to be able to purchase an American car without feeling embarassed or feeling like I need to make excuses or rationalizations.
I just had the pleasure of driving a CTS-V at the TED conference and Monterey and found it to be delightful. What a great motor!
While not quite up to BMW or Audi standards, the interior was more than acceptable.
The big bummer was less about visceral and aesthetics and more about function: a foot-activated parking brake? Egads.
Keep up the good work, GM!
Ed,
My ride is a 2005 Grand Prix GTP, all opp. The interior is nice and well fit. What most people don’t is that the controls on and around the steering wheel are just a move a finger or thumb away. What I’m trying to say is tell us, show us. Brag about it. Tell us about it so we can go look & buy. Tell us about the raise the bar on interiors. Put it in your adds!!! It’s all about SPQRC.
Portholes notwithstanding, where’s the heritage in the mainstream lineup? GM need not go all-out retro, but c’mon! Make an Impala look like an Impala. The interior gets it done, so why’s the exterior as forgettable as a Camry? GM has one key thing over the imports…a richer heritage. Tossing that aside in order to follow Toyota on exterior styling (Impala, Malibu, LaCrosse…) makes no sense to me. By Toyota’s own admission, they’re weak in styling. If people want bland and nondescript, they’ll continue to buy Japanese. Give them a reason to buy GM, Ed.
First of all, Fastlane is a GREAT idea.
Then let’s cut to the chase, but the HHR interiors aren’t “cool.”
Even the new Beetle, or the PT Cruiser (also designed by B. Nesbitt) have a less boring design.
It seems like you run out of ideas, or time.
Good quality? Maybe, but the HHR (inside) feels like a Cavalier.
Too grey. Too boring. Too much.
Ah yes… A topic I’m passionate about.
What irks me about many domestic interiors (even the new ones) is that they look so ugly. I was literally dumbfounded when I stepped into my first Pontiac last year at a car show. Amazing! I come from an art/design background so it just boggles my mind how a company can mess up the interior so badly. Is it so difficult to come up with a simple console that is not ugly?! I mean seriously! I’m ignoring the material quality and feel so you can’t use that argument. Sure, we might not be able to come up with a masterpiece every time, but a boring console is infinitely better than some of the ugly pre-school interiors I’ve seen in domestics cars (and STILL see in newer models that have yet to be released). Again, I’m only arguing asthetics (layout). The size, shape and position of the buttons and the console. Material, fit, and color schemes are not taken into account.
On a related topic, I’m disappointed that the Fords and Holdens I saw in Australia had significantly better interiors than the US. (In fact, the GTO is probably the one of best interiors in the entire GM lineup) Clearly the US companies don’t think Americans value interior design. (Add that to the list of other things American car buyers supposedly “don’t like”, but that’s another issue for another day)
I like the blog. It is very well done and I expect it will help the GM brand, but I have one question.
Why Fast Company Now and not Orbit Now!?
I am much more malleable.
Let me clarify. I am much more malleable: capable of being shaped, easily controlled or influenced, and able to adjust to changing circumstances.
Sorry, Ed. Gotta disagree on the LaCrosse and STS. The LaCrosse interior looks incredibly chintzy. If GM insists on using fake wood, maybe they should look at the grains offered by Volvo in their V70 wagon for inspiration. What is in the LaCrosse looks like if was lifted from the 1970s. Pathetic.
As for the STS, the design lacks character and warmth, and the materials suffer from low quality. Flash points are visible, and the grey plastic around the NAV unit is sharp! Also, many of the plastics (particularly with the tan interior) don’t match up quite right with the surrounding trim. The STS is one helluva car, but no thanks to its interior.
…and I drive a Yukon XL.
Mr. Welburn,
The pictures that are shown are all “ho-hum” in regards to what is currently on the market now.
I feel instead of trying to meet the bar, General Motors should attempt (at least) to RAISE that very bar at least a few notches with every single new product that comes out within the same model year of that segment.
Sure the Equinox was nice……but the Torrent? You’re apparently attempting to step into BMW territory? Honestly, stop trying to pass ’stop gaps’ at us and actually deliver on the promises we hear year after year.
For Buick, I hope that Zeta is the answer, but if what I’m reading (hearing) is true….just cut it now and save it the “Olds Death” 7 years ahead of time.
Mr. Lutz,
The interior, as you state, is a vital aspect in selection of a vehicle. For years, even today, I’ve stayed away from GM trucks primarily because of their weak, dull interior design and features…Ford has lead this ares for years (and that’s saying a lot). There is one feature I have found to be of a smart design. My wife’s 2000 Chryster Town & Country minivan has radio/CD controls placed on the center steering wheel…on the back side. These are fantastic. You can adjust the radio/CD with just a slight movement of your finger. And, they’re positioned so that you never accidently make an adjustment. Placing the controls in this location will allow you to put other controls on the front side (.e.g., cruise control, etc.). Drive the van, Mr. Lutz. I think you’ll agree that this is a great design feature (come on by and drive ours if you can’t find one with controls).
In Shaun’s post above, I completely agree that the Holden GTO has an outstanding interior: finish, fit and function. Keep the interior quality and put in into the 2007 Ram Air VI. “If you build it we will come!”
Opps. I’m used to seeing these entries written by Mr. Lutz. Well the same offer is extended to you also, Mr. Welburn!
Hey Ed,
I saw the topic and couldn’t resist responding. Nothing seems to draw more attention these days than interiors.
I’m glad to say that GM is making considerable progress with interior fit and finish and materials. But one thing that bothers me is the lack of originality or creativity in the design. I’m getting kind of tired and bored of grey plastic and uninspired gauges. I would love to see nice and imaginative touches in GM interiors. Like the color option tachs on the Mustang, or the elegant and green lit speedometer on the Chrysler 300, or the rotary touches on the Mazda. Even the metallic influences on Audis.
I know you’re capable of doing this. I said it before and I’ll say it again, GM makes the best concept interiors out there. The thing is, they never make it out of the concepts. I’ve had chance to witness the interiors of the Cadillac Sixteen and Cien, and I must say they were beautiful. While neither cars will be produced, why not share the wealth onto other vehicles? I’m starting to think that you guys are almost scared of alienating customers with original stuff. Don’t be. This is something we’ve all been waiting for…
-Best Regards,
Chris C
Mr. Welburn,
I understand you are a classic GM fan owning a 60’s model Camaro among others. So you would understand that although the chrome and heavy metal days are come and gone, the idea that detail is important is not. Many GM vehicles of late possessed an attention to detail that helped the owner, vehicle, and consequently the brand to be classified. If you drove a Camaro in the 60’s you were most likely young and liked the rock music of the time. If you drove an Oldsmobile you were most likely in your 30-50’s with a family and a desire to own an affordable luxury car. Each car and to a greater extent, each division had a very specific audience in which the “details” were carefully crafted something that should be strived for today.
While General Motors has actively pursued products that speak to the masses and sell on the “value” proposition, I and many other used-to-be customers are waiting for vehicles that sell on merit and design. The price point should not be the biggest selling point for such an esteemed company with so many far reaching capabilities. So many vehicles released within the past 2-3 years have been lackluster and lacking an identity or direction that unifies the vehicles brand and for that matter the vehicle. The Malibu is a great example, with its lack of detail and generic face it lacks a true identity that unifies it to the rest of the Chevy car lineup. The appearance of a horizontal chrome bar and a bowtie is not nearly enough to signify what owning a Malibu means. The Cobalt is nice vehicle in its own right but, where again is a direction for future Chevy car designs or the Cobalt in general? Every successive vehicle or refresh should unite the brand making the image and audience ever more apparent.
Nissan went through a product revival that has brought them increased sales success, if you negate the failures or product inadequacies like the Titan and Quest (which both have missed projected sales goals). Much of the attention that Nissan receives is from the vastly revamped product lineup. In three years the entire lineup from Nissan is new. This is not uncommon for foreign manufactures like Toyota and Honda also. Not every product has been a success but, the “buzz” generated makes many of the successful products that sell well seem a better overall value. General Motors hasn’t produced a cadence by which it replaces or refreshes its products, so new product launches tend not to build on each other but attempt to stand on their own making less of wave.
History, design, luxury appointments, value, and cadence all make for a successful vehicle program. While GM interiors and vehicle designs of recent are a vast and marked improvement over the vehicles produced in the last 10 or 20 years they do not possess an attitude or vision that speaks to the owner or potential owner. Most owners/buyers want a vehicle that helps them to define who they are or where they would like to be. GM vehicles lack sensitivity to that aspect of car purchases and have in a sense ignored the majority of the ingredients for repeated successes.
Most car buyers would agree that they would pay more for design and technology if they felt like they were getting the moneys worth. Simply put, GM sets a price point and de-contents the vehicle until it is at the desired value. A more desirable situation is where the vehicles class leading nature commands a premium, giving more to the consumer and a better return on investment.
I can completely understand that gray interiors are needed; however, is it necessary to make pictures of gray interiors the primary images placed on brochures and web sites? Because a gray interior diminishes the fun and appeal of a car, and makes the interior to look very stale, no matter how good the design may be.
On another note, I acknowledge that GM is on a right course in terms of interior development. Recent interiors have been vastly improved over their predecessors. Yet I must inform you to not to be so complacent, for GM interiors are still not the leaders in the market. The interior of the new Buick Lucerne may be improved, but I would not say it has the most appealing design among vehicles in its class. I also suggest you to experiment with more varied materials and perhaps avoid large, unsightly regions of black plastic.
And remember, even though GM is improving, that competitors are improving as well. To be on the top, GM will have to work even harder that it did before.
Mr. Welburn,
The strides made by GM in interior design and fit and finish are commendable, however, they are still not up to par with the competition.
Once up to par with the competition, you will again have to make strides to surpass the competition. (Case-in-point: the Buick LaCrosse/Allure with its monochromatic grey-scale interior.) Cadillac is making great improvements, especially as Mercedes Benz’s sales are trailing, leaving up room for Cadillac to take over some of their previous customers. But if you want to keep these new clients, and have them return to purchase other GM products, you will have to bring up Cadillac’s game, and all of the other GM products, to a level above the competition. That is the only way to rid GM of the negative stigmatisms and taboos that have haunted GM for the past few decades, and to bring more customers and potential sales into GM dealerships.
Do not congratulate yourself because you have improved the interior designs in the most recent vehicles produced by GM – that only breeds complacency. Congratulate yourself when you have surpassed the competition in total vehicles sold and profitability.
I would like to agree with many of the above comments regarding the fact that while GM interiors seem improved, they are far from world-class. One of my current cars is a Kia Sorento EX and in my opinion, for the money, that has the best interior of any car I have ever had as far as control placement, function and convenience, as well as general surfacing and textures. (Obviously there are some fake materials, but still it is well above its class comparisons: Vue, Equinox, Escape, Liberty, etc).
I second the notion above that I can’t quite comprehend how some of these ugly interiors come to be. It seems so simple to design something that is at least pleasing to the eye. I think the Cobalt shows this promise.
I must say that the upcoming Saturn interior, as well as the new STS interiors, are excellent. The Hummer interior (is that a shot of the H3?) is MUCH better than the cheesey current H2 interior. And, finally, the Buick Lacrosse interior is very VW in appearance, and that’s a good thing. All the shots I’ve seen of the Cobalt are very encouraging as well.
The product renaissance at GM aeems to be well underway. Now keep it up, and bring us more cars that are genuinely interesting to look at, touch, and drive.
Honestly, if I had the budget, I’d get a new Caddy right now. I think they’re that impressive.
One simple question:
GM used to make the best interiors in the world. Period.
When will you build the “BEST” interiors and be the leader again?
Look…the Avalon is already in production with a Superb interior. The Lucerne…looks like a match for an 02 lexus. Guess what, that’s going to be replaced very soon.
Exceed…Exceeed…that’s what GM did to obtain its former glory.
You guys should be seriously trying to emulate Kettering and Earl.
Mr. Welburn:
I’ve been hearing about the promise of improved GM interiors since Bob Lutz came on board in 2001. But apparently, GM customers don’t feel there’s much progress being made.
Here’s an idea: The Japanese and Germans are known for better interiors and fit/finish. Why not give GM affiliates Subaru/Isuzu or Opel full responsibility for interiors and overall fit/finish on ALL GM vehicles?
Ed,
I for one do not know or understand why gray interiors are needed. Perhaps you or someone can enlighten me. Until the late 80s gray interiors were only in the cheapest cars, and that’s what they still look like to me: cheap. Not to mention dull, depressing, and ugly. If I buy a blue car, why can’t I get a blue interior? Or red or green or gold or even maybe my favorite GM interior of all time, the saffron yellow offered by Olds in ‘67. All of those colors matched or coordinated with the exterior paint, and buyers came to expect that kind of offering. That’s what Harley Earl and Bill Mitchell would have given me. Why can’t you?
My Intrigue (great design, BTW – I understand it was one of yours) has a “pewter” interior. It is one of those non-colors. It doesn’t really go with the Tropic Teal paint, but then again, it doesn’t really go with any paint color. It is dull, although not as bad as the dark gray offered a couple of years prior. At least it is 2-toned. But my… wouldn’t it have been cool to offer a teal interior to go with the teal paint? Olds did that back in the ’60s. Even a splash of teal somewhere inside would have been fine.
I look back at GMs interiors in the 60s and early 70s and wonder how it could have gone so far off the rails since then. Look at the ‘67 and ‘68 Impala interior, or those of the 60’s Rivieras, the early 70s Cutlasses, the Camaro and Firebird… the list goes on and on. I owned a ‘79 Buick Electra for a while and even in that era of excess, the interior was great. Powder blue with some chrome and woodgrain, and a design that harked back in spirit to the Buick dashboards of the 1940s. Somebody knew what they were doing then they did that design. Now, I recognize that a sea of powder blue tufted velvet wouldn’t fly today, but I think you get my drift. It must be possible to look vibrant without looking tacky – or look like quality without looking gray. My feeling is that whomever established the interior themes for GM vehicles that started to appear in the mid-80s, cars like the FWD Delta 88 and the Corsica and late-80s pickups, started down a path of cheap, ugly and angular from which GM still hasn’t been able to recover.
Seems to me that when GM did most of the interior design and manufacture itself it did good interiors. Now with much of that outsourced, we get the same generic interiors as the rest of the industry. That needs to change. GMs interiors were the class of the industry back in the Mitchell years, and they need to come back to that level.
I would agree that GM has made tremendous strides in interior fit, finish and quality. What I currently dislike about GM interiors is the unexpressive design.
The STS especially, has quality materials (Unlike what the MT article said this month) however the design is completely sterile and devoid of character. I’m glad to see GM improving but there’s still a ways to go.
i’m of the opinion that, although your GM execs think they understand the “competetive marketplace” they have zero clue what to do about it.
I give you the above feedback as a perfect example. we the (consumer, hot rodder, grocery getter, parent, small business owner, etc) enthusiasts who take time to tell you what we think, don’t see any camaros, z-cars, or significant hybrids on your showroom floors. yes i think your interiors could use a little more thought, a little more listen, and alot less “me too engineering”
I happened to have a conversation with a G.M. manager at one of your assembly plants. He stated to me that customers are more concerned with the overall quality of the car than the styling, including the interior. I hope that’s not the way all of G.M. thinks. I happen to be a G.M. faithful but when I look around at all the other products it’s hard to stay that way, especially the interior. Cheap looks from going with the cheapest supplier will not get you market share, which is so important to G.M. to stay in business. I was really hopeing that when Mr. Lutz came to your company things would get better. Some of the new products you have coming out in the future show that G.M. can make a comeback as long as you stop trying to build cars the cheapest way you can.
One thing that has to stop is the demise of the leather interior in luxury cars. If you are going to charge me $2,500 for leather i want all of the seat leather, not a 6 inche strip under my butt. Leather is not that expensieve and some of the top premiums even do the back of the front seats in leather. Charge what you need to charge to do it right then give people what they want. I cannot take any GM luxury offering seriously until this is remidied.
Likewise why not do more createive borrowing from other manufacturers, everyone else does and it seems like all GM does is improves over their last generation. Seek the best and try to improve on that, don’t try to match it. See tha t $24k buys in the interior of a VW and compare it to a pontiac. Acrua currently has the niceset japanese interior going. Rip them off if you have to (they would do the same) then add your own touches and improve on it.
Lastly. Stop with the thinking that small = cheap. Honestly the 3 series BMW is a small car and it’s premium. Some Americans get the idea that size is only one feature of a car. Look at the MINI, small and premium. You have some nice cars in Europe that just need a chevy blade and they could usher in a totally new era at chevy with a more sophistocated (Opel) product.
Wishing you luck.
GM’s interiors — like many Ford interiors too — suffer from over-achieving design moves. The reason why wealthy people buy and like European brands so much is because they have an “understated” elegance that puts function on equal footing with design swoopy-ness.
In terms of the most functional interior from a driver’s perspective – Saab’s new 9-3, current 9-5 and older 9-3 and 900 were absolutely (and still are) tops in the market. I dare anybody to spend one week with a Saab and not say this.
As a Saab, Volvo, VW and Audio driver (past or present) I find Saab’s latest 9-3 sedan interior very promising for the brand and as an example that GM management understands when to leave good (ney, superb) alone!
My greatest fear is that GM tries to take an American approach to Saab interiors by emphasising materials over form and function. Just give me my curved cockpit, simple control button plane, logical button layout, center console key ignition and restrained wood and leather and I’m totally happy!
Take that away from me GM and you’ll have one less customer looking for Volvo and Audi to fullfill his needs.
I could repeat many sentiments of others….I guess I’ll just run some observations on what I think of some recent GM interiors
The LaCrosse is ok, I think what is bad about it is its still too old looking. And the packaging and space efficiency is out of date. I understand that, considering the quite dated platform.
The G6 is ok, but the center stack, switches, etc.. and gauges are cheese. G6 has nice seats and good ergonomics. Where’s the rear head room?
Grand Prix is comfy and has good seats and decent plastic and nice gauges. The backseat sucks. Why no leg room? Why are so many GM rear seats so low? Why do we need the pancake roofline? The flatfold front seat is a revelation and so is the wide opening rear doors.
The Lucerne looks to have a nice interior.
The Colorado is not up to standard in 2005.
The Cobalt is a nice surprise and is very pleasing even if the car itself has no space. Its still no Mazda3 in terms of interiors, but then, its a Chevy.
The new interiors in the Uplander, etc. are a decent improvement. Better than the Chryslers and Freestars.
The GTO interior is the best. Fabulous seats, awesome layout, great interior overall. Wish Pontiac would evolve on the quality of this car.
I own an Aztek and think (exterior aside)its interior is brilliant. The seats are great, the cloth is an excellent knit, the design, while funky, has lots of interest in differing colors, textures, etc….gauges are great, the knit headliner is very nice. Even the switch gear is pretty good. The flexibility of the seating is a godsend.
The new Impala looks to have a really nice interior. The HHR interior looks to be a bit ripped off from the PT Cruiser. I would have liked to have seen something more similar to the SSR interior theme.
The SSR interior is pretty good. It is interesting to me.
I’ve tried to like it, but the Malibu sorely needs SOMETHING done to its interior.
The 9-3’s interior is quite nice and elegant.
Just some thoughts. GM is improving, and it may not be all there yet, but please don’t be gushing over the new Avalon. It may be assembled well with ‘perfect plastic’ but its about as sterile as elevator music.
All i have to say is WOW!!! i just saw the interior on detnews.com, for the new saturn aura, what a car, on the inside and out, MR.LUTZ, and the design team, inside and out, you guys are paving the way for our comeback. This is great, p.s. i read this book called trading up, we should try in our marketing to get more emotionally attached to our customers. If you get the chance read this book, and you will know what i mean.
Mr. Welburn:
A look at the images of the GM car examples you publish illustrate, I think, why you at GM still have a ways to go before you really understand what sophisticated buyers in all market segments are looking for in an automotive interior.
I have seen some of these examples in person, but they all show, even in these small jpeg images, what it is that bugs me so much about American car interiors and GM’s in particular – the shapes! the materials!
The Cadillac’s shapes are disharmonious – they don’t flow – there is harsh angularity everywhere, shapes that stick out, shapes that look like they might scrape your shins and cut your hands. The “New Edge” design themes that Cadillac loves these days is one thing. Lack of refinement in their execution is quite another. That interior is just not a visually inviting place to be. This fault is bad enough in any car, unforgiveable in what is supposed to be “The Standard of the World.” This look will date, and date quickly and badly.
The Buick LaCrosse? Improvements in fit and finish or no, it still looks like Buicks have looked for decades – “The Car for the Almost Dead.” My mother might like this interior, but she is 82! The dash shape makes the interior look nice and wide, but its functionality is and always has been poor. Panels, knobs, buttons and switches are just not in the right places. The climate and sound system controls are a horror in any car meant to actually be in motion.
And the textures just look cheesy, even in these photos. The fake wood looks fake – VERY fake. Ironically, it even looks fake in the Cadillac, where the wood may be real! The leather grain looks unconvincing, the edges screaming, “I am plastic!” The black surfaces look chinzy and flimsy to boot.
If you want examples of people who do interiors right, look to Volkswagen (The Jetta looks and feels much more expensive than it is and the Touareg SUV’s interior is just plain sumptuous!), look to Toyota (Their new Avalon is an example of how Cadillac could have taken the angularity theme and made it look unified and classy.), or – Heaven help me and may wonders never cease – look at Hyundai (The exterior styling is still a little on the Korean-dorky side, but the Sonata’s interior is a knockout for a car so inexpensive.). You should even look to GM Europe – that’s right – look at GM’s own Opel Vectra. Why does GM make so much nicer cars for Europeans than they do for us Americans anyway?
Lastly – and this is something that doesn’t show to the eye – start putting decent seats in your cars! The seats in the cheapest base-level VW Golf are more comfortable than ANY GM seat into which I’ve ever shoehorned my typically oversized Amerikanski butt. The last GM car I sat in, a 2005 Pontiac G6, had a leather 6-way power seat and I could not for the life of me get comfortable no matter how I tried.
Volkswagen’s Jetta, for the same price as a comparably equipped G6, offers genuine Recarro buckets that fit and support better than just about any seat in this or any other galaxy. And as anyone who has owned Recarros knows, those seats will last and last and last, comfortable until the rest of the car is fit for the crusher. If VW can offer this level of seating in an under-30-grand car, why can’t you?
As far as I am concerned, GM may be talkin’ the talk, but I’m not yet convinced you’re walkin’ the walk. To your credit you’re at least hitting some singles instead of consistently striking out, but to pry me out of my import, you have to start hitting some semi-consistent home runs (besides just the latest Corvette).
I am proud to sell GM models. The interiors have improved greatly since I started selling Chevrolets in 1990. We are #1! Getting to #1 is easier than staying there. Illinois Fighting Illini Basketball has maintained its #1 spot all season. Proud to be a big fan of both “number ones.”
Mr. Welburn,
Some of the recent GM interiors are fantastic. It doesn’t matter to me that the guys in Detroit didn’t come up with the GTO’s fine interior, as long as Pontiac is offering it. The Cobalt SS looks great inside, and even the CSV’s look sooo much better than the Fisher-Price minivan interiors before them.
I am 6-foot, and drive a Bonneville SSEi. The annoying donut headrests never really worked for me, but the rest of the interior has held up very well. But given that I paid around $30,000 for it, I’d hope that it would.
Squeaks and rattles in other GM vehicles I have owned (mostly Chevies) worry me, however.
Will these new interiors just look great, but start with the squeaks and rattles (the “Pontiac Excitement” as I’ve heard it called) after only a year or two?
I’m just hoping that not all aspects of “quiet tuning” are left to Buick.
I’ve been buying new cars since 1946, right after WW2. With reference to GM, I’ve had six. The old ones had some sense of distinctive style still lacking in your most recent Buick product. My ‘65 Riviera was sensational. Why won’t/can’t you produce such a stylish car today? IMHO the new Buick effort rates a 3.2 on a 4.0. scale. Good try but halting and without any luster. You gotta do better to wean me back to that brand!
I’m looking for a reason to buy another STS but I really think my ‘99 is better in many ways. Don’t Give Up! At least you say you’re trying.
Cheers!
This is a topic that is greatly impacting my ability to purchase a vehicle this year. GM still seems to be satisfied playing catchup. The largest auto manufacturer in the world should set the standard for EVERYBODY.
Interiors need to be perfect, from the color matching, material quality, ergonomics, style, and comfort. My wife and I were considering an Equinox, but it is moving further down the list because of the underpowered engine, lifeless electric streering, sloppy handling, and unimpressive interior. We need a car that I can drive and not get a sore back and butt within an hour. The rear seat also needs comfort, support, proper padding, and maybe even a center armrest and headrest.
I have oodles of GM points to use, but may consider a Volvo V40.
GM needs to move quickly and make annual fixes to its current models, better drive trains, safety equipment, seat upgrades, etc. Many of us cannot wait for a GM vehicle that delivers on everything (if that day ever comes). Please hurry! I don’t want to buy a Volvo!
RSS — Its the Content
RSS will become the most effective and efficient form or advertising ever developed.
Last month, I went to test drive a new GTO. I currently own a 2002 Acura TL-S. While waiting for the salesman to bring a new Goat around front for me to drive, I sat in the new G6. The interior felt cheap and flimsy compared to my Acura. The new GTO was a surprise, however. The interior didn’t have that cheapy plastic feel like my mid ’90s Z28 had. So there’s hope. Maybe Holden should handle interior design for GM’s U.S. models.
Mr. Lutz I beg of you; please let us know what Opels will be coming to the U.S. as Saturns! They have very nice interiors…
Mr. Welburn,
First of all, thank you for your contributions to the GM product line in the aspect of design. I am pleased to see a much needed approach to our new products.
I must agree unfortunately with many of the comments posted on this topic. As a world leader in the automotive industry we should be setting the bar, not just following suit. Not only should we set the bar, we should raise it so high that we are not being immediately upstaged by our competitors. For instance, Toyota is launching the new Avalon. This is a vehicle that even in the arena of interior design is being better received than our all new Lucerne by the automotive press. This is disheartening to those of us that are relying on the revitalization of Pontiac, GMC, and Buick to make it easier to put food on the table.
You are making great strides, but don’t stop short of the potential that exceptionally talented individuals such as yourself are capable of. The best way to combat the negative press is to not give them anything to complain about. It may be impossible, but that shouldn’t stop you from trying.
GM interiors are definitely improving, and you all deserve kudos.
The Aura, to me, is the best-looking interior. But even the Malibu and G6, which I think have “OK” interiors, are starting to get a bit dated.
It’s a shame that GM let interior quality and design get so bad for so long. You have a lot of resistance to overcome from people who migrated to imports.
Auto interiors is not rocket science.
Coming from a country that put a man on the moon first, why should the leader in the worldwide auto industry find it that hard to set the benchmark for auto interiors?
Could the problem be a lack of accountability at GM?
Lets start this off
So, allot of you’ve probably heard that GM even has their own blogs these days. Bob Lutz, Ed Welburn and more post on them. I guess you could call them their own little way to promote General Motors without sending out a generic press release. I actua…
DEATH TO MOUSE FUR!!!
And, enough with the bland grey color schemes. Mix things up a bit. How about colors that match the exterior of the car in key places, like on the PT Cruiser?
Mr. Welburn,
While I am excited about the variety and detail in design, I do hope that the quality of the products used in the interior is better. My ‘93 Grand Am started having switches/dials/and light malfunction within months of owning it. People who continually buy Camrys and Accords do so b/c they dont have that problem 7, 8, 9 years into it.
I hope that GM pulls old cars that have been on the road for a few years and studies what burns out and why. It could look nice, but functionality is essential. Let me know, I’d be willing to drive my Grand Am to MoTown for you to study. Anything to help the GM cause!
Eric
Mr. Welburn,
I recently looked at a LaCrosse and was reasonably impressed with the interior. Two things stand out. Why only a 6-way power seat? The seat backs should be power in a near luxury car. We have a Saturn L-200 that has power seat backs. The other thing that stood out was that the head rests for the front seats are too far back to be of much use in an accident and are not adjustable. Safety should come first.
We haven’t made a decision on purchase yet, but those two items are definately a negative.
Will the H3 be offered with an engine other than the I5? A Hummer with an I5 seems lame. At least put the I6 in the H3. How about the Duramax in the H2? Could solve a lot of the gas guzzling complaints.
Message received about the interior issues. Now I want to know why the replacement for The Grand Am has to look like a Dodge Neon! We currently own a 2002 Grand Am GT, and find that its replacement (G6) doesn’t even sport a “dual outlet” exhaust system! Sorry folks, I know it has a “boring” interior, with lots of “cheap” looking gray plastic, but I think the EXTERIOR styling beats the G6 hands down! And who came up with that stupid name (G6) anyway? That was tried by Pontiac in the ’80s & I had hoped it would never rear its ugly head again, but I guess history repeats itself, doesn’t it?
By the way, I also drive an ‘85 Chevy Caprice “Winter Car,” and the dark blue velour seats & door panels are still nicer looking than any current GM vehicle interior! Just like other people have commented, I cannot understand why this has happened. The seat is still comfortable, even after 20 years of use & my 260 lb. rear end sitting on it. What a great car this has been! I think I might cry on the day I have to give her to the shredder!
Mr. Welburn and Mr. Lutz,
No doubt GM is making strides in interior fit and finish, but it’s still behind the 8 ball in styling. That goes for exterior styling as well. What happened with the design of the new Impala?
When Ford got criticized for coming out with the most boring car ever with the 500, did GM decide they had to have that title as well? And so it designed the Impala?
I so want GM to have gotta have products, and I’m still waiting…
Ed,
These new examples look very promising. However, I have to also add “NO MORE UNCOMFORTABLE CRUMMY SEATS IN GM PRODUCTS”. I have to agree with other responders here that GM seats are without a doubt the worst of the worst in most cases. Why??? Why does GM insist on these uncomfortable seats? Is there a secret contest at GM styling whose butt can hurt the worst after 20 minutes in the new seat??? It sure seems like it to me. Maybe the seat engineers should be made to replace their chairs in the office with the seats they release in the vehicles. Or maybe the seats should be retrofitted into office chairs for the executives to sit on. This might get them changed…
I too, was impressed with the appearance of the Pontiac GTO’s interior – UNTIL I ACTUALLY TRIED TO SHOEHORN MYSELF INTO IT!! I admit it; I am a big guy – 6′3″, 260 pounds – and I am proportioned like a gorilla – short legs (32″ inseam), long arms (38″ sleeve), big shoulders, tall torso (size 50 extra long suit). But I am not NBA-tall, NFL-big or Dr. Dre-fat either – there are plenty of Americans as big as I and larger.
So why can’t I fit in that damned car? My current VR6 Jetta fits like it was custom built for me and it is easy to get into and out of as well. What’s more, the GTO is over a foot-and-a-half longer, 11″ more wheelbase, and nearly half-a-ton heavier. The interior dimensions, except for shoulder room, are surprisingly close between the two cars. But just sliding into the driver’s seat of the GTO nearly cost me a trip to the chiropractor! And once behind the wheel, I discovered that I couldn’t get the steering wheel in the right place for me – despite the tilting and telescoping adjustments! And like many Japanese cars, this Pontiac makes you sit really LOW in the car – for adequate head room, the designers, instead of raising the roofline, just lowered the seat! The effect, especially with a black interior, is like sitting on the floor in the Black Hole of Calcutta.
Lastly, the 8-way power seats made my butt sore – in minutes! And all those adjustments helped not a whit.
The bottom line? Appearance counts a lot in terms of getting someone into the car. But no matter how cool it looks, if the comfort and ergonomics suck, people won’t bite – not at these prices. There is just no excuse for a big-a**ed American car like the GTO being unable to accomodate, in comfort, big-assed Americans and millions more like me. I’ve always wanted a sport coupe with a stump-pulling V-8 like the one in this car, but this car is torture to live in. I think it is a testament to GM engineering that they can build a car this big that is so cramped.
I have been waiting for GM to do everything right, not just one or two. Unfortunately I’m still waiting.
Take the Chevy Malibu for instance. It has the making of a great car, however it is saddled with electric steering, which no car magazine has praised, in fact they overwhelmingly pan it. If it’s not great, why use it? I don’t get it. Also, the front end of the Malibu is just not right. Why not give it a front end more like the Cobalt which is attractive? Then, the interior. The ugliest steering wheel I have ever seen, same as that in the G6. Why not use the steering wheel that is found in the Equinox?
Next, the slab grey interior, which thankfully doesn’t have the awful fake wood of the tan interior. But why not mix it up with black like VW does so well? I saw a pic of the Uplander’s interior and would love to see something like that in the Malibu-it looks very nice.
I don’t understand how someone at GM would look at the Malibu with all those flaws and sell it like that. Would Toyota? Honda? Mazda? Not a chance.
To make things worse, even with press criticism of all those points I mentioned the next model year the Malibu didn’t change at all! I mean, come on already. Not even the front end? Steering wheel? Black in the interior? That’s just being lazy.
GM, you need a kick in the pants. The electric steering doesn’t work well — so get rid of it until it does. Looking at the Uplander — the interiors are improving but use it in all the cars.
As for Pontiac: the G6 isn’t selling well. You should bring back the Grand Am name, and make the same changes to the interior and steering that I suggested for the Malibu.
The Cobalt should have been called the Cavalier. Why do you feel the need to constantly change your car names? Honda and Toyota don’t do that.
OK, rant over for now!
How about an interior upgrade option? I am not talking about leather seats with everything else being the standard plastic dash and plastic wood fare. I am talking about an interior option that would appeal to the under-30 crowd. Option code U30. This is probably not an option you would want to offer on a Buick or Cadillac. On the flip side, where is our U30 option code for Pontiac, Saturn and Chevy?
As a gubbmint employee I get to drive a lot of domestic cars. The Lumina by far was awful and the worst. GM by has the least useful, worst looking and just cheap.
I’ve also spoken with Delphi R&D folks and they come up with a lot of good ideas that get killed by Corporate. Example: several years ago GM decided that display monitors in the dash were a “bad idea” and nobody wanted them. I want to know how far from reality are your design folks? OF COURSE I want displays in the dash.
Here is my Don’t List:
1. Nothing fake. No fake wood/shell, fake stitching or fake textures.
2. Minimize straight lines, everything should be organic.
3. Use seats that have contours and real support. I want 4-point seat belts.
4. No hard plastic, if you must: cover it with padded fabric/vinyl.
5. No squeaks or rattles. Ever.
6. No visible screws or fasteners anywhere.
7. No idiot lights or digital gauges.
8. Weak cupholders. They should be unbreakable.
DO LIST:
A. Make exlusive use of rubberized switches, dash pads and any other surface that is visible/touchable.
B. Use standard DIN radios. I like lots of features and smaller buttons…pay no attention to the car critcs that “radio buttons were large and informative,” emphasize features over button size please.
C. Big flat touch screen monitor. Even if no GPS. I want to monitor what the car is doing, modify or check any subsystem in the vehicle.
C.1 A data port (IP/RJ45) where I can plug my laptop/whatever into and actively monitor the car and/or download telemetrics.
C.2 I should be able to wi-fi upload music or podcasting to my stereo from my home computer. Download telemetrics too.
D. Lots of power ports. Passenger side of dash and/or near the seat. Somewhat hidden is best.
E. Proxmity “keyless” starting. I should have a credit card RFID that allows me to just touch the “Start Button”. physical keys should be history!
F. Extreme Driver bias for dash and controls.
G. Make useful textures for the plastic or metal. Either grip, cleaning or reflectivity. Matte is good.
H. White background, black lettering with full instrumentation.
I. gadget center console for my cell phone, PDA and whatever else can be dreamed up.
Wow, the last comments were moronic. And to the man to doesn’t fit in a GTO, go on a diet.
I apparently don’t have the class and panache of the other posters. I like the interior on my ION Red Line.
Keep it simple. I don’t want a bunch of gew-gaws and doo-dads. Keep that stuff on the high end. I don’t want to look at it and I don’t want to pay for it. I need a monitor on my dash like a fish needs a bicycle.
I don’t even have a problem with the interior in my 10-year-old S-10 except the seats are nicer in the LS. I’m still looking for one of those to swap into mine.
The day I feel like I need to be coddled in luxury every time I sit in a car is about the time I have become an pampered self-indulgent a**. It is nice when everything works though.
I find the interior acceptable in my wife’s Impala also but I don’t like the fact that the interface to the car is the radio. I would prefer the radio stay separate so it can be easily replaced with aftermarket equipment. I don’t expect high end audiophile equipment from a car manufacturer but I would like the option of doing it myself.
I’d also like to thank the people running this site for helping me. I had a problem viewing the site and they responded within one day and had the problem resolved in a couple days.
Thanks for the forum GM, I hope it helps market share. My town can use the boost.
Pretty interesting comments so far — I’ve gotta agree with almost all of them. GM interiors are (with few exceptions) cheap and bland. A few suggestions:
NO FAKE WOOD EVER!!!!!!!!!!!
‘Nuff said about that.
NO BRIGHTWORK EVER!!! Leave the plastichrome with the whitewalls and faux vinyl roofs back in the ’70s please.
FULL INTSTRUMENTATION ONLY. If it don’t have tach/oil/temp/volt along with all of the rest you deserve to go out of business.
If you’re going to put storage “identations” on the dash it would be rather nice to have them deep enough so items don’t roll out while turning a corner.
CHEVROLET: if you cannot find another way to style this line other than by wrapping it with a stripe of aluminum foil my next truck will have a blue oval in the grill. ENOUGH with the plastichrome! Let Ford uglify their designs with it. The BowTie needs to STAND ALONE in the grill without the kitsch.
Is there some reason why it has BOTH “Silverado by Chevrolet” and “Silverado” on the tailgate of my 2004? Looks like either the designer stuttered or they had extra letters lying around in the paint booth. ONCE looks good and TWICE looks mucho stupido.
Please keep in mind that not all drivers out there are between 5 ft. nothing and 6 ft. tall. I know you (and everyone else) have been continually trying to make your products more aerodynamic. HOWEVER, for very tall drivers, having the roof curve down several inches to meet the windshield is at best claustrophobia-inducing and at worst a big safety hazard due to poor visibility. If I (and others) cannot see even in a full-size pick-up or SUV you are missing the boat on why so many people HAD TO SWITCH to full-size pick-ups and SUVs in the first place. I have not gotten any taller since I was 13. And way back then I could sit in any CAR GM made reasonably comfortably (other than the Chevette and Fiero). I doubt a DTS would have enough headroom for tall drivers today. I do know that a Town Car doesn’t. And by the way, please mount the rearview mirror at the TOP of the windshield rather than high-middle. It makes for one very large blind spot when tall drivers cannot adjust the mirror to the very top of the windshield.
Do I like my Silverado? Yup! I would like to LOVE it though. This truck rides like a car and not a buckboard and kudos to you for that! Seats are pretty comfy too. Controls aren’t bad. Power folding mirrors are GREAT! Steering wheel is atrocious looking. HVAC controls are wonderful!
I know you guys (and gals) at GM can set the standard again and I appreciate that you are trying. Set the bar way high-I know you can do it!
The latest Consumer Reports says the following about the G6’s interior: “Interior quality is unimpressive.” And about the Cobalt: “The rear seat is not roomy, even by small car standards.”
Mr. Welburn, I have to wonder: How much more market share can GM afford to lose with such not-best-in-class cars before this icon of the American auto industry is on life support?
What will it take to bring accountability and a sense of urgency to your mission?
For what it’s worth:
I went to an auto show in 2004, and looked at and sat in many car interiors. My favorite interior, hands down, was that of a $27,000 Saab 9-3. The cockpit was BEGGING me to test drive. Mr. Welburn, there’s a benchmark for you.
GM cars have been getting better overall in the past few years. I’m fairly pleased with the new interiors. Is it enough to grow the business or even stay at the same level? Looking at the numbers of sold vehicles and lost market share the answer is obvious: GM is not moving forward fast enough. The progress has not been big enough.
You guys at GM have to understand that the competition doesn’t sleep. Actually they might be moving faster than ever. Walking in the Cobo center in January I looked at the Buick LaCrosse and I said to myself “it’s OK.” Then I went to Toyota and I saw the new Avalon. I have to say upfront that I hate every previous release of Avalon. Avalon for me is like Caddy for some people – never ever! After seeing the car I was astonished. It just looked amazing – fit and finish etc. I was really impressed. That’s what GM needs. Public has to say “wow”.
GM has to create the culture internally that the only acceptable way of designing, engineering and manufacturing is excellence. GM cannot afford such a thing like the new SUV Saab – too many people are unhappy and there are too much of bad press. Why? The pictures where just crazy good. After seeing the truck in real life I was turned off immediately. I’m not losing my hope though – the all new Saturn Aura looks great – I was very impressed. I didn’t want to leave the vehicle. I wanted to stare at it – very well done job. I heard promises that the saleable car is going to look just like the one from Detroit show and it better does.
This is the only path to the success, especially now when Hyundai is getting really good, and I’m not talking about quality – this should not be a topic to talk about – it just has to be the benchmark of the industry.
Use of nice professsional fonts adds a lot to the perception of the quality in the instrument panel. The digits that are poorly synthesized by the old fashioned LEDs or LCDs segments look really cheap in the new cars. The fonts should appear as if they are printed with a high resolution laser printer (i.e. smooth edges and proportionally spaced, etc.)
Just got a 2005 Impala ( company car ) …seats should come with a roll of duct tape.
Keep it consistent. My 2004 Impala has wood interior parts that do not look like wood, feel like wood, nor is it wood. Better to have a carbon fiber or other updated look. I am probably one of the “younger” Impala drivers in the mid-thirties, but I do appreciate a good and simple interior. Look at Ford, look at any other maker or even other GM lines, they can do better, but they are not consistant across product lines.
Well I have to echo the statements of every one else. GM needs to start focusing on the interior. For example the STS, the black plastic around is a cheap feeling low cost bidder piece, as is the lower console. Not what you would expect on a high $$ car. Not to mention that the radio is next to impossible to use easily if equipped with the nav system. I found it next to impossible to change radio channels with out taking my eyes off the road. I also almost cut myself on the cheap plastic that surrounds the unit when the screen was tilted in.
Unlike the “older” units, which are very user friendly, this new system quite frankly stunk. I also found that you can no longer search for local restaurants with out knowing the name, a feature I particularly liked, as I tend to be in unfamiliar areas most of the time. Thumbs down on all the small details that make a 50K car stand out from a 30K car, and quite frankly there is no excuse for it.
Hi. I am a student at Duquesne University and an avid car fan that desperately hopes that someone at the top is listening to this. They need to or they will find themselves quickly without new car buyers. Be aware that I am a GM/Ford fan that has been heartbroken lately. Please listen, the domestics cannot survive unless they make changes. I know I will be repeating a lot of what has been said, but this does need to be heard if domestics want to keep their share of young buyers. I will be one of the up and coming affluent young people that every car company seems to want to court. Please listen.
INTERIOR DESIGN COUNTS:
Use soft touch plastic, even in compact cars. Take the loss, it speaks volumes of the commitment the company makes to the buyer, even at the lowest rung of the buyer scale. Yes it’s expensive to do, but doesn’t it make sense to spend an extra $500 on a car to make it really nice on the inside and gain a customer for life rather than have it derided as cheap and a necessity possession rather than a I WANT THAT CAR SO BAD possession? Also, if you want awesome cars like the STS to sell, do not scrimp on the interior. Reputations are built on not merely keeping up but exceeding the competition. Yes I know the STS had a lot of money put into the interior, but it still fell short. I went to a Cadillac dealer and was shocked to feel hard plastic. Hard plastic has no place in a car priced at $63,000. Mercedes doesn’t do it, BMW doesn’t do it, Volkswagons that cost $22,000 don’t do it. Cadillac should not do it.
Also GM’s engineers need to make buttons on the radio and HVAC system not look the same. Toyotas have a large knob for radio volume along with other buttons that are easily distinguishable. Wouldn’t it be easy to just mix the button sizes a bit? It would help a lot. If you would just spend $500 more on your interiors it would mean you would have to spend less in incentives to sell them.
YOUNG BUYERS HAVE NO BRAND LOYALTY YET:
If you want young buyers you need to woo them away from the “imports are better” mentality of their parents. People of my generation are avid information seekers. They will choose the best product regardless of brand at least when it comes to cars. If you catch them young with great compact and midsize cars, they will automatically associate the quality of the lesser brand with the quality of the higher brand, therefore giving you a buyer for life. Toyota and Honda sell Lexuses and Acuras because Toyota Corollas and Honda Civics are better cars than their domestic counterparts. Domestics have caught up but no one wants to buy from a brand that merely catches up. THEY NEED TO EXCEED. The car my generation aspires to are Lexuses and BMWs because of their reputation of being the best. If you wish Cadillac to join that top tier you cannot scrimp on quality and interiors. If you want young people you need to establish reputation. To do so you need more than just catch up.
I guess the bottom line is that GM is a massive corporation with massive resources and young people know it. We know you can do better. If you put more money into the quality of your cars then you can sell more of them with less incentives, therefore you get a higher profit. Just know this, the change needs to be immediate and substantial if you want to woo people like me towards your showroom. Please don’t use all these it’ll be too expensive to do it in volume. There’s a reason why Toyota can sell 300,000 Camrys a year when they are more expensive and GM can only sell 100,000 Malibus. Just like with home electronics, Japan always ends up getting more market share because of quality. Time for American car companies to beat Japan at their own game.
Dan
Heartbroken Domestic Lover
Dear Mr. Welburn,
Kudos for you and your designer team’s effort in improving GM’s vehicle interior designs. However, despite of hugh improvement over the GM models in previous years, the general feeling of GM’s interiors is still subpar when comparing to your competitors. In this cut throat business environment, good enough can no longer cut it.
My friends and I were recently invited to a marketing survey in Boston by a European car manufacturer. I was not able to attend. But I heard my friends that many participants of the survey gave the marketing and engineering people many good ideas about their products. Maybe GM should try that in Boston.
If you invite me, I will be there:)
Wow, I hope you can keep this blog going – and I also hope that someone important from GM actually reads these.
I recently attended the Toronto Auto Show and sat in countless cars. Interiors are just fashion statements and the function of some are totally driven by what’s popular. Those dial controls used by many (European also) are silly. The jewel effects I just laugh at. One important factor is fit and toughness. Some GM models you can still push on the panels and trim parts and there is still deflection. You should not be able to remove trim pieces with your hands. The soft touch thing is a personal preference and is defiantly not common.
There is no manufacturer out there that has a soft touch interior. I found junky parts and hard plastic on BMW’s and such. After awhile they all look pretty much the same. Those little square buttons in columns and rows are more amusement. If there is one thing that people out there don’t demand is a digital readout for speed. The digital readout on the old Caprice police cars was the best dash layout EVER on a vehicle. No guessing if it’s ‘77, ‘78 or ‘79. Plain as day.
One more thing, can we have dark carpet again? The rich and famous don’t clean their cars, but here in the northeast salt and dirt hammers tan and grey carpet. My 12-year-old pick-up with black carpet cleans up like new. I agree some different colors besides those two would help a lot. Please remember the older drivers, confusing buttons, settings and knobs do not get used by the older driver. I have to set my mother’s clock every six months.
Mr. Welburn…quality sells.
Two complaints about instrumentation:
1) Why does the heads-up display have to disappear when I wear my sunglasses with polarized lenses?
2) As a member of the over 40 set (I guess we are not a target group) requiring bifocals, I find it impossible to read the labels and messages on overhead controls as provided in GMs minivans whether I am driving or even standing still. Why can’t these be legible for everyone?
I’m a GM employee with a simple question. We buy primarily minivans and midsize SUVs. Our old ‘95 Lumina van had a nice, ready access holding shelf on top of the dash. My wife loved it for her sunglasses, and lots of odds and ends she didn’t want to open a bin and fish around for. In this year’s minivans and Trailblazers, nothing like that can be found. The dash top is curved downward and nothing will stay on it. Is this design policy? I know it looks sleek, but it’s not very functional. Is it a safety issue, maybe due to passenger airbag deployment ‘launching’ these kinds of objects in an accident?
Better GM Interiors
GM has been working to improve the interiors of its fast cars.
Saw the new interior on the Uplander, yes it is very impressive. Hopefully though GM will remember that the exterior styling of vehicle’s is EVEN MORE important than the interior. If the exterior isn’t appealing it won’t matter how great the interior is. The front fascia on the Uplander is terrible. What was wrong with the Venture name? It had very good name recognition. More marketing money will be spent promoting another unnecessary new name instead of even more new products or features like fold into the floor seats.
Dear Ed,
I’m an owner of a Caddy CTS. What a great car to drive. But the interior was almost a deal killer. My wife wanted a white diamond exterior. Our only option for the interior dash was black. This really looked stupid. How can you justify a $40K+ car and offer only a black dash. GM can do better! Also GM should warn customers that the tires are not made for winter driving. My wife just did a 360 on the highway due to the slick tires. Take care of the customer and you will develope a loyal customer.
One of the previous comments talked about use of leather on GM seats, or rather the lack of use of leather on GM seats, and I gotta agree. It is so disappointing to see how much you are getting charged for “leather seating surfaces” and all you get is a small patch of leather to sit on with the balance made of vinyl. Look at BMW, they use rich supple leather on the whole seat. It’s nice.
Get rid of “leather seating surfaces” and start making real leather seats! No vinyl! People DO notice even if you don’t think they do.
I am another GM employee with a question. Why do we still use basic vehicle controls that require the driver to remove a hand from the steering wheel to operate them? Specifically, I am referring to the windshield washer/wiper control on my ‘05 GMC Canyon. If I am driving on a snow-covered road, the last thing I want to do is remove a hand from the wheel when a passing truck coats my windshield with slush!
That being said, I really do like my Canyon. I have the I5 engine and think it performs wonderfully, despite a previous posting panning it in favor of the I6. My only engine gripe is that there is not a diesel available for the truck. I would have bought one – anyone else agree?
My favorite example of a bad interiors is in my old Chev S10 from the 1980s which had fake star wrench screws molded into a moulded plastic dash which was painted to resemble aluminum. It actually fastened with 3 screws instead of the 16 fake star wrench screws which were molded into the panel. Not only did it look fake, the 3 screws were completely inadequate to keep the squeeks away. My guess is that 16 star screws would have done the anti-squeek job very nicely.
I loved that truck and drove it for 15 years until it rusted out…but I never got over the cheapness.
I have to wonder if any of your interior designers have ever ridden in their designs. My daughter’s ‘04 Sunfire for example; if you place drinks in the cup holders you loose access to the heater controls, on my 96 GMC Z71 your interior designers placed an important 2-wh/4-wh drive selection indicator light on the dash directly behind the spoke in the steering wheel so it can only be seen when the wheel is turned. And the climate control on our C5 vette require taking your eyes off the road for way too long in order to verify the selections. Point being; these interiors are not well planned.
On interiors… We recently were shopping for a new family hauler. Comparing the SRX and Chrysler’s Pacifica (which we bought) I was very dissapointed with the Caddy’s appointments. Yes, the vehicles are targeted slightly different. Yes, the brand image plays a large role. But the short story is the Pacifica is much more luxurious at $10k less. DCX has the right idea on interiors and I’m surprised GM is not updating them faster.
Vehicles w/OnStar: I am confused as why from a design aspect there is exposed wiring on the rearview mirror? Does no one else notice that this is visible from outside the front windshield as well as inside? I personally think the interiors are much nicer than I have seen in a long time, but the interior also consists of how I view it from outside looking in. If I see multi-colored wiring that is visible from the outside of the vehicle, my perception is already skewed. Can we add this as a QC check before the vehicle leaves the assembly line? OnStar is a great product & service to own, though I feel that looking at the wiring changes my perception. More should be done than the black tape and wrap that is being used currently. Thank You.
Mr. Welburn,
This is the first time I logon to the Fastlane and was surprised to find so many GM supporter and so many valued comments.
GM admitted that they’ve put too much effort on exterior rather than the interior, but over the past 25 years since Roger Smith, I can’t name one outstanding car/truck. But with Bob and yourself taking charge, GM is heading in the right direction. GM’s interiors and exteriors are definitely improving, but not fast enough. With GM market share fall below 25% and Toyota closing in, GM needs to surpass, raise the bar.
Because GM had such a bad reputations in the past, it needs to surpass the competition in every respect. Equal is not good enough.
Stop the generic center stack/HVAC/Radio control center. The Buick Lucerne, the new Chevy Impala and the future Saturn Aura, they all the same HVAC/Radio control center. It is very well executed in the Aura, but so and so in the new Impala. But for Buick, if Mr. Lutz wants Buick to be the GM’s Lexus, please put in something that match or better EXCEED it.
My opinion about some current GM products:
Corvette – Excellent exterior/mechanical design, but the HVAC/Radio control center too Cobalt like.
Uplander/SV6/Relay/Terraza – Very good and tasteful interior. It is exceed.
Malibu – Can uses some more sound deadening material. Cheap interior, needs improvement.
G6 – In the right direction. Pay attention to details (eg, the hand brake release button pinch my index finger when I try to release the hand brake.)
Equinox – Very good design, but still interior needs improvement.
LaCrosse/Allure – Nice interior for 55 and above.
Rainier – Should have a better or different interior not carried over from Olds. Changing the look of the speedo/techo gauge is not enough.
Cobalt/Pursuit – Good and tasteful interior. A bit too conservative. You are targeting the younger generation, not middle age. Can used more quality control. Recently I was in the Pontiac dealership, the hood of the displaced model was way miss-aligned.
Fast, Action and Exceed. GM just starts, still a long way to go.
I had owned 2 Saturns (a Coupe and a Sedan), currently own Montana and a Century.
Best Regards,
E Chiu
First of all…the STS interior is not that great. The Jetta is better for crying out loud. Look at all the blank space in the picture, it’s just all hard plastic. European cars have big buttons that cover the blank space. People want chrome, and cool vents, and nice textures, not lots of hard black plastic. It’s pretty sad when the Mazda 3 has a better interior than any Cadillac.
Never mind about all the technical car stuff like the interiors, cupholders and so on…do something about your snake oil dealers who can’t seem to be trusted by anyone!
It makes me sick thinking about buying a GM car.
Although GM is certainly making strides on quality and most recently attention to detail in designing cars, it still cannot compare as a global company to the Japanese or German manufacturers. The reason is that for every Cadillac STS, Corvette, Cobalt, or soon-to-be released Pontiac Solstice, the corporate leadership continues to insist on desgning cars for old people. I am specifically referring to the Buick that was going to be a trendy car, but has once again become a car for Mary Kay.
Hello people! This effects and pulls down GM’s image. Why bother making Corvette at all? BMW, Acura/Honda, and even Daimler-Chrysler NEVER produce a car “for old people” and therefore buying a BMW, Acura or Daimler-Chrysler can never imply that the driver is over the hill, socially backwards, or congenitally ignorant.
Saturn is successful because all of its cars, despite being uglier than sin and having bumper-car steering wheels, appeal to youth and young families. They are the future. They clamored for Saturn to develop a larger car, and then for an SUV, and now a sports car (Solstice repackaged as a Saturn.)
Be advised: Old people die. What future is that?
Image, Image, Image… Aim to be a world class car company with world class cars. Every GM car should be designed with attention to detail and an emphasis on today and tomorrow, not on old style concepts. Cadillac is leading the way. Pontiac is finally making some nice cars. You killed Oldsmobile as it was making progress. I say get rid of these old people in the executive office.
wrt interiors:
1. Dealers can’t fix interiors without greasing them up or destroying them.
Two new GM cars I had suffered from this.
(and please, GM, stop the old, tired remark that your dealers are independent and you can do nothing. MANY other businesses can and have made their product dealers do better. You CAN do something if you really wish to!).
2. New GM cars are getting better but are inconsistant. The 2004/5 Malibu Maxx has nice front trim, but junk for rear trim (rattles, squeaks, fits poorly – I have seen this in several samples). I’d rather see less overall flash and better execution of assembly and mounting of parts so they don’t squeak and rattle a few miles after you drive the car!
Not really adding anything that hasn’t already been said, but I just CANNOT understand why it’s such a struggle for American car companies to produce a decent interior. Why are we even having this conversation? All this talk of “turning a corner” is nice, but come on — foreign makes have been cranking out nice interiors at every price level for years now. It’s not like GM woke up one morning and everyone had jumped 10 years ahead. And if VW can go from unispired-but-sturdy to WOW in just one model changeover, why can’t the Americans?
I recently bought a VW, and I just can’t get over the quality and attention to detail — in a $21,000 car. Like some other wise poster said above — if nothing else, just copy them!
I hope by “old” you mean state of mind and not physical age, for many older people buy cars that are “fresh” and exciting.
Keep in mind many of these new “fresh” designs are actually contemporary REdesigns of older cars!
And who’s buying all those Scions and Mustangs and Chrysler 300’s – cars that put a fresh face on some older ideas?
I rescently did an evaluation of different small pickups. When I got there my personal short list was containing the Colorado. That was until I opened the door and had a peak inside.
The interior, while a vast improvement over the larger pickups, which remind me of the ’60s (can we call them retro?) still gives the feeling of buying a vehicle that is several generations old.
When looking at the Japanese (or newer US competition) they make you feel welcome inside.
When buying a vehicle, looks is one thing to get me into the dealership. The inside of the vehicle will actually make us leave the dealership with the vehicle.
I also don’t get the Chevy/GMC differentiation. Every other manufacturer is able to build more than one vehicle on a platform that doesn’t look and feel like the other one. Inside and bodywork need to differentiate against each other and be attractive to different customers. For me all I can use the differentiation between Chevy/GMC for is to get more dealers competing, that’s all.
Looking at the latest pictures provided here it seems GM is heading towards a better direction. But since the competition isn’t going to sit back and wait it remains to be seen if the small steps are going to be enough.
Hi Ed Welburn – comfy seats and easy-to-read dash etc are important — but it’s high-time someone in autoland started thinking about HOW people are using their cars, and design an interior that WORKS.
The earlier comments re company cars and adding laptop connections etc was close to the mark.
Don’t know about US, but here in Oz big % of sales is for fleet – part of salary package, the “office car.”
Plus major trend to SOHO work, home-based consultants. I’m one of them.
I need a car that’s an EXTENSION of my workplace, so I’m not wasting time when I’m out on the road.
What does this look like??? Simple things: on the driverside door,
wider “pouches” or a low platform with some kind of clip-on system so I can just put my briefcase/laptop there as a get in, and just lift it out ready to go in one movement. What a huge aggro-aver – no more having to open a rear door to put it on back seat – and then repeat procedure to retrieve it.
So help me, even just as a handbag-carrying woman I’d love it – no more reaching over to passenger seat, no handbag handles getting looped over the gearstick. Bliss.
But back to office stuff – a secret magnet at the middle of the steering wheel would be a huge help, so I can stick on a post-it size notepad for jotting down ideas/phone no.’s when I’m at traffic lights or in peak hours jams. A holder for pen/pencil on the steering column would help too. A slide-in glove-box kit that includes stapler, clips, sticky-tape etc. An inbuilt dictaphone. Not too hard, not expensive – and the result is a new MARKETING category/opportunity called -(guess what) THE OFFICE CAR.
Think of the ramifications – a company car actually designed to assist professional productivity.
I haven’t touched on a dozen other refinements that could be included – customisable GPS so you can pre-program client addresses, those laptop connections so you can do meeting reports in the car immediately after one meeting in that spare hour (i.e. not enough time to do round trip back to the office) before you’re off to the next client.
As a designer I suggest you think BEYOND cosmetics and re-invent FUNCTIONALITIES for a mobile world. Today’s car isn’t only for driving in.
And if you’re not sure a good idea can come from downunder, just remember that the pickup aka UTE is a good ol’ Aussie invention. Which, by the way is a fine example of what I’m talking about – forget cosmetics, focus on what the vehicle’s really wanted FOR, and to DO.
The positioning says it all: the OFFICE CAR – for office workers.
And, just to complete this – the most comfortable car seat I’ve even driven in was my old 1955 PEUGEOT 203c. Still is!
As the often aggravated owner of an ‘03 Saturn ION, I think my car is the posterchild of GM’s bad interiors.
Each year it has received “updates,” but none have addressed the real problem.
It’s not the center IP, it’s material quality and flow of design.
The dash is nice looking, if not overdone, but the materials a horrible. While cleaning the dash, I can feel the panels flex under the weight of my hand, and the IP cover feels like it could be pulled off if I tugged a little. I won’t even talk about the rattles and buzzes.
The design theme started by the dash stops there. The dash sets the theme for the car and should flow throughout the car….along with its color scheme.
The ION’s dash design doesn’t flow through the door panels. Instead, the door panels are a flat hard design that reminds me of a ‘92 Mitsubishi MityMax Pickup I had several years ago. The door panels are one-color boring too.
The Cobalt’s dash design flows through the enterior better, but the color scheme in the dash does not in all models. The coup’s door panels are solid grey, and do not carry the upper dash’s darker color. This might have been cheaper, but it definately takes away from the car’s interior perceived quality.
I won’t even talk about the seats. You already know about them.
I know, I bought the ION, and I’ll live with it. I just wanted to share my two cents.
Many times you can learn more from watching someone do something the wrong way than you can from watching something done right.
For Cadillac and Pontiac, I see the nice improvements in the dashboards and seats. I feel you should retain the traditional Deville comfortable seat for the new base Deville and a seat like the STS for the the DTS.
Also please make sure the new Deville does not compromise trunk space. The new Deville should have a much more attrative front than the current one. I feel GM would be selling many more Devilles if the headlight had more design.
Can someone explain to me why I cant get a black interior in an Escalade?
As an XLR, C6 and SRX (and countless other GM products over the years) there are some things I will never undersatnd taht are so basic to anyone who drives a car:
1: Why in the world does the driver have lean into the backseat with a remote control to operate a DVD player in the back of a family car liek the SRX? Wht cant I insert and control the rear DVD player (in addition to rear) from the drivers radio? talk about just plain illogical?
2: Why is the lighter plug in the ash tray? everyone uses the lighter for a cell phone charger so why make it so you have to keep the ashtray open all the time and theer should always be a 2nd lighter for this?
3. How about a slot for cell phones or an optional bracjet that adjusts to all cell phones widths . Does everyone need to use a cup holder for this? Again so basic.
4. What happened to that 5 cent rubber band that used to be attached to all sun visors so you could but your glasses up top instead of wasting interior space for them?
5. Why doesnt every cadillac have blue tooth? Now, not 5 years after the competition?
6. Where do you think people store the owners guide? the glove box so can we actually creat one that fits inside the glove box?
7. An aux plug in 2006 for Ipods? Great – except it does not display on radio and its only available on a few models. late for the party again
8. How about leading the pack and making somethig that your IPOD can just slide into and connect? As lee Iaccoca used to say – lead, follow or get out of the way.
9. The SRX the 2nd row seat that folds is the passenger side. Again, the safest place for my kids car seat is on driverside which make my 3rd row totall unaccessible.
10. The absulute safest place for car seat is rear middle, but no Latches there (not just GM) although I think 1 GM model has this.
11. Hey heres a concept – side airbags in mini-vans? I was shopping for a mini-van and immediatly ruled out all GM products because of this. Are you kidding me no side airbags in a MINI VAN?
12. How about cars that are priced right? The XLR is the only car without options. I buy a $40,000 STS and then need $20,000 of options but get back $500 for those options when I trade in? Nobody else plays this game in the industry.
13. How about hiring the wheel designer from MB or BMW? They offer great factory wheels and GM offers 1 or two options that all look the same and are always boring.
14. How about an Auto fro a CTS-V – I know 6 people incl myself that wont buy one (but would with auto) because we live in big cities.
15. I loved my XLR but the wheels looked like they should be on a trycicle they were so thin.
I love GM products and only buy them but when you cant get a black interior in an escalade and no Saddle brown colors like the bautiful SC430 etc you are just playing games and will never be competeive. The STS interior is so boring it makes the LS400 look sporty. The outside is beautiful but inside is designed for my grandpa.
The exteriors are getting better every day!
Gotta disagree with one of the posters here; Ford has most definitely *not* led in interior quality. If you want to see interior quality, drive any Audi. Ford’s materials s**k, and always have. Who wants swoopy-looking plastic?
The interior is where people live; it’s the memories they have of their car. Memories of what was wrong with their last car is what spurns them on to their next purchase.
My advice: imitate Toyota until the interior quality gets there; if you break a patent I’ll look the other way, personally. Then start toying stepping out on new ground with the styling. Use your heritage, it’s the only thing we’ve got that they don’t.’
Hey, that’s a good question: who *did* come up with those horrid hoop headrests in Pontiac’s Grand Prix and Bonnevilles? Do you know anyone with a square-shaped head? More contact area, please. Even a Neon is more comfy there.
Sit in a Volvo S50 sedan sometime. Those were some nice headrests.
I have to say that interiors are a key for me in any car. I just bought a new car (Saab 9-3) after owning two straight Lexus. I found the Lexus to be wanting in terms of excitment (ES330 was my last one) but was always impressed with the details (interiors, paint, plastics, quality etc).
This time around I was interested in the Cadillac CTS after hearing about the improved quality at GM but just couldn’t bring myself to pay that much for a car with an interior plastic that’s as soft as concrete. Lucky for me the Cadillac dealer was part of a larger complex that included a Saab dealership next door. Although the Saab wasn’t quite the driver’s car of the Caddy, it was way better than the Lexus in terms of driving and had an interior that matched the Lexus in terms of build and style (a few too many buttons though).
Please, put that Saab quality interior into the Cadillac and I will be in heaven.
One thing that really annoys me about modern interiors is the lack of choice in colors. What ever happened to cheerful colorful interiors as well as a choice. What if you dont like tan.
Dude,
The interior of the new GTO is simply sweet. There is some room for improvement. Lets say the gauge pods on top of the dash (very hot) like what the Monaro CV8 has. I wouldn’t mind having the DVD navigation system either (like the Monaro CV8) and for the exterior lets make the 18″ wheels std.
For all the naysayers to this wonderful car. Compare the interior to the new Mustang GT, yuk! The GTO is world class stuff far exceeding what Ford did, and it is soooo comfortable.
Mr. Welburn, I sat in a new STS in a Cadillac showroom two weeks ago. The tulip shape of the upper part of the console where it meets the instrument panel intrudes into knee space uncomfortably.
If the steering wheel telescoped two or three inches further out, perhaps I could sit back far enough that my knees wouldn’t be crunched up against instrument panel and upper console parts.
My Chrysler 300C steering wheel telescopes to a comfortable position. Why can’t the STS match that car’s interior comfort?
why can’t cheverolet build a special edition like dodge rumble bee. After market builder makes a killer truck.
Is it me, or is every one of these fast lane blogs an exercise in condescending attitude?
“While I won’t bore you with the details around why things like gray interiors are necessary…” – EXCUSE ME? No Japanese or German car manufacture, NO JAPANAESE OR GERMAN CAR MANUFACTURER, would ever say something like this to its buying public. In fact, they’d never have a negative outlook on that in the first place – if the market wanted red, green, and purple interiors, they would deliver. They wouldn’t whine that it was necessary for everything to be grey. And by the way, grey can be very sexy and well done – the words you were looking for were BLAND, DRAB, LAME, DISGUSTING, TACKY, etc. Let’s get with the program, ok GM?
This seems to be your problem – you complain that you are doing better, and that it is ‘beyond your control’ that you are doing so poorly, because you’ve got high union fees and a slump in SUV sales… So instead of fixing it, you complain. Why don’t you take blame, and just admit what is really going on in your corporate culture? You got away with putting out CRAP cars for so many years, in such large volumes, because people didn’t really have many other options. Then you bought out your competitors as an inroad to the market, and then proceeded to destroy them – like Saab.
Next, somebody around there needs to start implementing a corporate structure where people take responsiblity, and things get done. Really done. As in, fixed, done. If the SUV market slumps, scale back production and try to find a way to use the excess plant capacity to make panels for another vehicle in a hotter segment. You’re telling me you can’t do ANYTHING? The rest of the plant just sits around and doesn’t do anything at all?
“This guy doesn’t know what he’s talking about, he’s not even considering tooling costs.” – No, YOU, GM, shoot yourself in the foot for short term gains. The tooling costs are NOTHING compared to what you’re losing in market share and profitability. Last time I checked Nissan wasn’t a billion dollars in debt! Oh wait, YES THEY WERE, and you know what? They got through it by being focused, and giving real plans, and making real changes.
And these blogs come across as snotty and condesceding. “I won’t bore you.” Lutz had one the other day that basically said, “We’re not going to tell you what we’re going to do” – well you know what? Then I’d rather invest in snakeoil than in GM, because at least with snakeoil, I know what I’m getting.
Dear Mr. Lutz,
Perino is right. Go back to your heritage and create great cars!! That’s the conscientousness and cultural change that needs to be instilled.
Stop making commodities and truly make a work of art.
That’s the only way GM is going to stop its perrenial slide.
I recently sat in a Honda Stepwagon (Japan only minivan) and it’s light years ahead of anything GM makes.
I think it’s time to go for broke (no pun intended) and if you have to take 2 billion dollars and flush it down the toilet to Italy or wherever else the imcompetance of management decides to take it – why don’t you try gambling on a hot new interior…or a stunning vehicle like the Sixteen.
GM is no longer in a position to produce items that are good. It needs real “buzz” the kind that awesome product creates.
You need to start thinking how can I give the consumer even more than he expects from a BMW, Lexus or Toyota. Otherwise, I don’t see any other road to redemption.
Management should also cut its own pay, and get it down to zero on the top tier executive level until the company is clearly back on track.
Tanaka
I read recently that the Pontiac Bonneville was being axed, ostensibly due to low volumes in the segment the Bonnevile is designed to address. To put it simply, this is a cop out. When shopping for a new car recently, I strongly considered the Bonnevile. The value was there and I so wanted to buy American. Sure, I had some nit picks concerning the front wheel drive and lack of folding rear seats, but I was willing to overlook both. However, when I went to test drive one, the one thing I couldn’t get past was the interior. I mean the interior on this car is ugly, and by “ugly” I really mean fugly. Seriously guys, how can any designer, engineer, marketer, or manager look at the interior of a Pontiac Bonneville and say to themselves, “That looks good!”? NFW. There are about 2 or 3 ways to design an interior and that isn’t one of them. Take one look at an ‘05 Acura, Subaru, Mazda or any recent Lexus, BMW, or Audi. Interiors are pretty easy to get correct. Why can’t GM get it right? Help me out here! I want to buy from GM, but you’re making it so hard! As a side note: I used to have a ‘98 Chevy Silverado 1500. The interior was great and then you totally messed it up with the latest generation. Why did you change something that wasn’t broken?? If you want me to I am more than willing to review your interiors while they’re in development to help you avoid these debacles in the future.
I just came across this section of the GM blog and was happy to find it. One of the things that illustrate to me that GM just doesn’t get it in the design department, is its steering wheels.
Yes, I know, what about the rest of the car or what about the interiors, etc. I think GM has made great strides on the Cadillac front and I applaud you for the wonderful work and commitment to design on that front.
But when I look at the new Corvette and see that you’ve stuck the SAME butt-ugly steering wheel in the new Vette that’s in the G6 and the Malibu, then I just have to shake my head and say, you still don’t get it.
Like wheels, a special steering wheel, especially for a marquis car like the new Vette, can be an exclamation point. Nardi and Momo steering wheels are associated w/exotics because of the way they made the driver feel.
For all the good in the overall design of the new Vette, how could you let something as pivotal as the steering wheel become a parts-bin decision?
The interiors that GM produces needs alot of work. The design is rather good but the fit-in-finsh, which is key, is what GM should invest time into. That also applies to exterior design as well. Automotive jounalist worldwide always complain about the interiors of GM vechiles from the corvette to cadilliac. GM’s interiors, are among the worst (positive critism)even among the “domestics”.
Some private auto customizers make more impressive looking interiors.
A great example would be the cadilliac CTS which is in the same entry-lux classs as the AutoUnion A4 and the BM 3er, the cts is nearly a world class car until you get to the interior, which is just well below competetion. Some competetors (in lower segments) use lots of plastic and cheap materials but the way it is crafted and refined, makes lots the cosumer, ethusist, and press forget that, for example.
So what I think GM should do is make a program within the company that specializes in nothing but tailoring and refining the finished products, such as better fitting panel gaps, structural detail, yet simple and not over design, etc.
Heck, Tieota has a program were a psycologists and engineers set the precise button feel of the instruments on the instrument panel, I hear/read.
However, I have to say that I apprieate your recent strides and ethusism, and thanks for the c6 n z06 that was brilliant.
GM has gone from one extreme to the other in interiors. They used to have four colors and make a big deal about Claret replacing Burgundy when to the customer they were both dark red.
There was a lot of expense in this….matching all the plastic trim is expensive and difficult. The new approach is limiting interior colors to two on many models — the infamous grey and tans!!!
How about a more balanced approach? Sure you can limit the dash/carpet/vents etc. to the two basic colours but changing the seat trims and door pad inserts is a very simple change with a minimal cost impact or production impact (many of the seats are sequenced outside of the plant anyway).
So with the greys you could have black/grey with red accents to do a sporty feel or black seats with grey piping to tie into the rest of the interior.
With tans you could add browns with tan inserts, etc.
Easy to do … relatively cheap…. good for the customer. Come on, why not?
P.S. What idiot put the bright blue Recaro seats in a black Ion sport model? I haven’t found who thinks it looks good. What was the focus group reaction? Red would be an a much more acceptable color. I know that marketing is differentiating your product from the competition, but let’s do it positively!!!
I really can’t believe some of the complaints that these people have.Talk about picky.How do you satisfy all individuals with a mass market product.Maby a larger options list so people can mix and match their interiers.Then of course you’d have to stop the dealers from loading up every car they order.Dealers are a big GM problem because they push buyers to buy what makes them more money instead of giving the buyer what they want.Two months later the buyer hates what they got,but instead of blaming the dealer it’s GM’s fault even though the government won’t let GM control their dealers.The forien makes don’t have to follow the same rules and can withhold cars from problem dealers.How do yo compete with one hand tied,I don’t know.I’ve owned Caviliers,Corvettes,Pontiacs and except for the seats have enjoyed them all.My 04 GTo has the best seats I have ever found in any car.I do wonder how people can buy the cars they do when you consider that almost all the forien cars sold here are made by countries that have killed Americian military,bombed our country,and spent our forien aid to compete against our own industry.I just saw the new HHR and absolutly love it.AS a retiree of 55 I think it is the perfect combination to do the things I need in one vehicle.200 hourspower would make it Perfect.If an auto can’t go 7 or less seconds 0 to 60 it is a liability entering beltways and turnpikes so make the interiors lite.You should open your own aftermarket business so consumers can pick individual pieces to have factory installed and financed with the rest of the car.Maby even let them shop SEMA supplies,but factory or dealer install them for quality control.
Thank God, you guys listened and got rid of the G6’s ugly 4 spoke steering wheel.
The 3 spoke one look 1000 times nicer.
Good job guys!
http://www.pontiac.com/g6coupe/gallery.jsp
Just one complaint–light carpets in trucks. Why in the world would anyone put light gray carpet in a work vehicle?
Wouldn’t some sort of charcoal served the “universal bland” requirement, but not picked up coffee and dirt stains.
Graeme
Ed,
I just want to say, listening to feedback coming from GM and non-GM customers is important, so here goes. GM interiors are improving and to a large degree, not small degree. My wife and I recently compared MB E Class, Lexus GS 400, BMW 5 Series and Infiniti M with Cadillac’s STS V8. We selected Cadillac’s STS. The Ebony interior of the STS is upscale and compares with its luxury competition. I think this would have been hard to say 10 years prior.
To illustrate my point on how far GM has come with Cadillac’s new STS. I owned a Lexus ES330 (my wife’s car)and was so impressed with our Cadillac STS, when we decided to look for a sports car, Cadillac made the list of reviewed brands along with MB and Lexus. When comparisons were concluded between the MB SL500, Lexus SC430 and Cadillac XRL, we chose the Cadillac XLR.
One of the key reasons for choosing Cadillac was the overal styling and interior design of the XLR. One of the best cars we have reviewed, period.
From where I sit, I can see the the dramitic improvements in GM interiors. Continue moving forward and I believe others will join in my observations.
John
GM can do nice interiors, like the Impalas european cousin, the Vectra http://vauxhall.co.uk/gallery/images/Vectra/interior/Life/VX_VEC_07484.jpg
But for some reason GM North American does not see fit to offer nice interiors for the N.A. market.
Ford is guilty of this as well.
Which is very odd, seeing both companies own 2 companies (Saab-GM) (Volvo-Ford) known for some of the best interior designs in the world, and for sure the best seats found in any car.
Cadillac interiors may be better in quality, but they have suffered greatly in variety. How can you market your “flagship” car, the STS with only three interiors color options? Your web page shows what is supposed to be the 2006 STS interior in a color that is no longer available – what is identified as “cashmere” is actually “neutral” which is no longer available. The neutral interior was once one of the most popular and was certainly a favorite of mine. How about bringing back some variety with a proven popular interior color? Brown (cashmere), grey (light grey) and black (ebony)are just not enough for what is supposed to be a world class luxury car!
I am currently enjoying my third Rendezvous and one of my favorite features is the Eye Cue Heads-up display. Anyone who has experienced this feature for a few days has also formed a favorable impression. This is not only a convenient but a safety feature by always keeping one’s eyes on the road. My concern is that we do not offer this feature on very many vehicles. I sincerely hope that we will continue to offer Heads-up display in the future on a wider range of vehicles in addition to offering more capabilities.
Mr. Welburn,
I wonder why GM can’t offer many different choices of color combinations of both interior or exterior of its new cars? For example, BMW has an “Individual” packages to satisfy the customer’s needs.
Some random points:
My brother once said all Saab had to do to sell a lot more cars was to put their seats on the showroom floor next to any competitor’s seats. So, I’m always surprised at how little attention is paid to seating. It’s one of the most important aspects to driving. I figure stereos, cup holders, etc are all fluffy extras for those that spend their time sitting in grid lock. Seats are one of the design features always in use 100% of the time.
I have a Saab (9000 Aero with seats like you’d only find in a Ferarri these days) – anyway all Saabs are broadly known to have had the best seats of any car. Consumer reports once rated the 9000’s seats as “extremely comfortable” – a rating no other GM car has ever had to my knowlege. My old 80s suburban had absolutely the worst seats.
It’s not just GM, our 4Runner’s were horrid, our Honda Odyssey was a backbreaker on long drives. Same with the Honda Pilot’s seats – poor.
Anyway, Saabs no longer get that “extremly comfortable” rating – now they’re just “comforatble”. So I assume they’ve been cheapened down by GM.
A bit more seat trivia – we bought a Honda Pilot last year (before the 9-7 came out) and ordered leather seats – turns out it’s perforated leather!!! – I’m a moron – I bought an SUV !!! with perforated leather seats – how do you wipe the great outdoors off those? Can’t even let the dogs climb in on those seats.
More trivia: the Pilot’s 3rd row rear seats don’t come out – a huge loss potential storage space for camping trips.
I recently bought a 2006 Hummer H3. I absolutely love this vehicle. However the interior is very cheap. There aren’t any storage compartments. The buttons for the window are too far back (and I am a female 5′3). Another suggestion is that the marketing department advertise that the Hummer H3 is not a gas guzzler or expensive like Hummer’s previous predecessors. Too many misconceptions about the H3 since the H1 and H2 are known to eat gas and have a hefty price tag.
I am a GM employee and believe the quality of parts for GM vehicles need to be upgraded. There are some engineering flaws (as I previously mentioned) as well.
When someone becomes discontent due to a reoccuring problem in their GM vehicle they lose faith in the company and have no problem buying their next vehicle from a competitor.
May I suggest GM absorbs more input from the public.
I recently (around December) bought my first GM product after two decades of owning Chrysler products. I bought a 2006 Cadillac CTS and absolutely love the car except for one thing that someone else had already mentioned. The seats are so uncomfortable that I can hardly walk after just 30 minutes of driving. This is a car that would love to be driven for long extended periods, it is perfect except for the seats. I may not buy another GM product simply for that reason, but will try to convince myself to do so because everything else about this car is nearly perfect. If it was more comfortable to drive I’d never buy another car from another company. The seats in my sister’s Saturn have the same issue, so it seems to be a company wide problem (from the high end vehicles to the economy models).
GM needs to make sure that the inteior features and new technology is integrated into every single vehicle that they build. not only is it important that you have cutting edge exterior design of a vehicle but increasingly it is becoming important to have eye catching features in every model from entry level to high end. customers are coming to expect to get a beautiful looking vehicle that is reliable and fuel efficient. i do believe you still could make your interiors even more eye catching and stylish and think you should continue working on higher end interiors across the GM lineup. also offering more and more exclusive technology that is exclusive to only gm cars would also make purchasing a gm car desirable and would offer a sense of exclusivity to the consumer.
A major reasons in opinions maybe the difference in what toyota considers “competative components” that would mostly be bought using internet trading sites, Who is right? Are steering wheels and wire connectors competative components?
I have two ideas I feel I need to pass on to you as I think they are great. I didn’t know how else to get them to someone that would listen and this is as close of a topic as I can get. First I was noticing the other day how children are strapped into the rear seat of moms car for many hours on the road. If the company logo or vehicle logo was imprinted on the seat back infront of them how it would then be imprinted on thier brain. They would think in the future of that product. Future sales increase, also I was wondering why I see kids in little electric cars. Why on earth are they not the ones we love? Corvette with lots of logos about. Sky with Saturn emblazoned. GMC advertisement all over little Jimmies 4X4. Cadillac on Suzies SUV. Do you get the picture? I hope it helps sales!
I bought 2 new 2008 Chevy vehicles Suburban & Silverado, both had ebony cloth seats. Everything sticks to the seats (Lint/Dust/Hair Ect…) it makes the insides look like trash..I have to clean the seats with duct tape at lease 3 time a week… I contacted GM about this and spoke to area dealers, The only straight answer I received was “That it up with GM, Its not my problem.” Its a real shame when you spend over $80.000 dollars and GM wont even attempt to contact you on this issue, maybe thats why the company is going belly-up… It appears that GM is cutting corners in there vehicles to save money, My wife and I have bought GM cars for over 25 years, and this will come to a end. My 2008 Silverado has only 1245 miles on it, and I will getting rid of it as soon as possible. Thats all I wanted was some answers to my problem…..
“I contacted GM about this and spoke to area dealers, The only straight answer I received was “That it up with GM, Its not my problem.” Its a real shame when you spend over $80.000 dollars and GM wont even attempt to contact you on this issue, maybe thats why the company is going belly-up…”
Sounds as though you are getting the typical runaround from GM dealers. GM’s turnaround plan not only has to address car quality, but also change the corporate culture of their dealer network.
In my view, customer service and satisfaction GM”s dealers provide has to be a primary concern. After all, dealer contact is the only contact most consumers will ever have with GM.
“Everything sticks to the seats (Lint/Dust/Hair Ect…) it makes the insides look like trash..”
You must have gotten the “Velcro edition.”
You’ve got cloth seats that are are black and you’re upset that lint shows up on them?
You are kidding right?
My guess is that if you are looking for a black cloth interior that doesn’t show lint and stuff you are probably never going to be happy. Your 2008 Silverado and Suburban are probably the best vehicles in their class on the market – looks like someone will get a good deal on a used car.
One among a myriad of things that GM needs to address re: interiors, PICK APPROPRIATE FONTS for the instrument cluster/buttons/displays and high quality displays!!!!!!!!!!!!!
A font is an underappreciated but important interior design element. While some of the displays look like they were taken directly from circa 1982 Speak ‘n Spell.
IMHO, the bold, italicized, Nascar-y fonts in a Corvette are not apprpriate for a Cadillac.
The Cadillac XLR has an horrendous font for its gauge cluster.
Look to BMW/Merc/Audi/VW for some functional, clean, elegant sans serif fonts and high quality displays.
j.a.
What do you want to bet that GM doesn’t even have a typographer on staff? I agree fully, typography can make such a subtle, but important difference. People don’t realize it when they look at it, but it can make the difference between high-class and no-class. Cheesy fonts subliminally say cheesy car.
If they just went with Helevtica it would be an improvement, but they could do even better.
yeah, how about NO TAN INTERIORS!!!!! tan and peanut butter interiors have got to be the UGLIEST interiors you have ever offered. how about getting rid of those. nobody buys cars with your ugly tan interiors. Oh, and another thing, why did you make the Grand Am series’ interior so cheap? it was made with plastic!!!!! You have ALWAYS been terrible with your interiors since the 90’s. oh wait, you cant give us new interiors because you DON’T CARE! if you REALLY cared about your customers, you would have listened to them years ago.