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no no no. the materials used BMWs, VWs, Audis, Porsches, and Nissans/Infinitis are NOT the same plastics. nor are the panels assembled the same way. there aren't any 3/4" gaps in door panels. there isn't any "dash warp". and tactile surfaces have a rubbery feel to them. so you know you're hitting a button without looking at it. there's a way to make interior look right and there is a way to make it look like crap. in any car costing over $30k, there is no excuse for dodgy materials.
the H2 is another example of a CRAP interior.
For Sale:
- Sony PSP with a Baseball 2k6 and the movie Crash. $100
- 1973 Karmann Ghia Convertible w/ Auto-Stick. Needs Restoration. $1200 OBO
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Without focusing on the materials making up the interior; I would still say US cars have bad interiors. The lines are just not there. A $20K Jap car has better lines than the twice-the-cost Corvette.
-Giovanni
One turbocharger. Two intercoolers. All love.
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Joined: May 2000
Posts: 97
CEG\'er
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CEG\'er
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Quote:
The ULTIMATE road car - power to weight ratio better than a Viper, skidpad near 1G with proper tires, near perfect wieght distribution - monster & sexy...
A second gen RX-7 w/ a V-8 !!
That thing is awesome! What a great idea! You can find a 3rd gen RX-7 with a blown rotary for well under $10k, and a high-end rebuilt Chevy 350 with lots of go fast goodies (400hp+) with the conversion kit will run $10k. So for under $20k, you've got a car that'll run in the 10's at over 130, while still handling and braking extremely well. And looks nice too! 
I think I need to add this project to my 'must do' list. I think it would be fun to build and of course to drive!
'96 Contour SE, 130k, traded 6/19/03 for: '03 Infiniti G35 Coupe , Diamond Graphite '02 Corvette Z06, Electron Blue Pic
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Joined: May 2000
Posts: 97
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CEG\'er
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Quote:
I would still say US cars have bad interiors. The lines are just not there. A $20K Jap car has better lines than the twice-the-cost Corvette.
Huh? Japanese cars have never had good interior styles or lines, especially the dashboards. They make them well, BORING. They're just flat and plain. Look at the dash and interior design of a Toyota Camry for example. It has absolutely no style at all. No curves, no tiers, no sweeps, nothing. Just flat and boring. Yeah, its functional and works well, but its just so boring to look at. No style. The dash and interior of my '96 Contour is way better looking than the dash of a 2003 Camry. Granted, some of the interior components could be of higher quality in the Contour, but at least the dash and interior has style to it. Its interesting to look at, sporty, comfy, and modern. Modern so that it still looks good 7 years later.
As for the Corvette - I own one. Magazines slam it all the time for how crappy the interior is. Its really not that bad. Its definitely too plastiky and the huge buttons on the radio and HVAC controls are a bit goofy looking. But other than that, the interior is nice - the dash has nice styling, even at 6 years old of a design, the ergonomics are good, everything just works well, and its very comfortable. Amazingly comfortable for a sports car of such high capabilities.
I have a G35 Coupe on order that I expect to have within the next month. My biggest gripe about the car? I don't like the interior and dash!
'96 Contour SE, 130k, traded 6/19/03 for: '03 Infiniti G35 Coupe , Diamond Graphite '02 Corvette Z06, Electron Blue Pic
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Formerly known as Sneaku
I MISS MY BABY!!!
'00 Blk CSVT #1087/2150 built 12/23/99
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my problem with US interiors is that the panel fit always sucks. even on a vette. a friend of mine has a 2003, and the gaps are never the same throughout the whole dash/door. the only redeeming interior piece of a vette is seating. vette seats are really nice.
foreign interiors are never exciting, but they fit together and don't come apart.
For Sale:
- Sony PSP with a Baseball 2k6 and the movie Crash. $100
- 1973 Karmann Ghia Convertible w/ Auto-Stick. Needs Restoration. $1200 OBO
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Originally posted by baco99:
my problem with US interiors is that the panel fit always sucks. even on a vette. a friend of mine has a 2003, and the gaps are never the same throughout the whole dash/door.
OK, I'll agree with that. But as long as the fit is reasonably close, I could care less about panel fit. I'm not gonna take a ruler and measure the panel gap difference and complain that it may be 1 mm off here or there. Who cares? If there's a big difference, and things are crooked and tweaked, and you can see it, then yeah, I'll complain. But I haven't seen that on an American car since my '83 T-bird.
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the only redeeming interior piece of a vette is seating. vette seats are really nice.
Not on a Z06 they're not!!! I love the car, but probably one of my biggest complaints is how much the Z06 seats suck. Mind you, they are not the same sport seats that are in the regular C5, which are better, but still not great. My complaint centers around the lack of side bolster support, and they're a bit too soft for my taste. They are comfortable on long trips though. But my Contour's seats are way more supportive.
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foreign interiors are never exciting, but they fit together and don't come apart.
I guess its a matter of preference then: boring interiors that have close panel gaps and accuracy, or exciting interiors that may have a few flaws here and there. I choose the latter, because I don't like boring things.
As for coming apart: I've found U.S. interiors last longer and wear better than Japanese car interiors (at least on Fords anyway - GM stuff is questionable). Case in point: I remember years ago my friend had an '86 Maxima that was about 7 years old at the time and just turned 100k. The dashboard was warped and had big cracks in it, some of the switches and buttons that were painted had the paint worn off, a lot of the interior stuff didn't work anymore, the seat fabric was really worn, and everything just looked tired and worn.
My '96 Contour is the same age now, and has more mileage. The dashboard still fits together perfectly - no warps, no cracks anywhere. None of the buttons have the paint worn off. The leather still looks good. Everything still works. There's no wear spots on the armrests or anything. The only signs of a little wear are: 1) the steering wheel leather has discolored where I always keep my hands, 2) there is a slight rub mark on the driver's seat leather where the seat belt always rubs it, and 3) the paint on the turn signal stalk is starting to wear off. That's it! Everything else, the interior still looks like new.
We'll see how well my G35's interior wears. I suspect all that painted titanium colored trim will look like hell in a few years. I don't know what is with that fad now with silver colored trim anyways - I thought we already went through that in the '80s? 
I think the best interiors belong to Audi, Volkswagen, Jaguar, and BMW. I have no idea how well they hold up, but they sure do look nice new.
'96 Contour SE, 130k, traded 6/19/03 for: '03 Infiniti G35 Coupe , Diamond Graphite '02 Corvette Z06, Electron Blue Pic
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Originally posted by stingray454:
Look at the dash and interior design of a Toyota Camry for example.
It is a Camry!
Which do you like better?
OR
-Giovanni
One turbocharger. Two intercoolers. All love.
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CEG\'er
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Originally posted by Ausgedient the Ninja:
It is a Camry!
That's funny, it looks like an Acura interior to me... Hmm, what is that caliper logo on the steering wheel? Did Toyota change their logo? 
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Which do you like better?
I like the 7 YEAR OLD Corvette interior design over the brand new Acura design. I've seen bus dash boards with more style and curves than that. I've also seen Hyundai's with better interiors.
'96 Contour SE, 130k, traded 6/19/03 for: '03 Infiniti G35 Coupe , Diamond Graphite '02 Corvette Z06, Electron Blue Pic
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Hard-core CEG'er
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-Giovanni
One turbocharger. Two intercoolers. All love.
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