GM aiming to match the quality of Audi interiors

I can attest to they need to up their products. I've owned GM for years except two Fords, and based on the problems with our car now, I'm going back to Ford or look at Dodge. My wife had a mitsubishi, and with all the high costs for parts will never buy foreign again.

but, the point is, can GM make their interior like Audi quality but without the price premium? that's more important. i believe all auto manufacturers can build a car with all top-notch quality materials if they can set the price freely. people these days complain lots of cars with cheap interior, it's because they need to cut cost & keep the price down! want top quality materials? yeah, pay the price please...

I've seen leather shoes that have nicer quality. It's not rocket science to stitch a nice leather interior. I'm sure they can handle the task. The only obstacle is going to be keeping cost down. I think I saw somewhere that it takes 7 full cow hides to make a single Porsche 911. That stuff gets expensive.

... and that's the cheapest commercial a car manufacturer can ever get... it's like Nokia will say that they will try to be as good as Sony Ericsson (not necessarily in that order)... ha, ha

@freeway.... get ur acts 2gthr kid... nokia has always been better thn sony errr... I donno what world u live in...

Aw Joe we all know that you're just very bitter at the fact that GM finally has found some balls to acknowledge their horrible interiors. Plastic in Audi interiors, yes some plastic, every interior has some plastic, but Audi interiors are functional, clean and visually pleasing. But a fool like you wouldn't know.

Hey joe, when they say industry standard they mean panel gaps and extruded textures...

U ever even owned and Audi? There is a reason they have been #1 in interior design for years. Only a retard would need a 3" knob to turn the heater up.

apparently I'm not crazy and the only one noticing this.

@nederinaa In some respects you are right, but they have increased the content and quality elsewhere so something has to give. They may not be as tactile as in the past but from personal experience are equally as durable and class leading. I think it is only noticeable on their largest volume cars A3 and A4. From the S4 onward they rule.

Mate sorry I own a B8 A4, and have owned a B7 A4 previously. There is no difference in quality. Neither is there any difference in quality between the A4 and S4 interiors.

you can't be serious? i've driven both B7 A4 2.0T quattro and the B8 A4 2.0T quattro. The B7 feels more solid and the materials is more rubbery with greater soft plastic texture. Compare the quality of today's TT and the original TT. I rest my case.

Driving cars is one thing. Living with them day to day is another. The B8 has many flaws relative to the B7, the B7 has many more flaws relative to the B8. There is nothing between the finish of the interiors. Ergonomics and comfort in the drivers seat, well the B8 is ahead..... marginally. It's a more succinct experience from the drivers position.

i'm going to have to agree with limon and nederinaa on this one. i've had two a4s in the shop recently, a b6 and a b7, and am not very impressed by the quality. i think audi's best interiors are on the a6 and the a8. these a4s don't even have adjustable electric seats (i guess that's an option) and the dash is a solid piece of plastic with buttons that are, imho, a bit too small. overall it gives me more of a synthetic feel. also, the cupholders feel really flimsy. the new c-class, (hell, even the previous iteration) are much nicer places to be than this. with m-b picking up its build quality in the 212 i think they'll be the marque to beat again. the 221 s-class has the nicest and most ergonomically designed interior on the market right now. good solid materials, few buttons, and everything within reach. the new 5 is supposed to be good too, they tilted the dash 7 degrees to the right to make everything easier for the driver to reach.

How many sick, dead, German cows have you gone around smelling for that comparison? And what is wrong with you for doing so?? When speaking of GM's desire to match Audi's interior's - Well sure, I'd like to have Dirk Diggler's...personality, but it isn't in the cards for some folks to be above and beyond, as Audi is to GM. Lofty goals, GM, I hope you make it!

I've never met Mr Diggler, but I think your right he probably is a cool guy.

You must be very used to being around "an 80 year old, over tanned, smoking lady's tits" and "a sick, dead, German cow". And there's you talking about class and hygiene and whatever. Unfortunately its you who doesn't have any class and sophistication to appreciate the subtle elegance of European cars. Honestly how many people keep the same car for 150,000 miles nowadays.

Subtle elegance..... I never said the interiors are not nice, they are spectacular I drive them everyday. I'm at work right now... it's a slow friday so I'm on the computer don't tell my boss. Anyway like 45 minutes ago I just drove a new 212 E63 AMG and anybody who says that car is ugly is just wrong. We had 5 SLS's last week come in for Pre-deliver inspection and they are phenominal. I keep my cars for as long as they drive, so do alot of people I know. Buying new cars when it's not necessary I feel is a waste of money... some hippies might even think it's environmentally irresponsible. My truck is a tool I use, just like all the tools in my box, I expect it to last a long time and do it's job flawlessly. And it ages nicely compared to the leather/wood clad cars I fix every day.

I'd rather have a 10 year old car with leather interior than the conventional fabrics on cheaper cars. The fabrics stink at that age and you can not get the smell out. Some people have cars for utility usage (ie: as a tool). Fortunately a lot of people treat them as toys (and or phallic extensions). Without the latter there wouldn't be as much joy to be had from interesting/different cars that are produced.

Holding my tongue.... I will speak through my teeth as I try to be polite. You missed the point, you simply reversed my statement that I made regarding leather interiors. The truth is a lot of people in America use their cars as tools. I have a truck that I do use as a tool. The interior can be cleaned with a wet rag and look brand new. My fabric doesn't smell, as a matter of fact a car usually smells like the person who drives it most often so if any of your past cars had a bad smell in the fabric, look in the mirror... It's called soap and hot water, you should try it. If you must have a "phallic extender" then buy one, let it sit in your garage for special occasions. Take it out and use it on your first dates as false advertising just so she can be dissapointed a few weeks down the road.

Hey benchmark, as a fellow Euro-tech I can attest to the pungent aromas from old euro cars. The leathers and plastics can (not "do") give off a rather distinct aroma as they age (to put it politely). However, you've neglected the most important variable in the whole problem. Maintenance. Unlike the cheap plastics in your Chevy, the organic materials in luxury cars must be maintained regularly. Leathers (and some plastics) must be conditioned every season, and the wood veneers must be cleaned and oiled constantly (not armor-alled) to avoid fractures. The chemicals used for maintenance are just-as (if not more) important than the materials being maintained themselves. However, I assume you know, as well as I, that practically ZERO owners do any of these things, and the net result is what you've so eloquently described above...

100% Correct. Sometimes the steering wheels are so dirty I have to wear gloves to drive them.

Totally agree with Benz_man. Only hope previous GM buyer knows how to do regular maintenance and do not treat their new GM with Audi's interior taste like what they do to their old GM. Maybe they will forget to clean the upper interior with soft cloth and special liquid and not with water.

Sorry.

hehe :))) benchmark I like your answer very much, and I fear that there could be conflicts if the we checked against German cars...

No it won't. People who buy Cadillac or Chevrolet aren't suddenly going to flock to BMW or VW because of a statement. You would have to be missing a chromosome to not realise that the interior finish of GM's cars are behind the quality of premium manufacturers. Oldsmobile, Pontiac, and Saturn don't exist because there was absolutely no reason for them to exist. What value or individuality did they provide? Nothing. It's a no brainer to consolidate GM's range in North America to Chevrolet, Cadillac, and of course Corvette. Look for Buick to disappear first from NA, shortly followed by GMC. I hope the door doesn't hit them on their way out.

read "clean" as "boring." when they start changing their exterior designs instead of producing one car in different size wheelbases, then maybe i'll pay attention.