Consumers may be attracted to sexy exteriors, but poor quality cabins will automatically turn them off. No one is more aware of this than the Chrysler Group.
At a conference organized by Ward’s Auto, the automaker’s chief of design, Ralph Gilles, described the previous interiors of their various brands as “a festival of polypropylene” that “made plastic look even harder than plastic”.
Exterior designers used to be responsible for creating the cabins, built with plastics manufactured according to a one-step process. As we all know, the results weren’t great and consumers turned their backs on Chrysler products, plunging the automaker into financial turmoil in 2009.
“We hid our interiors in the past because we weren’t proud of them,” admitted Gilles.
With the help of government subsidies and Fiat’s involvement, the cabins have become a priority and many changes have been instigated. Today, the automaker has dedicated interior designers that use a 12-step process to give the plastics a nicer texture and more flair.
These improvements and others are helping Chrysler right itself slowly but surely. The automaker recently posted profits for the first quarter of the fiscal year, a first since 2009.
"The level of importance placed on the interior is far higher than it has ever been," said Mike Van Nieuwkuyk, executive director of global vehicle research for J.D. Power and Associates.
“After reliability and durability, interior content is the main reason a buyer selects a particular vehicle. In part, that's because the average time spent in a car is almost three hours each weekday, and 18.5 hours in a full week, according to the 2009 Arbitron National In-Car Survey.”
Source : The Detroit News
At a conference organized by Ward’s Auto, the automaker’s chief of design, Ralph Gilles, described the previous interiors of their various brands as “a festival of polypropylene” that “made plastic look even harder than plastic”.
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| 2011 Dodge Durango (Photo: Chrysler) |
Exterior designers used to be responsible for creating the cabins, built with plastics manufactured according to a one-step process. As we all know, the results weren’t great and consumers turned their backs on Chrysler products, plunging the automaker into financial turmoil in 2009.
“We hid our interiors in the past because we weren’t proud of them,” admitted Gilles.
With the help of government subsidies and Fiat’s involvement, the cabins have become a priority and many changes have been instigated. Today, the automaker has dedicated interior designers that use a 12-step process to give the plastics a nicer texture and more flair.
These improvements and others are helping Chrysler right itself slowly but surely. The automaker recently posted profits for the first quarter of the fiscal year, a first since 2009.
"The level of importance placed on the interior is far higher than it has ever been," said Mike Van Nieuwkuyk, executive director of global vehicle research for J.D. Power and Associates.
“After reliability and durability, interior content is the main reason a buyer selects a particular vehicle. In part, that's because the average time spent in a car is almost three hours each weekday, and 18.5 hours in a full week, according to the 2009 Arbitron National In-Car Survey.”
Source : The Detroit News