What a difference a year makes!I hastened across the Cobo Hall show floor, host to a world of automotive press attending the North American International Auto
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| Just when the domestics looked to be making headway, Toyota has sidelined the lot with its impressive new Avalon. (Photo: Toyota Canada) |
Show in Detroit, and while bypassing a wide variety of brands and models I couldn't help reflect on just how far some of the domestic nameplates had come since last year with regards to interior quality. General Motors has somehow managed to reinvent itself, from low-grade tack to highbrow tactility with cars like the
Pontiac G6, in its various forms,
Buick Allure, or should I say LaCrosse being that the show takes place north of Canada in the U.S. - the only jurisdiction that can lay claim on such an odd geographical phenomenon,
Chevy Cobalt and
Pontiac Pursuit duo, new Impala and Monte Carlo, introduced in Los Angeles on days prior, various Buick, Chevy, Pontiac and Saturn mid-vans, upcoming Saturn and Pontiac, Sky and Solstice roadsters,
Cadillac STS, and the list goes on.
Pretty well every all-new Buick, Cadillac, Chevy, Pontiac and Saturn to emerge in the last six months surpassed its
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| The new Avalon not only surpasses the domestics, but its own Lexus ES 330 when it comes to materials quality, fit and finish, and especially interior design. (Photo: Toyota Canada) |
predecessor in interior materials quality plus fit and finish by such a level it is staggering, but GM hasn't been the only domestic automaker showing that top-tier interiors are possible. Ford had launched its new Fusion earlier that day, offering would-be buyers something truly extraordinary inside as well. Leaving even its larger and expectedly more expensive
Five Hundred sibling behind in the touchy, feely department, the Fusion might just be the best dressed entry-level domestic period. Inside and out, it's perceived quality will surprise even die-hard import snobs - not unlike myself.
