Topic: Hard plastic , get over it

[airbalancer]

Hard plastic in a car , dont like it, get over it, because you will finding it everywhere now
Hard plastic is cheaper to make, lighter and probably easier to recycle.

With the cafe going down and safety go up, and the need for car parts to be recycle, hard plastic is the way of the future, the quick you get use to it and easier it will be for you to stop b$tching about.

[Rupert]

If plastic was used before wood the gripe would be...jeesh, can't they afford decent material like real plastic.

[Juke1]

Hard plastic in a car , dont like it, get over it, because you will finding it everywhere now
Hard plastic is cheaper to make, lighter and probably easier to recycle.

With the cafe going down and safety go up, and the need for car parts to be recycle, hard plastic is the way of the future, the quick you get use to it and easier it will be for you to stop b$tching about.

Excellent post AB, the 2002 Altima was 8 years ahead of it's time!!!

Don't tell us, tell the automotive journalist, it sure matters to them.

[Seafoam]

So lay off of the Dodge Caliber .
 There are many other cars mentioned here that have so called class leading interiors, but after 5 years they are falling apart in other ways.

[tpl]

It never occurred to me to worry about interior plastics until this forum became obsessed by them.
I have owned cars with metal dashboards, ones with real wood, and all kinds of plastics with and without metal and metalized plastic inserts.   All I car about is that:
they don't rattle in summer
they don't creak and groan in winter
they don't reflect glare when it is sunny or when being tailgated by someone with high beams on.
they don't fall off if the screws or fasteners come loose.

[kardood69]

It never occurred to me to worry about interior plastics until this forum became obsessed by them.
I have owned cars with metal dashboards, ones with real wood, and all kinds of plastics with and without metal and metalized plastic inserts.   All I car about is that:
they don't rattle in summer
they don't creak and groan in winter
they don't reflect glare when it is sunny or when being tailgated by someone with high beams on.
they don't fall off if the screws or fasteners come loose.

Here here....

Although some Chrysler cheap plastic looks and feels really bad - like it's a plastic scale model..

My Montana SV6 has 'cheap plastic' I assume, but they managed to make it look somewhat like the soft-touch pebbled dash.

[PJungnitsch]

There's definitely different grades of the stuff. I ran an '03 and an '07 Dodge pickup for work and while both were hard plastic everywhere, the '07 (no doubt due to one of Daimlers cost cutting decrees) is noticeably cheaper looking. That 'Caliber grade' stuff is just nasty.

At the moment I am driving a base XL '08 F150, and despite acres of hard plastic everywhere it actually seems quite decent, a much higher quality interior than my old Ford pickup (also loaded with hard plastic) ever did.

Maybe the thickness has something to do with it? The cheap stuff seems shinier, thinner, more sharp edges.

[safristi]

 ..hard plastic........get these Durex ads......."KNOCK ON WOOD!!!"..........

[johngenx]

What is it that we want?

1. 8-10 airbags
2. ABS
3. ESP/Traction control
4. AC
5. 15 speed automatics
6. Nav and BT
7. Cruise control, keyless, power everything
8. Sunroof
9. Heated seats
10. Leather
11. Trip computer
12. Eight speaker audiophile quality sound-system

Oh, and we only want to pay $18K for it all. BTW, that $18K "luxury" car better have real wood, heavy high quality dash plastics, trunk liner, hood springs, and pretty much everything else a $40K+ Mercedes has.

Cripes.  Our Corolla's interior materials are just okay, even a notch or two down from the Gen IX Corolla, but we have side AND curtain bags, standard ABS and a host of other things the 2003-2008 'Rolla didn't have.  Oh, and ours was priced about TWO THOUSAND dollars less.

The big on the Toyota forums about the Corolla?  No rear discs and no standard HIDs.  This is a $15K-20K economy car.  Yes, the Mazda 3 has a nicer interior and rear discs.  Also, option to option, it was priced $3K more than our Corolla.  Mazda's base engine still uses significantly more fuel than the base Corolla engine, perhaps pointing to that Mazda has not invested in engine management systems?  Lots of Mazda 3 owners fond out that Mazda didn't invest in rust proofing.  Everyone faces compromises.

If I sit in a $30K car and it has the same upholstery and dash quality that our Corolla has, I will complain.

[overtakeyouintheleftlane]

People want everything for nothing. Plain and simple.

[safristi]

... and the chicks fer free.................. ..we are indeed in dire straits............

[tpl]

1. 8-10 airbags   6 is plenty
2. ABS
3. ESP/Traction control
4. AC
5. 15 speed automatics
6. Nav and BT
7. Cruise control, keyless, power everything
8. Sunroof
9. Heated seats
10. Leather
11. Trip computer
12. Eight speaker audiophile quality sound-system

I guess that makes me old fashioned and a puritan.  But I do want HID lights if thats ok.

[safristi]

..new research shows our BRAINS are plastic...... how hard is that to get yer head around....

[Juke1]

What is it that we want?

1. 8-10 airbags
2. ABS
3. ESP/Traction control
4. AC
5. 15 speed automatics
6. Nav and BT
7. Cruise control, keyless, power everything
8. Sunroof
9. Heated seats
10. Leather
11. Trip computer
12. Eight speaker audiophile quality sound-system

Oh, and we only want to pay $18K for it all. BTW, that $18K "luxury" car better have real wood, heavy high quality dash plastics, trunk liner, hood springs, and pretty much everything else a $40K+ Mercedes has.

Cripes.  Our Corolla's interior materials are just okay, even a notch or two down from the Gen IX Corolla, but we have side AND curtain bags, standard ABS and a host of other things the 2003-2008 'Rolla didn't have.  Oh, and ours was priced about TWO THOUSAND dollars less.

The big on the Toyota forums about the Corolla?  No rear discs and no standard HIDs.  This is a $15K-20K economy car.  Yes, the Mazda 3 has a nicer interior and rear discs.  Also, option to option, it was priced $3K more than our Corolla.  Mazda's base engine still uses significantly more fuel than the base Corolla engine, perhaps pointing to that Mazda has not invested in engine management systems?  Lots of Mazda 3 owners fond out that Mazda didn't invest in rust proofing.  Everyone faces compromises.

If I sit in a $30K car and it has the same upholstery and dash quality that our Corolla has, I will complain.

The big  on the Toyota forums about the Corolla?  No rear discs and no standard HIDs.

Oops...huh huh the Corolla has one of those archaic straight suspension beams at the back like the Sentra   Now check out the Sat radio and hands free option on the Corolla, that will hurt.  FYI, the Corolla XRS has rear disk

[johngenx]

Oops...huh huh the Corolla has one of those archaic straight suspension beams at the back like the Sentra   Now check out the Sat radio and hands free option on the Corolla, that will hurt.  FYI, the Corolla XRS has rear disk

WTF does that have to do with my post?  Yes, the Corolla has a beam axle, and yes, ipod, sat, nav and so on are frickin' expensive options.  Okay.  So what?  My point was that people complain 'cause their entry level compact car isn't as nice inside as the LS Lexus.

To bring a car to market at $20K flat and include all the features people are asking for, it's got to come out somewhere.  Is that what you mean?  Are you agreeing with me?  99.9999% of drivers could drive a full-on wishbone suspended Corolla with 4-wheel discs and a beam axle Corolla with rear drums and not tell the difference.  But, people sure notice if the keyless lacks a trunk release.  People ask about curtain airbags (which I think are desirable), and ABS, and are beginning to ask about stability control.

[MMMB89]

I don't think there's anything wrong with using hard plastic in an interior so long as the entire interior isn't covered head to toe in it and it has a nice grain design to it.

For example, the Honda Civic's interior is mostly hard plastic, however it has a nice look and grain to it that doesn't make it seem cheap.  Whereas, the pre 2010 Dodge Caliber, also finished with about as much hard plastic, looks and feels cheap because of the grade and grain of plastics used.

[Turbo Bob]

Hard plastic in a car , dont like it, get over it, because you will finding it everywhere now
Hard plastic is cheaper to make, lighter and probably easier to recycle.

With the cafe going down and safety go up, and the need for car parts to be recycle, hard plastic is the way of the future, the quick you get use to it and easier it will be for you to stop b$tching about.

What's got up your nose? Or is that plastic too? 

[dr_spock]

Rear discs are more costly to maintain and replace than drum brakes.   There is a price to pay for extra stopping power.  

Hard plastic isn't that bad.  I think they'll last longer than soft plastic or parts with a soft plastic coating.  

[Sir Osis of Liver]

As long as it doesn't squeak or rattle, I don't really care.

[rrocket]

Working in an industry where everything we do is plastic injection molding, it's not just "hard" plastics.  It's the quality of the interior.  My issue has never been with "hard" plastic per se, it's been with the quality of the plastic used.  For example, I expect hard plastics in an econocar...or nowadays many cars in the sub-$25K category.  But I don't expect that plastic to be brittle, poor fitting, have flash marks all over it (I actually cut my finger from flash on the interior of a Solstice!), and to skuff easily.  Even the quality of graining matters (done by acid etching the steel mold in case anyone cares). Maybe I care (or notice) a bit more since I work in the industry.  I suppose it would be someone like Bob/Brigitte complaining about the quality of a camera or the minute difference in photo quality from each camera that many of us may not notice or care about.  Or someone who's an audiophile complaining about audio sound quality in a car (I'm half deaf, so I can't really time all the time!) 

When I complain about a bad interior, I'm not talking about "hard" plastics.  I'm talking about the whole picture, and often hard plastic are just the tip of the iceberg.