Have they ever been exciting?? Never. I'm afraid they never will be. Its always been quite cold and spartan. The interior and many cases the exterior is not what has put these cars on the map. Its the D-N-A... But you already know this.

 

Your taste must be different than mine because I think the 3 series has a very cheap feeling interior. Much cheaper than the one in my e46 330i ZHP. You can tell BMW cut cost. The TL also skimps in materials and wear out sooner than they should. All my Lexus cars, including my IS350, are leaps and bounds higher in quality and durability than any Acura, BMW, Mercedes, Audi, Jaguar, or any non-lux brand I have owned in the past. My parents have bought two of my old Lexus cars and they still have held up very well both nearing 100k miles. No strange sounds, broken interior parts, and the leather(while much softer than Euro competitors) has help up very well. I will say the newer Lexus cars seem to use less wood than before but the interior materials used still can't be match with similar priced cars.

Sam

 

Yeah you could def tell that bmw is skimming costs somewhere, the texture of the paints, the interior materials. But in honest truth it's still good, much better than Merc for instance. Lexus, imo, is dropping. Comparing the previous gen ES to current gen, aside from teh gauge cluster I prefer the previous gen. If you ever sit in one with heater/cooled seats, take a look at the controls for it, the plastic is on par with coleman. Audi really has it dialed in, I still have no qualms with their interiors as they are still my favorite.

 

Me like new CTSV interior. Sorry for the large pics.

 

It look very nice

 

I will start by saying I like the new CTS interior (from pictures, never been in one). However, I also think it's interesting when you can spot parts used in other vehicles from that make. That's one advantage BMW and MB have, no lower line. You just don't spot their controls in a lower line car. Now technically that shouldn't mater. Good parts are good parts. I know VW and Audi share a lot of interior bits but I let it slide as it has seemed like VW parts went up market, not down.

Anyway, the window-mirror controls in that car look like they came right out of the new Tahoe. I guess that's OK as I thought they were really good in the new Tahoe.

 

The BMW will have a lower line ala the 1 series. Which I saw at the LA autoshow & it does use several of the 3 series parts. Also, the C Class IS the lowest level line in the MBZ group. The CTS in size is comparable to the E Class MBZ. But I understand what you are saying in that BMW parts aren't on a Mini, & what not.

I personally was never enamoured with the Infiniti stuff, because I thought a lot of their switchgears/interior was from the Nissan cars.

 

BMW and MB may have "lower lines" but they are still premium brands and even their entry level cars are well into the $30k range. I'm talking about a near base truck or Tahoe using the same parts.

Really, I think what's more important is that even if the parts are good, it just seems like it's special if the parts aren't the same. Last thing a luxury brand wants people to think is the car is just a nicer version of a Chevy. I'm sure Honda wouldn't be happy if they had heard my Mom describe the TL she drove (previous gen I believe) as a "nice Honda Accord".

What makes some of this more ironic is something like the Boxster. The controls in the older ones certainly aren't shared with say my old Corolla but they would be a whole lot better if they were. Those controls were about as bad as the old GM ones that always felt like they were going to snap when you turned on the signal.

BTW, I also understand what you are saying about the CTS being a bit of an E class competitor. It kind of slips the difference. Bigger than the C but cheaper than the E.

 

now if GM did this to Vette, then people would quit the bitchin'

 

I can