Is Cheap Chrome The New Fake Wood?

I was in a $50,000 luxury car the other day. Don’t worry about the manufacturer because it seems to be all the same these days. There was cheap plastic chrome that surrounded the air vents, the buttons on the dashboard, the cupholders. Even a smattering on the door panels and steering wheel.

Was it always this way? Of course not! Back in the good old days of the Clinton Era we had plenty of fake wood to choose from as well. Diamantes, Roadmasters, Town & Countrys… even Camrys were sometimes given the drop dead phony wood treatment throughout the interior if the dealer wanted it so.

Some looked nice. Others were cheap enough to flake into a near confetti state as time wore on. Either way, wood was the thing to have back in the day.

But then the world of near-luxury changed. Euros and Yens became more expensive, and the domestics had been given carte blanche to cheap out even their flagships models. This was due in part to the strong profits of SUV’s and pickup’s that had always lagged behind in luxury with their non-truck conuterparts. But also the popularity of decontented models of the time, such as the Toyota Camry and the redesigned Mercedes models of the late 90’s, played an equal if not greater role when it came to the declining quality of interior adornments.

Hard plastic which had started underneath the glovebox and driver’s footwell, soon made it’s way to the top of the dashboard and the door panels. Not even armrests, the last refuge of relaxation on long drives, were fully immune from the onslaught of penurious plentitude. Those were given hard plastics as well with only a slither full of padding for the elbow.

Leather and high quality vinyl treatments disappeared from the door panels. This cost containment was followed by eliminating polished wood on the steering wheel and plush fabrics on the floor.

Wooden accents were replaced with cheap chrome like plastics in the small storage compartments that were between the front seats. The type you can scratch with your fingernail and leave an enduring mark for all future owners and passengers to see.

Luxury was going downscale in a way that reflected a McMansion mentality. As long as you had bigness on the inside and power under the hood, the materials were secondary.

Like a virus with Midas like properties, the cheap chrome plating, along with it’s nickel and dime cronies, soon covered nearly everything that was touched by the driver. Steering wheel controls? Check! Transmission handle? Check! Doors? Multiple checks on both sides.

Then one day I noticed something strange. Luxury no longer exists. At least not in the visual sense of it until you get past the $50k mark. Sure the Genesis sedan has more power than a Viper did a generation ago and grandma’s Avalon can spit out horsepower like an old Acura NSX. But the interiors have become knock on plastic cheap.

Which brings me to today’s question: Is cheap chrome the new fake wood? You already know my bent on this question. What do you think?