QOTD: Department of the Interior?

Matthew Guy
by Matthew Guy
qotd department of the interior

The new Corvette showed up in a war-era hangar last week, wearing slinky new bodywork and an engine mounted amidships. This change has reliably rattled some corners of Vette fandom.

Another part of the new Chevy halo car that caused controversy? Its interior. The reconfigurable screen ahead of the driver was expected, given what’s being deployed now by the likes of Audi and a few others. But the rest of the Corvette cabin? Very surprising.

Which is today’s question: what production car interior, good or bad, has surprised you the most?

As for the new Corvette, it is — to put it mildly — driver focused. Passengers will have an easier time reaching the dash mounted stereo volume control in an S2000 than accessing the new Vette’s infotainment touchscreen. Given the C8’s intended performance deliverables, perhaps that’s a good thing.

But it’s that strip of buttons that have set most tongues wagging. Perched atop a tall ledge, they bisect the cabin like a surgeon’s scalpel. A bold design it most certainly is and it has, after all, gotten us talking. I truly cannot wait to see it in person.

What’s your pick for a production car interior, from any era, that you found most surprising?

[Image: General Motors]

Comments
Join the conversation
2 of 74 comments
  • Ryanwm80 Ryanwm80 on Jul 23, 2019

    The 1960 Chryslers with the Astra-dome instrument cluster, E.L. lighting, and transparent acrylic steering wheels.

  • Krhodes1 Krhodes1 on Jul 23, 2019

    Best interior gauge and control layout to me is the classic Saab 900. Just perfection. For modern reasonably priced cars, my '17 GTI is hard to beat too - my only complaint is too many silver accents strewn around. I would prefer good old German matt black. As for bad? The Tesla Model 3 is simply in a class by itself, especially for the price.

  • ToolGuy CXXVIII comments?!?
  • ToolGuy I did truck things with my truck this past week, twenty-odd miles from home (farther than usual). Recall that the interior bed space of my (modified) truck is 98" x 74". On the ride home yesterday the bed carried a 20 foot extension ladder (10 feet long, flagged 14 inches past the rear bumper), two other ladders, a smallish air compressor, a largish shop vac, three large bins, some materials, some scrap, and a slew of tool cases/bags. It was pretty full, is what I'm saying.The range of the Cybertruck would have been just fine. Nothing I carried had any substantial weight to it, in truck terms. The frunk would have been extremely useful (lock the tool cases there, out of the way of the Bed Stuff, away from prying eyes and grasping fingers -- you say I can charge my cordless tools there? bonus). Stainless steel plus no paint is a plus.Apparently the Cybertruck bed will be 78" long (but over 96" with the tailgate folded down) and 60-65" wide. And then Tesla promises "100 cubic feet of exterior, lockable storage — including the under-bed, frunk and sail pillars." Underbed storage requires the bed to be clear of other stuff, but bottom line everything would have fit, especially when we consider the second row of seats (tools and some materials out of the weather).Some days I was hauling mostly air on one leg of the trip. There were several store runs involved, some for 8-foot stock. One day I bummed a ride in a Roush Mustang. Three separate times other drivers tried to run into my truck (stainless steel panels, yes please). The fuel savings would be large enough for me to notice and to care.TL;DR: This truck would work for me, as a truck. Sample size = 1.
  • Art Vandelay Dodge should bring this back. They could sell it as the classic classic classic model
  • Surferjoe Still have a 2013 RDX, naturally aspirated V6, just can't get behind a 4 banger turbo.Also gloriously absent, ESS, lane departure warnings, etc.
  • ToolGuy Is it a genuine Top Hand? Oh, I forgot, I don't care. 🙂
Next