Chrysler performing emergency surgery on sedans
The new Chrysler Sebring has rightfully become the de facto whipping boy for all things wrong with design by committee. But unlike the former stalwart for unbridled criticism, the Pontiac Aztek, one of the main gripes has been the deplorable interior Chrysler saw fit to torture its customers with. According to a supplier sourced by Automotive News, a crack team of designers – dubbed "Project D" -- has been assembled to address the ills inside Chrysler's mid-sized sedan.
The team is comprised of senior managers and directors who are returning as contract employees after walking out the door during the recent round of buyouts. We wish them the best of luck and hope, despite Chrysler's current cash crunch, that they can finally offer consumers some of the up-market materials found on the Sebring's closest competitors.
[Source: Automotive News – Sub. Req.]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
Bert 9:20AM (12/24/2007)
More managers and directors, that'll solve the problem, for sure! Maybe now that they have spent sometime outside the penta-star walls, in the real world, they can 'bring in' (i.e. copy) better designs. The last time I saw (was forced to see) the interior it was a 300 and my eyes still smell like vomit a bit.
There was one nice thing, with the intermittent wipers, if you adjusted the knob to decrease the interval (i.e. wipe sonner) it fired off a wipe cycle immediately.
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Ben 2:59PM (12/24/2007)
Um, with the intermittent wiper thing...every car I've ever had has done that. This includes Ford, Chrysler, BMW, Audi, and Jaguar.
John R 9:28AM (12/24/2007)
"Project D"? Hmm...
Anyway, in the case of Sebring, like a race horse that's broken its leg...
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MemphisNET 9:37AM (12/24/2007)
D is the platform (or segment?) for Sebring/Avenger/Journey.
The Sebring is a nice car. It drives well and is visually appealing (except for a few weird angles on the front bumper). The DESIGN of the interior is ok, but the materials especially on door panels is awful.
Best of luck to them. My father has an '06 Sebring and we both like it for what it is. A sedan for someone who doesn't care for carving corners.
John R 10:17AM (12/24/2007)
I dunno, man. I think its pretty bad when a 3.3L Sonata eats its lunch in every sort of measure and metric.
MemphisNET 10:23AM (12/24/2007)
I assure you, my father and all the other owners are not racing anything. It's not neccessary.
John R 10:37AM (12/24/2007)
Granted. But, when it comes to NVH and interior materials, the Sonata is still better. I've driven both, believe me, its no contest.
sk 9:36AM (12/24/2007)
That "Rubbermaid Garbage Can" feel and look for the interior should be addressed first.
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paul34 1:44PM (12/24/2007)
Well, that will require a lot more work, as that same interior extends across *every* single Dodge and Chrysler, save for the Viper SRT-10, which has a crappy interior in the old-school style - nasty black "leather" with no design or attempt at some type of logical layout or shape.
MemphisNET 9:38AM (12/24/2007)
a crack team of designers – dubbed "Project D" -- has been assembled to address the ills ----inside----- Chrysler's mid-sized sedan
Inside. Interior.
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DriverG 9:40AM (12/24/2007)
How about adding a little legroom for the driver while they're at it. Or do they think it's necessary to give anyone over 6 foot knee trouble in order to emulate their Japanese competition?
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psarhjinian 11:30AM (12/24/2007)
I'd say the Japanese usually do this better: they push the dash and console up and away from the driver, especially around the knee. The Americans pull the dash right up close, cutting legspace around the console.
The typically massive American steering wheel doesn't help this situation any.
DriverG 2:12PM (12/24/2007)
Interesting take on Japanese design, and highlights the problem with most Japanese cars. If you're properly seated, your knees shouldn't be forced up and out, but that's what happens when the seat doesn't go back far enough.
3cubed minus 3squared plus1 9:40AM (12/24/2007)
This vehicle has the same problem the Aura has in that the headlights look huge!
Maybe they should change that first.
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Jared 9:50AM (12/24/2007)
I recently drove a Dodge Charger rental car. The interior was absolutely awful. Bad design, bad materials, bad workmanship. Even the trim on the steering wheel (which you look past every time you look at the speedo) was misshapen.
I think Chrylserbus is not long for this world.
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dakota 12:37PM (12/24/2007)
The issues with the LX cars was corrected for the 08 Model year. Yes touch the dash, it's not hard plastic that everyone claims.
MosquitoControl 10:46AM (12/24/2007)
Likewise. I was fairly shocked finally sitting in the Charger. It felt claustrophobic and it felt Playskool. Everything was plastic. I was somewhat miserable inside of it.
On the plus side, though, the exterior wasn't the misshapen, nautical-influenced disaster that is the Sebring. For the love of god nix that hood.
Jason 9:54AM (12/24/2007)
So they brought back people who were already recently Chrysler employees? You know, the same guys who contributed to all the other horrible Chrysler interiors? Those guys?
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seoultrain 10:00AM (12/24/2007)
you know what they say, there's more money in prolonging the problem than actually solving it.
jgs 10:10AM (12/24/2007)
I was forced to drive one as a rental while my SUV was in the shop. Worst car I have ever seen OR been in. Period. I didn't wanna be seen in it. I actually asked if I could pay more to upgrade to something else. Left no doubts in my mind why Chrysler is having problems competing.
So they are just gonna fix the interior? They need to wipe the slate clean and start over from scratch. The car is UGLY. All of it. Ridges on the hood? Horrendous. You can see the muffler can from the rear. Horrible. The car is also too big for the wimpy engine. Sounded like it was gonna blow up while revving it. The transmission was made out of rubber bands. The interior wasn't good but I thought everything else was way worse. My friend got one as a loner and he felt the same as I. Sad. Why not just copy Honda or Toyota sedans from a couple years ago and start from there?
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