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 @ Dec 24th 2007 9:20AM
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.
Ben @ Dec 24th 2007 2:59PM
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 @ Dec 24th 2007 9:28AM
"Project D"? Hmm...
Anyway, in the case of Sebring, like a race horse that's broken its leg...
MemphisNET @ Dec 24th 2007 9:37AM
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 @ Dec 24th 2007 10:17AM
I dunno, man. I think its pretty bad when a 3.3L Sonata eats its lunch in every sort of measure and metric.
MemphisNET @ Dec 24th 2007 10:23AM
I assure you, my father and all the other owners are not racing anything. It's not neccessary.
John R @ Dec 24th 2007 10:37AM
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 @ Dec 24th 2007 9:36AM
That "Rubbermaid Garbage Can" feel and look for the interior should be addressed first.
paul34 @ Dec 24th 2007 1:44PM
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 @ Dec 24th 2007 9:38AM
a crack team of designers – dubbed "Project D" -- has been assembled to address the ills ----inside----- Chrysler's mid-sized sedan
Inside. Interior.
3cubed minus 3squared plus1 @ Dec 24th 2007 9:40AM
This vehicle has the same problem the Aura has in that the headlights look huge!
Maybe they should change that first.
DriverG @ Dec 24th 2007 9:40AM
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?
psarhjinian @ Dec 24th 2007 11:30AM
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 @ Dec 24th 2007 2:12PM
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.
Jared @ Dec 24th 2007 9:50AM
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.
dakota @ Dec 24th 2007 12:37PM
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 @ Dec 24th 2007 10:46AM
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 @ Dec 24th 2007 9:54AM
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?
seoultrain @ Dec 24th 2007 10:00AM
you know what they say, there's more money in prolonging the problem than actually solving it.
jgs @ Dec 24th 2007 10:10AM
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?