Inside Line met with GM's Karl Stracke, who took over as the vice president of global engineering when Mark Reuss left to preside over GM North America. During the discussion, Stracke admitted that although General Motors has made progress on the interior quality front, it hasn't come far enough.
"We're not yet at Audi quality," he said. "I want to be at Audi quality. Audi is the benchmark for interiors."
Stracke continued, "I've driven the Corvette Grand Sport and I like it a lot, but the interior is not convincing."
Stracke, an engineer by training, has 30 years of experience at GM -- all on the European side. He's responsible for the design of a great many Opels, and he oversaw the engineering of the last-gen Saab 9-3.
He told us that under the new GM regime, he and his engineering team are able to put greater priority on checking out competitors' cars. Specifically, he and other top engineering executives reserve every Friday for driving cars on the proving grounds. Encouraging news to say the least.
inlinesix says:
01:06 PM, 05/26/10
I think thats encouraging.
stephen987 says:
01:26 PM, 05/26/10
If the new Regal is any indication, they're headed in the right direction.
felonious says:
02:51 PM, 05/26/10
"Specifically, he and other top engineering executives reserve every Friday for driving cars on the proving grounds."
Just added another item to my Dream Job list!
half_ton says:
03:25 PM, 05/26/10
I love to hear an auto exec acknowledge that quality must be improved . . . IF the talk is backed up with action. I 110% agree though that Audi is the benchmark for finest vehice interiors so if meeting (or even better) exceeding them is the goal then I hope they suceed.
After reading this and thinking back to another article about Chevy updating the Camaro interior I can't help but to be excited!!
billt9 says:
03:54 PM, 05/26/10
Ya European engineer!
He's appalled by what we make in the great USA!
Good hire.
I bet he'll be shocked by how little we pay for our plastic box cars too.
"What? You want me to build a car for sale under $12,000???" That's how we like our Cavaliers.
alman08 says:
04:01 PM, 05/26/10
it's nice to see that a top GM executive admits to one of GM's long infamous problem... the interior quality, and he's working to aim at Audi, which is, in my opinion, a very encouraging news.
ed124c says:
04:44 PM, 05/26/10
I don't like Audis, for various reasons. So, I could care less how good their interiors are. To me it is like putting "Corinthian Leather" in an outhouse.
I would be happy if GM's interiors were as good as Ford's.
ne1butu2 says:
06:46 PM, 05/26/10
I have an Audi and it's a nearly perfect car, and I'm shopping for my next Audi now. After being in a CTS and a new LaCrosse, it's clear that GM is the closest automaker to the benchmark. So I'm glad that GM recognized that this is the goal and that they plan to hit it.
estreka says:
07:15 PM, 05/26/10
Encouraging, yes. Realistic, no. This is definitely an area for improvement for GM. They need to improve material quality AND ergonomics. Also, stop using those cheap Bose stereos. No one is falling for it anymore.
stovt001 says:
07:39 PM, 05/26/10
Audi (and VW's) reputation for great interiors really isn't cliche. They definitely set the standard.
Estreka, I didn't think GM used Bose stereos in current cars. The Camaro's upgrade system is Boston Acoustics and I've heard positive reviews of it. I know Mazda still uses Bose.
moparbad says:
07:56 PM, 05/26/10
Chevrolet Colorado has my vote for worst GM interior. Worse than Cobalt.
GM has made great improvement in it's recent vehicles. Continue to improve.
1487 says:
05:48 AM, 05/27/10
"I would be happy if GM's interiors were as good as Ford's."
well you should be happy now since that's already the case. Aside from Mustang/Camaro you wont find many Ford's with better interiors than comparable GM products.
"Also, stop using those cheap Bose stereos. No one is falling for it anymore."
MB and Porsche also use BOSE stereos. I don't think the systems in cadillacs or the lambdas are cheap at all.
Stov1:
They do use BOSE to this day. Every Cadillac has BOSE standard or optional. LAmbdas have an 11 speaker BOSE system as an option. The Impala also has BOSE.
"After being in a CTS and a new LaCrosse, it's clear that GM is the closest automaker to the benchmark. So I'm glad that GM recognized that this is the goal and that they plan to hit it. "
Agreed. The CTS and Lacrosse interiors are as close as anyone is getting in terms of vehicles under $50k. Lexus isn't any closer than GM's recent efforts.
1487 says:
05:54 AM, 05/27/10
"Encouraging, yes. Realistic, no. This is definitely an area for improvement for GM. "
He is talking about GM in general, not just Cadillac. Which automaker has a more "realistic" chance of matching VW/Audi? Toyota? Honda? Give me a break. GM has come farther than any of the Japanese big 3 in interior design and quality over the last 5 years.
lmbvette says:
06:48 AM, 05/27/10
Agree with what's been said here about the CTS interior. The CTS-V is very close to Audi levels with the addition of the obsidian black console. I love it!! It's a bit tough to keep clean though as it's a magnet for fingerprints....but I can live with that. ;-)
the_big_al says:
08:57 AM, 05/27/10
GM interiors have indeed come a long way from where they were even 5 years ago when they started trying to improve them. The Colorado and the Cobalt and even the Impala are the last vestiges of the "bad" GM interior. Oh and the Camaro, but that's just an ergonomic mess.
The one who really needs an improvement is Chrysler. They are the bottom of the barrel, even behind Toyota in interior quality.
kevm14 says:
01:08 PM, 05/27/10
Here's an in-class interior comparison:
E90 M5:
http://www.motivemagazine.com/emAlbum/albums/Manufacturers/BMW/M%20Cars/M5/E60/Interior/003.jpg
New CTS-V:
http://www.motivemagazine.com/emAlbum/albums/Manufacturers/Cadillac/CTS-V/2008-Present/Interior/019.jpg
The M5 is certainly nice, but the CTS-V looks so much more rich. I am impressed.
jederino says:
04:07 PM, 05/27/10
^^thanks, kev. Great comparison pics, the Caddy definitely trumps the BMW. Have they also licked the interior rattles?
blueguydotcom says:
07:31 AM, 05/28/10
So does this mean all the interior bits will fall apart on GM cars now too? Will they deny all warranty claims like Audi, calling everything "normal wear and tear?"
toxic_science says:
10:58 AM, 06/ 2/10
@blueguydotcom
I'm not quite sure what you're talking about with Audi's interior...I currently own a 2008 A6 Q and previously owned a 2002.5 A4 Q and have never had any interior problems...and I drove my A4 in the wonderful state of Michigan where the pothole is as common as road striping...
andres3 says:
11:05 AM, 06/ 9/10
You just need to have a good service advisor at a good audi dealer to get good warranty service. Audi does try to throw some obstacles, hoops, and barriers in the way of getting little things fixed under warranty.
A little persistance goes a long way though. They fixed my center stack console's armrest storage bin lid/cover. The latch that locks it closed and opens it had broken on my '06 in 2009. He said Audi didn't like covering that, so we said well the thing doesn't "rachet" properly everytime anymore, that solved the problem.