JZInternet

Sorry guys, I have a question... Everyone talks like they know what quality plastics are but how do you really know? Did you take a hammer to the dash to see if it breaks? I agree the interior doesn't look near as good without the IUP. This interior really goes well with the exterior of this car. Like I said I don't know what qualifies plastic to be high quality or not all I know is that I love the looks of this interior. I guess these aren't things that I look at that close.
Jason

TomServo92

Actually you're missing 4 cylinders. The TSX is a four banger.

stoic21

6,7, and 9 are all availible here.

Robert

6,7, and 9 are all availible here. [/b][/quote]
As to 9, I don't think a tire inflation monitor is available...and I'm positive 7 isn't. The vanity mirrors aren't illuminated - Dan and Galaxie were asked that after their drive, and they said, "yes, there are dual vanity mirrors, but no they aren't illuminated." And no extenders.

Electrochromic rearview mirror with homelink is definitely available as a dealer installed option, however.

scs

My mistake... Yes, the rear window defogger is included in the 05.

scs

There are literally millions/billions of plastic formulations............

Each one must be proven: UV, temp cycling, out-gassing of volatile compounds, color fast, crash worthiness, flame-resistant, low absorption of liquids/oils (skin, suntan, ???.. ;-), mechanical strength, wear resistance, ease of forming, removal from mold, ability to be glued/adhesive strength, screw - threaded insert retention, etc.…. did I miss many?? probably….

Ford may be using the same formulation for all their products…. They may have proven all the issues and new compounds may be in the works but lots of man-power and $$$ to change – you’d better have it right before putting it on a production vehicle…. I wouldn’t want to be the one to make that decision to change out a proven material for a couple of dollars savings or even a few pennies more…

http://www.dupont-dow.com/Products/Engage/interiors.asp

Automotive Interiors - Engage® in Interiors

Soft surface skins on instrument panels and doors, and covers for center consoles, armrests and other soft trim parts in the interior have mostly been covered with PVC. Now auto makers are quickly moving to flexible TPO compounds. The move is being driven by the automotive OEMs' responses to demands for non-fogging vehicle interiors, improved aesthetics, invisible or integrated air bag designs, growing consumer preference for 'soft touch' interiors, 'total' recyclability, and concerns over the long-term durability of PVC.

Engage® polyolefin elastomer helps make these changes possible; it can be used to improve the ductility of TPO surface skins of instrument panels, dashboard components, door and console panels, arm rests and air bag doors. As the modifier or as the primary ingredient in thermoplastic compounds, Engage® enables the production of skins that are better looking and better performing than either PVC or PVC/ABS blends. The skins are softer, lighter and more durable than traditional plastics, and they stay pliant in the coldest conditions, without plasticizers which means no windshield fogging. Add to that UV resistance and color stability, and the result is a skin that is tougher and longer-lasting than any other incumbent.

New innovations in interior styling, such as "invisible" air bag doors, are now possible with Engage®. And over the long term, the polymer's color stability and property retention help maintain the "new car" feeling.

JZInternet

wow thanks... B)

Except that just made it more complicated. Just makes me wonder how there are so many plastic experts on here. lol Oh and I'm not just saying that about the guys that think that it's cheap either.

Just out of curiosity, I would like to see a comparision of the types of plastics that the different car companies use. Realistically what is the major downfall of lower quality plastic? Is it really that much worse?

kevinb120

Actually some of the newest Kia interiors, the amanti in particular, are built quite well, they easilly trump Mitsubishi interiors(probably lowest on the totem pole with suzuki and scion xb/xa -and only by coincidence that you own one, this is unbiased) and better then most of the Nissan line. Without being Ford-biased, the stang is on par with Nissan's 350(but a little better with the IUP) and only Maxima can say is better quality. Toyota Camry and Honda Accord are quality standards for interiors in sub-30k vehicles, and they may have microns-closer fits, the interior is nowhere near as personable to sit in. Its as dull as dull can possibly be for both. 500 is actually MUCH closer to them then the magazines lead you to believe to both of those too. They do actually use intigrated hard AND soft touch plastics that for some reason none of the testers even noticed.

Mustang is VERY stylish with competitive quality, most imports that have 'jazzy' interiors suffer from durabillity issues. 350 and Celica stand out as very easy to scratch and creaky pieces, as I've seen on every used one. The novelty on the Stang seems like it will hold up much better then the 'gee wiz' cars in the same price class as they start to look ancient after keys, coffee, and rings have thier way with them over time. Mini is probably the worst with tons of rubbed-off paint on surfaces after some miles are on it, almost every piece has bare spots. I get the advantage of getting to paw over many of the 'hot' imports with 30-50k miles on them regularly. Everything looks good new. The placement of textures and not using to much painted 'metallic' finishes will hold up much better, its THOUGHT out to hold up. As bad as the old interior was, on average a 4 year old Mustang interior looks MUCH closer to new then 4 year old celicas do.

kevinb120

btw, TSX with leather, a 'metal trim' piece for the shifter, and an mp3 player tops 28000 with the WHOPPING 200 hp. Thats a lotta clams for a little car. You can get a Haldex awd CVT 500 with the same options for less, and its a LOT more car then the acura tin can.

Brian302505

IMHO, I think redesigned Altima interior is better than the Maxima. But, check out the stang with the IUP!

kevinb120

I've only seen the Q35 not the new altima yet. They should be better considering they only gave you about $50 bucks worth of interior for 3 years.

Robert

Actually, 200 hp from a normally aspirated four cylinder car IS whopping! That's two-thirds the power of the Mustang with half as many cylinders (torque figures are admittedly lower).

"'Metal trim' piece for the shifter"? What piece would that be? The shifter is the shifter on the TSX - no options on the shifter.

Never heard of a Haldex (what does THAT say!), but the Acura is hardly a tin can. Build quality is still better than ANYTHING Ford makes.

jarednt1

Don't hold your breath for OnStar GM is still the parent company of OnStar don't think Ford will enter that bandwagon.

GM is the only american company whom has it.

Volkswagon,Audi and Acura are the others.

Subaru (GM has a controlling share in parent company), Saab (GM Owns), Hummer (GM Owns).

I would not expect to see it enter a Ford or Chrysler until OnStar is spun off from GM like they did with Delphi.

Kamikaze

I'm not comparing the mustang to my current car so I don't know why you guys keep on doing it. BTW you have no clue what model I have so you're just guessing. I'm comparing it to other sport coupes. The interior is very bland and cheap feeling there is no questioning that. I feel as if Ford could have done better and I wanted to know if the IUP really added that spark to the interior. I'm an eletrical engineer and I'm on the road 24/7 the last thing I want is a boring plain jane interior with cheap parts in the inside. I love the Mustang it's a beautiful car and it gives you more bang for your buck but Ford never makes the interiors good. The inside is always cheesy and of the lowest quality possible. I'm going to go check out a Stang with the IUP hopefully in Tustin sometime and I hope it blows me away cuz I really want this car.

P.S. To say that a base model v6's interior is up to par with most Japanese manufacturer's interiors is absurd. Quality and design wise the Japanese know how to make interiors. It should be nothing for this is their flagship car. Well I'll hopefully change my tune when I see the aluminum dash with a Manual transmission. The Auto Tranny felt like the shifter was going to break when I held it. BTW where is the trunk release in the car the salesman couldnt find it anywhere?

tekman13

Try this...

http://forums.bradbarnett.net/index.php?showtopic=7549

Robert

I've been saying this for months, Kamikaze, but it falls on deaf ears. They just don't want to hear it, and probably don't care.

One poster actually replied to me a few weeks ago and said that they couldn't care less if the interior was made of Kleenex (or words to that effect) as long as they got their Mustang.

I reminded them that brand loyalty is great - but it's hard to expand upon your core customer group if your "legendary" flagship car is using plastics that even Hyundai would reject.

Again, I was shocked by the cheap, hard, brittle, hollow plastic in the F-150, cause I'd heard nothing but how "great" it was.

kevinb120

Actually, 200 hp from a normally aspirated four cylinder car IS whopping! That's two-thirds the power of the Mustang with half as many cylinders (torque figures are admittedly lower).

"'Metal trim' piece for the shifter"? What piece would that be? The shifter is the shifter on the TSX - no options on the shifter.

Never heard of a Haldex (what does THAT say!), but the Acura is hardly a tin can. Build quality is still better than ANYTHING Ford makes. [/b][/quote]
Haldex is the awd system that powers all volvos(its the exact version in the XC90 and S80 in the 500) and many german and italian awd cars. It monitors slippage every 1/7th turn of each wheel and can put 100% power to any wheel in microseconds. Dont forget 500 takes a 45k S80 platform and makes it 30% stronger then the Volvo version. The componentry under that car is SOOO much beefier then japanese units. "quality" or not, it is still the thin-walled simple stamped steel sit-on-the floor formula japanese sedan. Open the hood of the 500 and you will see a 2 1/2" strut tower brace and more metal just used to block wheel intrusion into the cockpit then the entire subframe assembly in most Japanese cars, the front support members for the subframe mounts are enormous as well.

I saw one of the porter idiots run a Avalon 'hard' around the turns in the auto park circle on saturday right in front of me(squealing yet another newly purchased vehicle to death on its way to the gas station :angry: ) and the outside front corner of the hood was visibly flexed nearly two inches off of the headlight from body twist. Another 'vault like' car from Toyota Not to mention my svtf easilly goes more then three times the speed that car was going around the same turn without getting frazzled. When you do not use much metal to make the car itself, you can easilly add gizmos, fancy plastic, and smooth little engines. In the build your car section, it shows a metal bezel for the shifter as an option. 200 hp from a 4 is AMAZING in a sub 18k car, not one that busts 30k easilly.

Robert

I don't care if it's "simple stamped, sit on the floor" tin foil, it's still better executed than anything coming out of 'Detroit', and the sales figures reflect that. The majority of the public are not as stupid as you might like to think. They know quality when they see it and touch it.

kevinb120

I don't care if it's "simple stamped, sit on the floor" tin foil, it's still better executed than anything coming out of 'Detroit', and the sales figures reflect that. The majority of the public are not as stupid as you might like to think. They know quality when they see it and touch it. [/b][/quote]
They have learned to lay down for it, thats for sure. I would love to spend a little 'lift time' with you under one to show you what you are really buying. Its execution vs substance. In the truck/suv world, its laughable.

Robert

Yeah? Well let's have a look at the American 4 cylinder cars that are under $18K shall we? I'm not sure any of them are still even running anymore.