It takes a real commitment for an automaker to change course if its vehicle interiors have been consistently substandard. Long ago, some automakers considered interiors a low priority – a great place to save money by using copious amounts of hard, black plastic sourced from the lowest bidder.
Why spend more than necessary on trim covering the lower door panel or the exhaust tunnel down near the accelerator pedal? Bob Lutz, former vice chairman of Chrysler and later General Motors, complained openly that suppliers used way too many chemicals in their plants to help a plastic part release from its mold, resulting in unsightly orange peel that looked dreadful.
2002 – 2004 Chrysler Concorde – steering wheel, dashboard, gearshiftChrysler
It took many years for the industry as a whole to realize that no driver wants to rest their elbows on a hard armrest, or run their fingers over a dingy looking rat-fur headliner, or turn up the radio to mask excessive road or wind noise, or buy seat covers because the upholstery is tearing or discoloring after a few years.
It’s been quite a journey for many automakers, including the former Chrysler Corp., whose product developers have been distracted for 30 years wondering about job security as the company changed hands several times.
2000 Chrysler Sebring Coupe InteriorChrysler
‘Pissed Off’ With ‘Water Pistol Grade Interiors’
One person who survived all the upper-management turmoil is Ralph Gilles, who started his career at then-Chysler in 1992 as a designer after college graduation. He has since ascended to the post as head of all design for Stellantis, where he has the latitude to continue pressing all 14 brands at Stellantis to do world-class interiors, rather than looking for ways to cut corners.
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During a recent media roundtable, Gilles talked about how design has evolved at the company, and he freely admitted that Chrysler interiors were awful. When he saw the beautiful interior of the second-generation Audi A4 that launched in 2002, he “got pissed off” with the “water pistol grade interiors that we had” and decided Chrysler interiors needed to follow suit.
“Audi came out with the A4, and that turned me upside down. When I saw the Audi A4, that was it.”
–Stellantis Chief Design Officer Ralph Gilles
One of his first steps, during the DaimlerChrysler years, was hiring Mercedes-Benz designer Klaus Busse in 2005 as manager of interior design for Ram Trucks, before becoming head interior design for FiatChrysler. “I told him, your job is to make our interiors number one,” Gilles recalls. “And he did.”
In 2007, about the same time Daimler and Chrysler were untangling their “merger of equals,” Gilles created a dedicated interior design studio and began staffing it with people who didn’t just want to draw exteriors.
Stellantis design chief Ralph Gilles in 2020Stellantis
When Awards Started Coming In
“These people love interiors,” he told CarBuzz and other media at the roundtable. “They’re not here to be car designers,” but interior designers instead. It’s a different mentality and younger designers are specializing in various sectors within interiors, from color and trim to sustainable materials and ergonomics. Gilles says he wants to keep pushing all the Stellantis brands to improve interior design, quality, fit-and-finish, comfort, the user experience, etc. The design world has changed a lot during his career.
“In the old days, we would take a designer and kind of make them do color and trim.”
Gilles knew the emphasis on interiors was paying off when Wards Automotive created the Wards 10 Best Interiors competition in 2011, and the automaker earned two spots on that first list, for the Charger Rallye Plus and the Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland Summit for its “tranquility and elegance.” Each time the team won a 10 Best Interiors trophy since then, it was cause for a celebration.
“It’s an obsession with us, you know, fit and finish, European-like attention to detail,” he says. With Stellantis’ deep roots in Europe, the global design team is raising its game, benefiting from experiences from region to region. “The French do phenomenal interiors,” he says. “It takes a dedicated team like I talked about.”
2019 – 2026 Ram 2500 & 3500 interiorRam
CarBuzz Insight – Why This Matters:
Indeed, Chrysler, Ram, Jeep, and Dodge interiors have come a long way in 30 years, but the design and product-development teams need to stay vigilant and resist pressure to cost out interiors with cheap materials that tarnish a brand and turn off paying customers. There are too many vehicle choices in the market from brands that have learned the important lesson about interiors: Vehicles today are not just for mobility.
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They must provide first-rate, comfortable living space as nice as our living rooms, and they must be as well-connected as our offices and capable of delivering all our favorite music in crisp fidelity. To fall short on those goals by capitulating to bean counters is to sacrifice the soul of your product. Consumers pay attention. And they will certainly be watching closely when the raft of inexpensive vehicles start arriving from Stellantis in coming years, particularly Chrysler. Based on Gilles’ comments, he’ll be pushing the team for more awards.
Source: Stellantis
