Not really. I don't claim to be a plastic 'specialist' but the feel and look of the plastic in the aurora is nothing like most other GM cars. it has a different feel to it. It doesn't feel (as) cheap as our 00' Bonnevilles do. It has real walnut wood trim too, it'* not faux.

I don't just say it because I happen to own an Aurora, I own an Aurora because of the comparision between it, and the other cars in its class, even the ones that share the same chassis.

I can't really be called Biased either since I regularly drive a 2000 SSEi and SLE. I had the opportunity to buy the SSEi but turned it down. The aftermarket modability factor was not enough to make me want it. There were too many other reasons I decided not to. But to each their own. Everyone has their own tastes which makes these message boards so great!

I drove the aurora, 95X3, 96X2, 98 and 99X2 and all were nice inside. i liked some of the features that the bonneville didn't have (heated seats, memory seats) but unfortunately, I am a tall guy. The reason I liked the bonneville was because of the seats. they fit me so well and I can find a position that doesn't hurt my bad knee.

Ya, sometimes design makes all the difference in the world. It has a totally different feel/interface. I can control everything within a distance that is less then my reach, and I'm not that tall. The same cannot be said for any Bonneville that I have driven...hence the turn off when I was making decisions. Plastic was the material of choice in the 90'* so thats not fooling anyone, esp in domestic cars, just accept it and move on. Its all about layout and driver comfort, and the Aurora is way beyond many if not all domestics in that category.

Its a natural progression to upgrade to a better car from the Bonneville, the Aurora meets that requirement (keep that in mind for any car buyers in the future )

Finally in the mid 00'* GM is starting to implement some better interiors, and its safe to say Caddy and Olds started that progression with cars like the Aurora, SLS, STS, DTS etc.

Most cars, not just American cars, use plastics. So when you hear about the magazines complaining about GM interiors, they are simply leaving out the fact that TONS of other companies use the same stuff.

Its always fun to pick on the big dogs (or biggest car companies) in those damn magazines. Plastic is cheap, but thats why you can get a GM vehicle for a reasonable amount of dollars.

heh..interestingly enough, Auroras when they were new were $60 000 CDN cars....*sniff* makes me proud.

My dad'* VW was plastic, my grandmothers BMW is plastic, my uncles GP GTP is plastic, my Aunts Jeep is plastic inside....

But, the design makes the difference. It'* possible to make plastic look good and not as "plasticky". This is where GM'* shortfall is, generally speaking.

Damn straight Reps

Maybe I am just retarded....but I don't think I have been in many modern cars that aren't almost all plastic on the inside. What else is there really to use? Carbon fiber?

I agree. Plastic is plastic, I dont buy into that high quality vs low quality plastic junk either. At least in a Bonne you can roll deep

The problem isn't the fact that GM uses plastic, it'* that they use plastics that feels stiff and untextured, and many of their cars have clearly visible mold-lines. It'* more about the design and manufacture processes than the material itself.
The Park Ave, LSS, and Aurora use exactly the same kind of plastic as the Bonneville and even the Sunfire, but because they put more thought into the design and manufacture of the individual pieces, the interior feels like it is better assembled, makes less noise, and holds up to wear better.
The other reason that Pontiac interiors feel cheap compared to Bucik or Olds is that Pontiac interiors are, for the most part, one color inside(usually black). If you look at Buick or Olds interiors, they use several different shades of whatever color the interior is based in. My PA has a light tan on the seats, the face of the dash, and the all but the top of the door panels. It has a darker tan on top of the dash and door panels, and fake wood to set off the two different colors, and the instrument and radio faces are black.
A Bonneville, on the other hand, uses the exact same type of plastic, but the interior is only two colors at the most, whatever the main interior color is, and black. If the entire interior happens to be black, there'* no contrast. It makes the interior feel small, claustrophobic, even though the physical dimensions might be a bit bigger than other cars in it'* class.
The Buick and Olds, on the other hand, feel bigger than they actually are, and more open, which leads ot a feeling of higher quality.