You know what? Our cars are really fucking old.
This morning I spent about 2 hours giving the interior it's first good cleaning since early December on accounta it being winter and everything. The interior is nice and fresh and smelling clean again, which I like, so it is in top condition at the moment.
Today the wife and I went browsing for cars at dealers just so she could get a wide range of ideas of what she does/doesn't like. We looked at the usual suspects for her, those being Coopers and C-classes, but we also looked at a few used A4s, A3s, new Jettas, new Beetles, a few different Nissans, couple used IS250s, etc. etc...a pretty wide range of cars.
Peering inside, I was actually really impressed with every car we looked at. I hate to admit it, but if you've seen the NEW beetles--the ones that have the oldskool wheels on them now, I think this is new for 2012--I actually thought they were pretty cool cars, and I hate to admit it but the inside was pretty freaking sweet, with a body colored dashboard. Anyway, the new Jetta had a really nice interior, as did all these other cars, even the cheapy little Nissans we looked at.
Then the wife and I peered into my Mustang for kicks, and even with it's minty fresh, just cleaned interior, it looked dated as all hell and cheap as balls.
That's not to say I don't like my interior--I do, quite a lot. To me it seems modern and sleek, and I still find it attractive. But man, when you have something to compare it to, it becomes apparent just how outdated our interiors are in terms of styling, quality, and materials. Just looking at the shift knobs as an example, seems like chrome/brushed aluminum is back in style inside cars, whereas we have the chintzy looking old all black shift knobs. Also our stereos are painfully obvious that they just pop into place in the dash board, and don't look integrated.
I dunno, just an observation more than a complaint. I realize our interiors date back to maybe 1992-1993 in terms of when they were designed, and even today they still hold their own, but man when up next to even a new economy car you can really see how dated our interiors really are.
...almost made me want a new car...........