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In years past there was a direct relationship between how much you spent and the impression your money bought you a quality product.

For me, two essential perceived quality cues are the feel of the door pull (both the material and the crispness of the mechanism) and the feel of the steering wheel (the one control you have contact with every moment you’re in motion).

Despite clear gains in some areas (e.g. emissions, crash safety, required maintenance), today’s cars have regressed in a number of areas, this tactile response being one of them.

I can count on one hand cars produced today with precise door releases (the sub-$20K MINI Cooper being one of them), and it’s increasingly rare to get a leather wrapped wheel unless you get a leather interior – even in cars as expensive as the Mercedes ML or as well loaded as the Civic EX with Navigation or Jetta with Package 1.

If the carmakers are cutting corners on things you touch each time you use the car and each minute you’re driving it respectively, you have to wonder where else corners have been cut.

(The good news: Ford in Europe has decided to make leather wheels standard).

Perhaps if we as consumers raise our voices, carmakers will give back what they’ve quietly taken from us.

UPDATE: Those who feel I’m making much ado about nothing might want to read this.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 21st, 2006 at 11:41 am and is filed under .