Chevy: "We're Letting Plastic be Plastic"

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If you've ever been angered by a car's interior materials pretending to be something they're not, you might sympathize with Chevrolet's stance regarding their new 2013 Spark.?

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The?Korean-built?four-door claims to have no pretenses regarding what it is or who it's aimed at, and its $12,245 price tag says just about as much: the Spark competes against the likes of the Smart ForTwo and Mazda2, nestled well within the automotive subsection of smaller/cheaper/simpler hatchbacks.

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"We're embracing the honesty and integrity of letting plastic be plastic," explained one Chevrolet executive at the Spark media launch, referring specifically to the color-matched trim that runs across the dash and door panels. A test drive later confirmed that there's certainly nothing faux about the hard plastic interior bits, and those parts certainly aren't masquerading as leather or plusher fabrics.

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But while there's arguably truth in advertising regarding the Spark's interior-- and granted, it's solid cabin for a sub-$13,000 sled-- perhaps Chevrolet shot themselves in the foot by offering up a $15,265 Scion IQ for competitive test drives. Sure, the pricier Japanese hatchback wore fake piano black trim here and there, but its interior was also lightly swathed in soft touch materials, offering a pleasant tactile alternative to the brightly colored plastic fantastic Spark.

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So, do you pick truth in materials or synthetic luxury? The answer, I suppose, depends on your personal philosophy regarding car construction... but after sampling the Spark and the IQ back-to-back, I know which one I'd rather commute in.

Source: http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/news/auto-blog/chevy-sparks-plastic-fantastic-interior?src=rss

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