I like the '06 interior overall, but whether you think it's nice, functional, or quality can be debated forever as they are SUBJECTIVE issues.

However the way an interior is screwed together, whether it has squeaks and rattles, and the way it holds up over time are much more black and white and that is something I believe everybody can agree on.

In my case I've been hearing 2-3 squeaks and rattles coming and going and I'm only at 15K and the truck is babied.

 

Dodge makes both a Bench front seat and split buckets, and I like that, and do believe its needed. When I said I would prefer a higher center console I was refering to the Split Buckets, not the bench.

As far as plastics go, vinyl is a much softer, easier to detail material than hard, worping plastics. I know people are going to say vinyl is not as durable, but thats not true. As long as the proper grade is used, and its done in the right areas it works better than plastics, because it has a little give and will not scratch like plastics. Yea, you can cut it fairly easy, but I'm not using my dash as a cutting board, are you?

Production prices will go up on upper model trucks, Laramies, maybe SLT's. But since these truck will be able to be sold at a proportionately higher price, base model trucks may see a decrease in sale price because the upper model trucks are making more profit for the parent company.

The center console Heater/Cooler I thought would work great and Chrysler has the parts in its bin already. The Heating/Cooling cup holders are available on the Sebrings now, and the drink cooler is already used in the Caliber.

And how about a rear console/split bucket setup for the rear seats in a Mega or even a QC. Ford offers it in the Harley and King Ranch, and its a nice option. If I was gonna take my family on a horse run to Florida, it would be nice to keep the kids seperated.

The last bone I have to pick is about the nooks and crannies Dodge puts in these interiors...has anyone from the engineering team ever had to clean an entire Mega? Honestly, they collect dust, and half of the time you need a Q-tip to get in there.

Don't get me wrong, I love my truck, and the new ones even more, and they are leaps and bounds ahead of Chevy, right with Ford, and Nissan/Toyota aren't worth mentioning, but just because your at the top doesn't mean you can't step it up another notch.

 

Looking at my 06 interior, Dodge must really be laughing everytime they sell a truck with "leather" interior.

The only leather in the truck is the seating surfaces on the front seats, and not even the whole seating surface, just the center part and not the sides. What happened to the nice suede?

The rest of the seats are all vinyl - genuine pleather. Can't quite remember for certain without looking at the truck, but I'm pretty sure the backs seats have NO leather at all.

Must be a pretty good profit margin on these seats!

 

northernwheeler: this is industry standard, they refer to it as "A" and "B" seating surfaces.
Very, very few vehicles have more than 4 panels per seat in actual leather. I would guess maybe Cadillac, MB, some of the other high end cars do, but not most of the cars from the big three.

(yes, I know who makes Cadillac).

 

Sorry guys but the plastic used in out trucks would be better put to use on a Chinese economy car. (Actually now a days that may be aiming to high!) Really though has anyone gone and just touched a new Toyota or new GM truck interior? Let alone a BMW, Audi, Lexus, etc. This is bargain basement stuff we have here. I think it is laid out nice and I LOVE my truck but it wouldn't have hurt them to put something in the interior that felt more like a natural material??? I am going to get leather not because I love leather but because the interior needs a break from all the hard cheap surfaces and monotone colors...

 

interesting point of view... My buddy has an 05 tahoe and while the seats are comfortable, I dont see that many leather pieces in the car. Also, I know in Texas you can get a Dodge for $5-6k cheaper than a comparable Ford or Chevy. I think that Dodge is more appealing to people who want function over comfort. I would not pay the extra $6k for a ford. Also, with vinyl dashes, I dont know if you look at older cars, but they crack due to the high heat. I have seen a few trucks with covers over the dash to prevent the cracking.

I dont think comparing our trucks to a Toyota is fair because they are totally different markets. I know a guy that has a tundra and while the interior is nice, hes stuck with a 1/2 ton truck getting 13mpg. You can get a F150 for the price of a cummins based truck and while you get a plush interior, you dont get the reliability, fuel milage or power of a cummins based truck. Sure you can find a truck with a nice interior but there are the sacrifices to make. No company will come out with the perfect truck...

 

You are probably right BUT I was not talking price point. I was just saying that the plastic used is cheap grade stuff. I think the plastic used on 05- trucks looked and felt better. HOWEVER I prefer the layout much more on our trucks. The truth is that trucks will get nicer and nicer. Dodge will have to step it up on interior quality soon to stay in the game. There is no question who has the best Engine!!!

I have had 15+ year old Mercedes', Porsche's, BMW's and Volvo's and none of them had cracked dashes even in the GA and TX heat. I know they aren't trucks but it just goes to show the materials exist and we will see them used in the future in trucks. Just look at the new GM's they have a basic cheap truck interior and the new fancy one the layout is different but so are the materials.

Also Toyota will not be a different market for long...

Again I wouldn't trade my truck for anything out there right now. I can always make the interior nicer but swapping a Cummins in is a different story.

 

That's why I ordered an SLT. I couldn't justify an extra $5000 CDN for pleather - and I didn't want the adjustable pedals anyway. Just ordered neoprene seat covers. IMHO, by far a better choice for our climate.

 

The dealer told me not to get the factory leather and that Katskinz were much better.

 

It was my first choice too, but I use my truck for work and found in the other company trucks at work that the cloth interior stains way too easy, even with seat covers.

It also helped that the dealer sold me a fully loaded Laramie for the price of a SLT. I didn't really want the sunroof and power sliding rear window, but I do like the adjustable pedals.

 

I looked a long time to find a 4x4 SB ST truck, and almost didn't buy one as they were hard to find. When comparing trucks early on Ford said that manual door locks, rubber mats, a stick, etc., would be a special order, and that only hicks and farmers wanted trucks like that. I'm not a farmer so I guess I'm a hick.

I'll acknowledge that almost everyone likes lots of options, but some of the few options that I wanted, like selectable lockers, or a wide angle driver's side mirror, weren't offered. A coworker bought a truck like mine but fully optioned (he paid over $15k extra), and a few months later asked about some function on the radio; I replied that I didn't recall having turned the radio on :^)

Leather seats are funny to me as some absolutely demand them, but they put towels on the seats in the summer as they're too hot, and either have butt warmers (gee smells good, what's for dinner :^) or towels again in the winter as they're too cold.

Instead of better vanity mirrors and such I'd rather see Dodge offer mileage tweaks on curent and older models, which again is about 180 degrees from what everyone else wants.

 

I love my dodge interior,truck like IMHO coobie

 

I just wish that you basically had choices the way you do with Porsche or some other manufacturers. Pretty much if you want it and can pay for it, you can have it. I understand why they couldn't do that on the assembly line, but why not have a specialized department like MB has AMG or BMW has M Division, etc.? There are a lot of options they could offer that people would pay for. Factory installed custom interiors, turbos, exhaust/engine brakes, exhausts, gauges, interior options, etc.

Here is the way I look at it that would make it worthwhile to DC to do. Far more people can afford an extra $100-$300 a month instead of writing a $10,000-$25,000 check in addition to their payment. Not to mention, the specialized department would be some of the best equipped for doing the mods given their understanding of the vehicle and engine.

 

I look at this differently. Companies like Toyota and Honda jump on a problem and initiate recalls before they become big problems. "Some" members of the Big 3 wait until vehicles catch on fire before the bean counters at the head office go, I guess we will HAVE to start a recall. I had my Honda in for two recalls and didn't even know that anything was wrong. They said, we were seeing a trend and Honda is trying to take care of it. So I see it as 693,000 recalls that someone from the Big 3 would have tried to sweep under the carpet! (at least in the past)

 

I've been looking at the 07 Tundra also. A regular cab came in at the local Toyota dealer last Tuesday and they had two double cab short beds when I swung by today. Nice 1/2 ton trucks. Almost nice enough to make me jump ship. There is plenty of backseat room in the double cabs for my use. In fact the standard cab has more behind the seat storage room than any standard cab truck that I have seen. There is no standard under the seat storage in the double cab. You have to order it as an option for forty-five bucks. It's just an organizer tray that slides under the seat. Not as nice as our Dodges with the fold flat floor option. I still need to see a long bed double cab before passing final judgement. The Crewmax is cool looking in the pictures and ads but the 5 1/2' bed ain't gonna cut it for me. What am I thinking? Whew! I just woke up. It was all just a bad dream. I couldn't seriously be thinking of jumping ship, or could I? Only time will tell.