Jump to content
News
Reviews
Discussons
Activity
Create New...
Close
  • William Maley
    William Maley

    By William Maley •

    The 2018 Chevrolet Equinox Could Have Looked So Much Different

      How focus groups caused Chevrolet to go back to the drawing board

    If it weren't for focus groups, the design of the 2018 Chevrolet Equinox could have looked so much different.

    Speaking to Automotive News, chief engineer of the 2018 Equinox Mark Cieslak revealed that focus groups weren't not impressed with the first designs of the redesigned model. They described the design as being bulky, 'not compelling', and looking a bit odd. If this was old GM, they would have gone forward with the design.

    "Back in the day, we would have probably just kept going," said Cieslak.

    "What we had on paper we felt was not going to win."

    But this being the new GM where bean counters lost a fair amount of influence, the decision was made to go back to the drawing board. At the time, GM was scrambling to fix the Malibu as its redesign earned poor reviews and a drop in sales which likely played a part in this decision. They needed to get the Equinox redesign right as the model it would replace was very popular. There were concerns that this could cause the new Equinox to be delayed. But in the end, the team were able to design a new Equinox without falling off schedule.

    Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required)

    Go to articles

    User Feedback

    Recommended Comments



    regfootball

    I looked over the new CRv pretty good at the auto show. It's not as amazing as the hype is made out to be. It is done well but there is still residual honda cheapness inside. It's just not the same huge serving of bleh from before. Nonetheless, it will continue to sell. They had to make the crv nicer finally because it became such a piece of crap  loud and cheap inside, etc   The new one is an upgrade but not the be all end all  

    To me the Rogue is maybe not best in class but I think it's interior feels most spacious and it has the 3 row option.  Feels macho enough. Probably gives most value for the dollar. 

    Chevy is ok selling new equinox for stupid high prices for 6 mo to a year while they sell off the old one at huge rebates. And while they figure out how to make the production line run and make it so you don't have first year bugs. Shouldn't have to but Gm is Gm. 

     

    Side note new Acadias and envisions have huge discounts now. Probably can get more value on one of those right now instead of new equinox. 

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites
    hyperv6

    There is always going to be a deal out there but it really comes down to what you really want.

    Like the full size and mid size. I could have got a great deal on a full size but it was not what I wanted.

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites
    ccap41
    5 hours ago, regfootball said:

    It is done well but there is still residual honda cheapness inside.

    I don't think it matters which brand, if you're looking at any of the mainstream brands they will all fall into this category at some point. They're not luxury vehicles and there will be plastic cheapness. It's just where they make the plastic that's acceptable to each buyer.

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites
    Stew
    13 hours ago, ocnblu said:

    It is like they're building in a need for the perpetuation of rebates with this pricing scheme.  Sad.

    The somewhat brawny new CR-V is proof you can have a CUV that appeals to both sexes, and the interior in the Honda is simply beautiful.

    Over here though I am anxiously awaiting my new Compass.

     

     

     

    Jeep us informed once you receive it.  That is another one I feel like was simply knocked out of the ballpark. 

    2 minutes ago, ccap41 said:

    I don't think it matters which brand, if you're looking at any of the mainstream brands they will all fall into this category at some point. They're not luxury vehicles and there will be plastic cheapness. It's just where they make the plastic that's acceptable to each buyer.

    Exactly, GM has their fair share of cheapness and yuck in their inteiors as well.  the sad hing there, is that it DOES extend to Cadillac.  

    • Agree 1
    Link to comment
    Share on other sites
    ccap41
    23 minutes ago, Stew said:

    Exactly, GM has their fair share of cheapness and yuck in their inteiors as well.  the sad hing there, is that it DOES extend to Cadillac.  

    Yep, completely agree. I know damn well my Escape had a lot of plastic, too much if I'm being honest. But I think the "fixed" it by not making it glossy. When it got dirty it looked really bad so I had to keep up on it. Basically the whole damn center stack was glossy plastic and felt really cheap if you touched it(which you never do where it was at but that's besides the point).

    Just knowing all of these vehicles are so competitively priced they have to cheapen out somewhere. Let's just hope it is more subtle than others.

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites
    Stew
    1 hour ago, ccap41 said:

    Yep, completely agree. I know damn well my Escape had a lot of plastic, too much if I'm being honest. But I think the "fixed" it by not making it glossy. When it got dirty it looked really bad so I had to keep up on it. Basically the whole damn center stack was glossy plastic and felt really cheap if you touched it(which you never do where it was at but that's besides the point).

    Just knowing all of these vehicles are so competitively priced they have to cheapen out somewhere. Let's just hope it is more subtle than others.

    Same with my Beetle.  Touch points (steering wheel, shifter, controls) feel great.  The dash top is hard plastic, but done in a sheen and texture that it still looks good.  Even the Camry has a few cheap pieces (namely that $h!ty silver plastic eveyone used the previous decade), but touch points feel fantastic. 

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites
    regfootball

    Friend had 2 different crv leases. Absolutely hated them. Noisy, bad ride, not advertised fe. The new one apparently cuts down interior noise allegedly. Good. When I test drove the previous gen one awhile back it was noisy, rode like crap, and was cheap inside. Honda badge was the only reason it sold I imagine 

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites


    Join the conversation

    You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
    Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

    Guest
    Add a comment...

    ×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

      Only 75 emoji are allowed.

    ×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

    ×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

    ×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

    ×

  • google-news-icon.png



  • google-news-icon.png

  • Subscribe to Cheers & Gears

    Cheers and Gears Logo

    Since 2001 we've brought you real content and honest opinions, not AI-generated stuff with no feeling or opinions influenced by the manufacturers.

    Please consider subscribing. Subscriptions can be as little as $1.75 a month, and a paid subscription drops most ads.*
     

    You can view subscription options here.

    *a very limited number of ads contain special coupon deals for our members and will show

  • Community Hive Community Hive

    Community Hive allows you to follow your favorite communities all in one place.

    Follow on Community Hive

  • Similar Content

  • Posts

    • David
      Random Thoughts Thread

      By David · Posted

      I am not aware of travel cases for internal drives. Usually you have the drive and once you have made sure you own static electricity is discharged on your body, open the computer and unplug the power cable and data cable to the HD. Then you unscrew the screws holding the drive in. Put the drive into an Anti-Static bag and then usually into a box that has foam padding on all sides to protect the drive and then tape it up to close it.  With both drives in their proper storage bags, you can then have both drives in between foam insulation for handling any dropping of the box, etc. Pack them in a box and tape shut, should then easily handle going through your carry on or checked in luggage. To ship a hard drive, you need to: Secure the hard drive in its original packaging or anti-static bag. If you don't have an anti-static bag, place the drive into a zipped freezer bag to prevent any moisture getting into the drive during transit. Sandwich the drive between foam or wrap it in bubble wrap to absorb any minor shocks. Put the hard drive in a padded shipping box. Close and seal the box. Label your package. Amazon.com : hard drive shipping box This is pretty much all you need.
    • David
      Airplanes

      By David · Posted

      Either a co-pilot first time landing or something truly went wrong on the plane.
    • trinacriabob
      Random Thoughts Thread

      By trinacriabob · Posted

      The incoming rectangular lamps on many GM cars in that era made them much more attractive.  They made a big difference. Now, as far the powerplant went, the notion of 500 cubic inches was mindboggling even during the malaise era.  If you want to see someone's jaw drop, tell a European that their engines have 8200 cc or 8.2 liters.  For those who aren't driving the occasional Mustang or Camaro you see, they freak out at anything over 2,500 or 3,000 cc.
    • trinacriabob
      Random Thoughts Thread

      By trinacriabob · Posted

      Thank you for the response. I want to reinstall them into the computers, especially the "newer" one.  The old one has been a real champ.   The reason for not leaving them in the desktop is that the basic tower might have to be transported ... and not by me.  That means it will be out of my possession for a while.  Since the HDs would be traveling with me, they'll have to get scanned through airport security a time or two.  I'm guessing that shouldn't mess with the data.   I've already backed up the C drive on several large 1 TB portable hard drives.  I don't want to touch the basic functions and files on the computers since I don't know how that all works.  I stay away from the drives and files I am not familiar with. I tend to donate other things to charity.   I did give the Regal I once owned to charity.   A good friend told me that, about a month or two later, he saw it being driven around the city by its new owner and we had a good laugh. This is what I want to do.  I'm just trying to figure out if the guy or gal at Office Depot can size a case based on looking up the unit and the HD in it.  Any ideas on that part?  Or should I do that and approximate the size and weight of the part to get the cases?
    • trinacriabob
      Airplanes

      By trinacriabob · Posted

      I'm wondering about a lot of things related to this.  I am sure that, sadly, the passengers inside were jolted.  This is way different from a rough landing. Why was it even necessary to do it?  What was going on at the airport property at that time?  How does one even pull this off?  I've seen some vids of where they barely touch and then go off again, but this one looks way more complicated.

  • Who's Online (See full list)

    • There are no registered users currently online

  • My Clubs

×
×
  • Create New...

Hey there, we noticed you're using an ad-blocker. We're a small site that is supported by ads or subscriptions. We rely on these to pay for server costs and vehicle reviews.  Please consider whitelisting us in your ad-blocker, or if you really like what you see, you can pick up one of our subscriptions for just $1.75 a month or $15 a year. It may not seem like a lot, but it goes a long way to help support real, honest content, that isn't generated by an AI bot.

See you out there.

Drew
Editor-in-Chief

I've whitelisted
Continue without support

Write what you are looking for and press enter or click the search icon to begin your search

Change privacy settings