Jump to content
Create New...
  • 💬 Join the Conversation

    CnG Logo SQ 2023 RedBlue FavIcon300w.png
    Since 2001, Cheers & Gears has been the go-to hub for automotive enthusiasts. Join today to access our vibrant forums, upload your vehicle to the Garage, and connect with fellow gearheads around the world.

     

  • William Maley
    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)

    User Feedback

    Recommended Comments



    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

    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

    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

    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

    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

    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

    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.




  • Support Real Automotive Journalism

    Cheers and Gears Logo

    Since 2001, Cheers & Gears has delivered real content and honest opinions — not emotionless AI output or manufacturer-filtered fluff.

    If you value independent voices and authentic reviews, consider subscribing. Plans start at just $2.25/month, and paid members enjoy an ad-light experience.*

    You can view subscription options here.

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

  • Similar Content

  • Posts

    • Very cool, seems Chinese EVs are here being compared by American companies so that hopefully we do not fall too far behind. A Xiaomi EV was spotted in America, and a US maker might be behind it
    • Kia just showed off in Brussels their Global release of the EV3, EV4, and EV5 GT editions. Full details are here. Kia electrifies Brussels Motor Show with three new GT models: EV3, EV4 and EV5 | Releases | Official Media Site NEWSROOM
    • Phoque him and las vegas!!! Phoque the whole damned country that is the usa!!!  Fix your own shyte! Canadians need not be a money mine for any american tourist site or area!!! trump and many maga a&&hol3s want to make Canada an enemy and actually want to occupy Canada. Many other americans are phoquing clueless to  trump's bullshyte!!!   Phoque that!!! There are only a hair above 40 million Canadians. There are a hair below 350 million americans.  trump said and continues to say that he and the usa does not need anything Canadian.  So phoque trump and phoque the usa!!!  Let americans visit and tourist las vegas and any other american area.  desantis who says continually "who needs Canadians?" and he FALSELY claimed last December  that florida had record breaking visitors mocking Canada's boycott to florida!!! Like I said...fix your OWN shyte!!!  Let the mayor of las vegas strike up a deal and pour marketing money INTO florida begging floridians to visit las vegas.  There are a hair below 25 million a&&hol3s in florida. floridians could visit las vegas!!!  And las vegans and nevadans could return the favour and visit Disney...  In fact, all of america could visit there OWN phoquing country and do their own phoquing tourist vacations within their OWN phoquing dumb a$$ country!!! Canada and Canadians NEED to stay the PHOQUE away from shytty usa!!!  Get killed by an ice agent?  Phoque off!!! Get accosted by a border agent???  Phoque off!!! Get robbed by a desperate down and out american loser because he voted for trump and trump phoqued him?  Phoque off!!!  But you know what the REAL sad news is about this whole shyte???!!!   https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/southern-alberta-mustangs-collision-9.7071643   Rest in Peace 3 Southern Alberta Mustang junior hockey players died in a car crash yesterday afternoon. 2 were from British Columbia and the other boy from Birmingham Alabama.  ALABAMA... The kid was from Alabama playing hockey. In CANADA!!!  And the reverse happens quite often. Kids from Flin Flon Manitoba, play in the States in hockey with US scholarships...   Kids from Boston come to Montreal  and play for McGill or Concordia and Montreal kids play for Boston College...  Its quite sad that trump has made us enemies...   Its even sadder that some americans have accepted it!!!   
  • Who's Online (See full list)

    • There are no registered users currently online
  • My Clubs

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.

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

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