05 STS wins Interior of the Year Award

[Bruce Nunnally]

DETROIT - Two of General Motors newest vehicles, the 2005 Cadillac STS and the 2006 Hummer H3, garnered honors in their respective car and truck categories for automotive "Interior of the Year".

Nominated by Ward's Auto World magazine, the Cadillac STS won "industry-at-large, premium priced car. The Hummer H3, which begins shipping to dealers later this month, won the "industry-at-large, popular priced truck"

The 2005 STS marks the return of rear-wheel-drive for the model after nearly 25 years as a front drive model. The interior choices of the Cadillac include aluminum trim on both console and instrument panel on V6 models and two color choices for wood trim that is standard on V8 models. Other exclusive features of the STS interior include Tuscany leather seats that are available with heating and cooling functions, Bose 5.1 audio system and four-color, adjustable navigation screen.

"Our goal with the STS interior, in keeping with the philosophy of the entire vehicle, was to strike just the right balance between luxury and performance attributes," said David Leone, vehicle chief engineer for Cadillac. "We incorporated a number of high-technology features in an interior design that is both contemporary and inviting. This award, as well as the reaction of the media and customers to the STS, tells us that we were successful in achieving that balance."

The 2006 HUMMER H3 interior represents the future design theme for the brand. As a mid-size SUV, the H3 is more likely to be a primary vehicle in a household than previous HUMMERS. This fact influenced the design strongly, making comfort and intuitive function the key design objectives "The goal was to make the interior more refined, purposeful. comfortable and well-crafted, " according to Jon Albert, interior design manager for the H3. The interior features bright trim accents and more use of color than any previous hummer. Six interior color combinations are available - three for the standard cloth seats and three for the available leather.

The center stack, flush fit to the instrument panel, is finished in a material called Nissha. This new material carries a metallic finish for a premium look, but is resistant to light reflection and smudges for excellent wear. An emerging material for automobiles, Nissha has previously been used mostly in the electronics industry. This material also is used as the main component in the gauge cluster.

More than eighty journalists and 900 industry at-large executives made the winning selections. Thirteen cars and 10 trucks were nominated for Interior of the Year awards.

The Auto Interiors Show is the largest annual industry event in the world dedicated exclusively to interiors professionals, and is attended by several thousand interior professionals who come to see the latest in vehicle interior products, components and technologies.

[ted tcb]

And yet, the May 20/05 Car and Driver calls this interior not quite up to snuff .... here's the quote:

The soft ride would be more in character if the trappings of luxury were suitably sybaritic. But here our jury found the STS to be a little short of sensual nirvana. The center console was criticized as hard and intrusive, and although frequently sought switches such as the mirror-adjust and lock buttons fell readily to hand, the stereo/function display was castigated as being as bad as iDrive; various setup memories are buried in there and are consequently inaccessible until the car is stopped.

True, these are mainly niggling complaints, but they add up. The car's keyless ignition system honks at you annoyingly if you leave the fob in the vehicle. The pull-type door handles operate electric latches, so there's a brief instant of nothing before the lock pops. The STS's power-adjustable steering column moves too fast, zooming past the sweet spot you're looking for. The STS is agonizingly close to meeting the challenge of the best, but we think the sensibilities of its makers could use a little fine-tuning.

The only safe assumption is that any review of any BMW or Lexus will include words such as "breathtaking, trendsetting, class of it's own" .... such a shame that they slam most Cadillac efforts in C&D.