Interior Design, Functionality Trumps Reliability for New Car Buyers

According to a new survey performed by J.D. Power and Associates, interior design and in-car capabilities have become more important than reliability for buyers when shopping for a new car. When faced with the decision of choosing a vehicle with questionable dependability or an unattractive and non-functional interior, a greater percentage of buyers questioned picked the vehicle with known reliability issues.

Industry analysts are unsurprised by the results however, citing a natural progression of how today’s commuters use their vehicles. “A lot of people do spend a lot of time in their car, more and more every year, so they want nicer seats, new technology, the creature features,” says Larry Dominique, executive vice president of Truecar.com, an automotive pricing and information website. As drivers continue to spend more and more time in their cars, it is only logical that they want a space that is not only aesthetically pleasing, but also functional to a level that matches the rest of their personal technologies like tablet computers and smart phones.

Auto makers are cashing in on the trend as well, offering improved interiors initially meant for the luxury car market into more entry level models, where customers have been found to be more than willing to pay the increased costs. “The luxury brands used to be the ones with leather and a lot of features,” says Dominique, who worked as an executive for Nissan before becoming VP of Truecar. “The challenge [was] to bring more content standard. If the automakers [couldn’t] price for it, they [were] going to lose profitability.”

Instead of losing profitability, brands like Ford and GM who introduced leather interiors and advanced infotainment systems into their basic models have seen profits increase by as much as six percent. To maximize this increasing market potential, some makers are even demonstrating a willingness to cut costs in other areas to keep prices low for better interior design, though such efforts have the chance to backfire in the near future if safety and quality issues begin to surface. A well groomed interior would serve as little consolation in the event of an accident stemming from a defective or malfunctioning component born out of a cost cutting measure.

Federal regulators and safety organizations like the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and Insurance Institute for Highway Safety on the other hand were discouraged by the survey results, as drivers are continuing to show an unwillingness to avoid distractions while behind the wheel. So long as buyers continue to demand more out of their in-car systems and makers continue to satisfy their demands, driver distraction will remain an issue leading to thousands of accidents and fatalities each year.

If drivers are unable to avoid the temptations caused by increasing in-car functionality on their own, it will be up to law makers to force safety improvements. Legislation calling for bans on all systems that require drivers to take their hands off the wheel and look away from the road has been introduced, though no formal laws have been put in place as of yet.

Car makers are also working on voice and gesture controlled systems to find a compromise between functionality, consumer demand, and federal safety requirements, though systems on the market today still draw focus away from the road. For lasting safety improvements to be made, a balance must be found allowing drivers access to the functionality they are becoming increasingly reliant on without sacrificing attention, all while being packaged in a luxurious, leather-wrapped interior.