Whenever a magazine does a "test" of new vehicles GM trucks always get beaten up about their "dated" interior. I just came from an auto show and after looking at what the others are offering for interiors I will take a GM any day. I sat in a new F-250 and the interior was CRAP! The seats felt narrow, the dash looked plain, the steering wheel felt too small and the ignition switch was flimsy plastic. It was just plain cheap looking. IMO it looked like it belonged on a $15K truck rather than a $45K truck. So what if the guage cluster isn't white, silver or whatever other color the imports are using. It wins in my book hands down. I was even considering a Ford until I sat in the one tonight. Thank god I was able to come to my senses.

I dont like the others flat dash.

I too would take the GM interior over ANY other truck on the market.

Whenever a magazine does a "test" of new vehicles GM trucks always get beaten up about their "dated" interior. I just came from an auto show and after looking at what the others are offering for interiors I will take a GM any day. I sat in a new F-250 and the interior was CRAP! The seats felt narrow, the dash looked plain, the steering wheel felt too small and the ignition switch was flimsy plastic. It was just plain cheap looking. IMO it looked like it belonged on a $15K truck rather than a $45K truck. So what if the guage cluster isn't white, silver or whatever other color the imports are using. It wins in my book hands down. I was even considering a Ford until I sat in the one tonight. Thank god I was able to come to my senses.
I had a dodge ram rental for 2.5 weeks. I HATE white face guages!Censored:badidea:

In the current offerings, I will say that GM's interiors are best. No rattles, no squeaks (yet), and the design is easy to use and looks nice w/o being too simple. Only complaint I have is that the top of speedo is partially blocked by the steering wheel (I'm fairly tall).

I liked my old Dodge's interior for that same reason, but I really dislike the interior in the current Dodge 3rd Gens. Ford...what can I say but blah, blah, blah.

chevy has the best "cockpit " type feel to it . it wraps around the driver .

i agree ....fords interior leaves you feel so far away from all the controls ...i too HATE the controls and the blah look... i think GM has the very best there is.... heck it has most of the same controls the caddies get praised for ... go figure.... they don't know the stuff that comes out their rear from apple butter.

I also would take the GM interior over ANY other truck on the market AND I DID!!!

Lock you must be really tall. I am just little over 6'7'' (without shoes) and have no problems with the steering wheel (it tilts where I want it - nothing is blocked).
Yes the Dodges and especially the Fords look really cheap inside; compared to GM, one good reason I got my dmax.... :exactly:

GM has the best. Ford top of the line SuperDuty has a nice roomy cabin but agreed the dash is ugly.... has been that way since it came out.

Dodge has a decent interior. I like the dash. It's got a nice clean modern look to it. I love the whiteface gauges. They are sporty looking and don't look or act cheap.

one of the main reasons i went from ford to a chev was the interior i personally love it. I was looking at super dutys before i bought dumbo :D and chevy has ford beat hands down, and dodge would never be a option for me to buy just dont like them.

the interior was the deal breaker for me. i almost bought an f250 superduty (couldve afforded the ford diesel for the same price as my chevy gasser with their x-plan pricing), but the interiors are terrible. lots of room, but very unfriendly and not comfortable. the king ranch is the only ford interior i like and no dealers within several hundred miles had any. the gm interior does wrap around you, everything is at fingertip reach and its very comfortable. my only complaint about the 2500hd vs f250 is ground clearance, the fords sit up much higher. oh and their front end looks bad ass where ours looks just like the 1500!

Guess the pundits call the GM trucks interiors dated since the instrument panel has remained relatively unchanged since 1997 or so. So what!! I enjoy having the controls for all the accessories close at hand and large enough to get your fingers on. The panel has been around long enough that all the squeeks and rattles have been worked out so you get a quiet ride on the worst of roads. Seats are comfortable so you still feel pretty good after a 7 or 800 mile trip. Had 4 Chevys since '95 and as far as I'm concerned they just get better.

Well, I will go against the grain on this one. Why do they get beat up? I had this EXACT same interior in my 1995 Chevy Z71. 10 years later and its the same basic design. Granted a few things have changed, but nothing all that drastic. Yes the Ford and the Dodge have plain interiors, but they are trucks. I can not stand the console on our trucks. I wanted a bench seat up front which is not all that popular and easy to find around here. After finding one and discovering it wasnt half the size of my Ford bench, I decided not to go with it. I never did mind the dash on my F350. Yes it was plain, but I didnt mind it. As far as the comment about the Ford seats being skinnier....you may want to get a tape measure out.

Well lets think about it from another point of view. Since they have not changed the dash and guage cluster much, it is well designed and problem free. I do not know about you folks, but I would rather have a dated looking dash and interior rather than a new "'Cool" "Trendy" design that would have problems. My wifes 04 Denali is a perfect example. Dash squeaks, The Nav system is a joke, but hey it looks State of the Art.


I will stick with my very comfortable dated interior:ro)

Now the Chevy or GMC has the best hands down. I owned a Dodge, and liked it, but the interior was cheap, and this was on a 45,000 dollar tin can that rattled from day one.

Now the Chevy or GMC has the best hands down. I owned a Dodge, and liked it, but the interior was cheap, and this was on a 45,000 dollar tin can that rattled from day one.

Mine hasn't rattled since day one and only cost me 35

The whole "interior sucks" dialogue is so vague to the point of being meaningless.

My interior is excellent, and very comfortable for extended driving. I don't need no stinkin' flower vases (allergies), wood inlay (termites), or carbon fiber (I get enough fiber in my oatmeal).

You are a lucky man HOOT! Mine was a 99. Oh I wish I had set it on fire.

You are a lucky man HOOT! Mine was a 99. Oh I wish I had set it on fire.

No... lucky is not having any injectors fail in any of my trucks. Interior rattles don't even get scrutinized when major stuff has problems.

All of the manufacturers have had bouts of lousy interiors. The CK GM trucks from 88-94 had sucky interiors. They were well built, strong and lasted but the actual layout and controls sucked.

I liked the GM 95-99 interiors a lot. They continued the strong tough design with even better seating and a more modern dash.

The Ford F150 interiors suck. But that's opinion. I just think Ford has some strange interior designs.

I like my interior pretty much over anything else out there. The only gripe I have is that the center console is too low. If it was higher, it would make a better armrest than those excuses they have on the sides of the seat..

i agree the center counsil as well as the side arm rest seems a little to far down... but then again i am 6 2 so i guess i will deal with it... bunch seats are ok for certain things but them buckets .....wow i love them .... i can ride and ride .....my car or my mom's van is rotten ....after an hour in a half on the road we gotta stop to stretch but in the truck we can go for around 4 hours.......

i think you can't stay in one spot on the leather ford seats .. you just slide around they are so flat.

oh ya and don't forget the lumbar ....man that is the cats a$$ there

No... lucky is not having any injectors fail in any of my trucks. Interior rattles don't even get scrutinized when major stuff has problems.

Hoot you need to get over the whole "injector" thing. :blahblah: Face it, your dodge will have (bosch) injector problems too. :rippedhan

http://www.fordvehicles.com/trucks/superduty/

and that cut out part at the bottom of the window annoys the hell out of me

oh ya and i always want to put my arm up in the window seal and my elbow always locks myself in ......what the hell is up with that

things ya take for granted on a GM

GM interiors have not changes a lot over the past few years, I agree................ hmmmmmmm............There may be a good reason for that!
The layout allows for easy access to all of the controls, the insrument panel is easy to read, the seats are comfortable. Why mess with a good thjing?

I have to drive a Furd as acompany truck, man what a difference-:t . Give me my GM any and every day!!!!!!:D

Guess the pundits call the GM trucks interiors dated since the instrument panel has remained relatively unchanged since 1997 or so. So what!! I enjoy having the controls for all the accessories close at hand and large enough to get your fingers on. The panel has been around long enough that all the squeeks and rattles have been worked out so you get a quiet ride on the worst of roads. Seats are comfortable so you still feel pretty good after a 7 or 800 mile trip. Had 4 Chevys since '95 and as far as I'm concerned they just get better.Same here, if I could have droped the Duramax down into my 1999 (Old Style) 3500 with out so much changes I would have kept that truck.
Loved the interior, ride,& looks.
But I got a bug up the rear to get this motor & trans. and I am glad as this truck (04 LT) seems as nice as anything I have driven.

The interiors have always been one of the things I think GM does best in their trucks! To each his own.

Conservative is the word your looking gentlemen. GM has always been known for "conservative interiors".

Chrysler has always been more "progressive" in their approach. It's a "you either like it or hate it" style.

Fords....beats me what you call their styling wizzardry.

All the new interior suck when it comes to work truck. The head liner the end up smelling and getting stained. The old metal roof where much better. Trucks come with cloth seats and carpet unless you special order them let the yuppie order that crap. Salt and mud is pain in the ass to clean in the new trucks.

i agree to the bashing crap on gms dash..it is objective,,one persons opinion vs someoneelse...personally i like my cockpit...its all right close and surround...however, i thought the dodge had the best cockpit overall..vary spacious..and the seat jacked me off of the floor ..

I don't see nothing wrong withe GMC. My grandson, 6'9" 360lbs has a dodge and his front seat has holes in it and wire or something stick oup it.He has a manual transmission and beern in for service a number of times.
I'll stick with the Duramax-Allisom combination. I think the problems you do hear about are a very small percentage and shouldn't be used to judge the whole fleet.

Manual transmissions come from the same manufacturers. Those comments crack me up. Same with the t-cases, axles, injection systems...... what else?

We had a Dodge for a rental when the truck was getting a new oil sensor. The mirror vibrated so much we had to move it out of the way, both of us. It made Pace so sick we had to switch drivers. I didn't like the "oh S#*T" handles on the passenger side. All the windows were tinted except the rear one. Overall, I wouldn't buy one, it felt cheap to me. To each their own, it's a personal decision.

How come everybody GM drive a Dodge and points out things that my truck does not do. Heck my trailer mirrors stick way out and I love them. Sure they vibe a bit here and there but not enough to be a problem. I'll bet those GM slinky mirrors... which by the way look like crap, shake a whole lot more.

It was the rearview mirror.

OH NO HOOT....Here we go again, :boxing: Come on now.

"Any of you boys out there seen an aircraft carrier......"

Anyway, it really does not matter Hoot, You like your truck, we like ours. I have no comment on the others. My truck is just fine for me.....Still smells new.

Have fun

What cracks me up the most is no matter how great you claim that Dodge of your is :blahblah: you still want to hang out here in the Cool Kids Club!!!:cool_shad

How can anyone claim that the current GM interiors are similar to the 95+ interiors in the C/K trucks? The current interiors are better by leaps and bounds. On my 96, all of the A/C blew on the passenger side, the A/C vents kept breaking. Definitely needed some refining. My 00 has a great interior, love everything about it. And even thought the 03+ didn't change much, they feel even nicer. I can't even put my finger on what it is that feels so much better, but it is better. Current GM interiors ROCK!

Kelly

How come everybody GM drive a Dodge and points out things that my truck does not do. Not me I still have my 93 Dodge Dakota as my daily drive. The new Dakota do suck with the Pimp my ride wheels and no more 8 foot bed. I wish Dodge would bring back the 225 slant six. It has to be the most relible engine ever made.

DODGE FRONT ENDS > tortion bar crap gm

I test drove a Dodge crew cab, short bed, cummins 325/610, automatic yesterday. i was not impressed. too much rake in the windshield made it feel like a car, the dash looked like it belonged in a van, not a truck and did i mention it was SLOW. maybe it was because the 4 speed trans doesnt have good ratios, but im sure my 300/520 dmax will beat it every time. o ya gm interiors rock.

Looks like Dodge used the mini-van dash in the trucks-ugly.

Looks like Dodge used the mini-van dash in the trucks-ugly.

Again its opinions. When I had my GMC and the first Dodge third gen Rams came out I thought the new IP was sharp looking. I still do. The stupid minivan statements get me. Minivans have the center pod go all the way to the floor.

Minivans have the center pod go all the way to the floor.as opposed to the dodge that goes all the way to the floor?

as opposed to the dodge that goes all the way to the floor?

Whatever it does I like it. Driving it today i reached out to all the controls. I was able to use them all in arms length.

The mass media is calling the GM truck dash a bit dated. This topic was asking why they are doing that. Arguing that a more modern design is a minivan deisgn is just a kneejerk from you guys. I agree GM has a nice IP but I like the Dodge better, not because I own one and I didn't buy it for the dash.

im not trying to make enemies. im not trying to attack the usefulness of the dash, just stating that to me it looks like it is from a minivan. i too had no problem reaching all of the controls, it just blocks leg room for the middle front passenger.

im not trying to make enemies. im not trying to attack the usefulness of the dash, just stating that to me it looks like it is from a minivan. i too had no problem reaching all of the controls, it just blocks leg room for the middle front passenger.

I guess you're right it does go to the floor. I always have the cupholders lowered so it's almost like having a console.


http://www.pickuptruck.com/IMAGES/2002/dodge/ram/first_drive/interior.jpg

does dodge have any 2500 or 3500 trucks with a console and buckets?

No I think all they offer is 40-20-40 seating with the large drop down console and under seat storage. The seats are buckets.

It looks like for 06 they added a floor mounted console/cupholder and changed the center pod somewhat.

I've got the GM product and find the interior to be while comfortable a bit boring. The center console between the buckets could be a bit narrower for my tastes, at least to give a little more knee and leg room. I find myself resting me knee against the console when cruising...gets kind of uncomfortable at times.

The dash layout is functional, but again boring. I had a new body style 2004 Ford F150 for a few months and liked the dash in it...or at least it was good for a change.

It would be nice to have a console/floor mounted automatic shifter as well.

I think the GM leather could be a better grade of leather too. GM could take some pointers from Lexus, Infinity and Land Rover as far as cool creature comforts go, neat dash technologies, i.e. navigation, lighting, etcetera.

I like the Dodge...almost everything about it. I just like cars--not an ounce of brand loyalty in me.

Try resting your knee against the stupid console with knee problems. I hate consoles for that reason alone. My troublesome knee doenst need that constant rubbing.

I hear you.

There's probably no sense in complaining about it but here goes... Plastic, spring clips, cheap fasteners...I have something against those. Synthetics are okay I suppose when properly applied, but the way the dashes and interior trim is put together on these trucks drives me nuts. When you're tearing into the dash or popping the interior trim off of a new truck you have no idea exactly which angle you should tug at or what is behind there--makes it very easy to break, bend, stretch, or deform something just enough that it doesn't go back together quite right. They have gotten better, I'll grant you that.

I've had my dash apart as far as removing the trim ring, bottom panel, glove box, side panels and then the a-pillar covers chasing a problem with my DVD player install...had it apart a number of times. Once I get everything straightened out, I'm going to use just a bit of RTV or moleskin to silence some squeaks and tighten up the loose plastic to plastic fittings.

I could go with a more substantial dash frame (metal) and some nice looking torx head fasteners and a good gasket/anti-rattle material. That would be better. Like that is going to happen...:rolleyes: Cheaper materials for mass produced vehicles is here to stay. Just like requiring less and less skill to actually assemble things---plug and play is everywhere.

All these disappointments have me rethinking the satisfaction buying loaded vehicles (trucks anyways). I might consider buying a much more basic vehicle and then turn around and redo things my way. A co-worker has a 2005 Dodge/Cummins with a custom leather interior that looks waaaay better than anything factory I've seen. I'm confident that the dash, consoles, and door panels would not be difficult to improve 120%.

Whatever magazine reviewer said the Chevy/GM interior is dated must have either been comparing it to a Japanese truck, or they were a crack smoker.

The GM interior is hands down better than the Ford or Dodge and I think the comments here prove it. I personally was *very* close to buying an F250 after owning 2 Silverados....till I went and sat in the thing. If you're not 6.5' feet tall, it's not comfortable, and it's damned ugly. Same with the Dodge. Ford has the exterior looks, but Chevy has the interior. Ultimately I made my decision to go w/ another bowtie based on performance and 3 months of straight reading on this forum. ;)

But it could still use improvement. It's too bad the designers in Detroit can't hire some designers with Japanese automotive experience - and I'm not talking Japanese as in Nissan Sentra - I'm talking Japanese as in Lexus. I've always felt my Chevy's (all leather) interior was the Lexus of trucks, but I also own a Lexus and the Chevy still has a ways to go. But for nearly $50K for a truck, I'm expecting those king of ammenities.

These comments prove nothing.

This site favors the GM product heavily and therefore has a considerable population of brand loyalists with a number of them projecting their personal short-comings by bashing other brands or using the superiority of their pick-up trucks to compensate for perhaps their lack of some sort of endowment.

These are opinions nothing more. Mob rule doesn't make anyones truck purdy. All subjective....

I'm nearly 6'2". I chose the Chevy because I got the best price for it. I chose not the Ford because its powertrain problems were of too great a concern. The Dodge was a nogo because there was no way I was going to spend that kind of money of a glorified extended cab, as that is the way I see the Quad Cab. I've got long legs--the Dodge backseat is not comfortable...wouldn't want to ride back there so I would not expect anyone else to.

It's been said many times here that it would be nice to piece together the very best of all three of these trucks and have something in the driveway we really like.:cool:

The GM product is nice---nice and boring, in my not so humble opinion.;)

Good one T-Rex.

GM boring but they do a good job with materials overall. The seats are better made than my Dodge seats but I'm actually more comfy in these than I was in my GMC. Everybodies butt is different I guess. My legs used to hurt on long trips in the GMC and the seat adjustment was not as variable as my Dodge is. These points have nothing to do with looks. They also aren't truly arguable because everybody has different body sizes and tastes.

If you wanna argue looks GM boys, you don't have a lot to argue. Sure they look decent and some are really sweet when accessorized right... again very subjective. I personally have always like the look of a straight axle truck over IFS all my life and always questioned GM's continued lack of SFA on the HD trucks. It just makes for a better looking truck and when you put a nice set of wheels and tires on them you can't beat it.

I can't help it but that red Dodge on TRUCKS today was one sweet looking rig. Anybody see it? They were showing off the new Edge module with the GPS and the rear view camera. I don't know how anyone that saw that clip would not say hey, that is one sweet truck.

Yeah you are right hoot. Your old truck was an ugle piece of crap. :exactly:

Yeah you are right hoot. Your old truck was an ugle piece of crap. :exactly:

Come on now..... taking it to extremes
:help:


http://www.getdieselpower.com/my01dmax_files/aftertree/second.jpg