fan-of-fans
Well-known member
I was wondering about this. I remember the older cars into the 80s or so had large strap handles and usually had carpet on the bottom half of the door panels, as well as a courtesy light.
I notice newer cars do not have these features. The last car I remember with carpet on the door panels were the 2005 Chrysler Town and Country Limiteds, after that it was just plastic on the 06-07s, but still had the courtesy light and vinyl trim.
Also I notice older cars tend to have softer door panels. My 2001 car has vinyl on the top of the door panels with a fabric insert, and vinyl dashboard upper and lower. No carpet though or door courtesy lights, but for a basic car it was pretty nicely finished. Most new cars I see just have hard plastic on the dashboard and door panels.
This was a complaint I often heard with Chrysler around the mid-late 2000s when their interiors got square and boxy with hard plastic surfaces. Some called it lego block door panels.
Automakers seem to be going back to more pleasing interior designs, though.
One thing I didn't care for was some brands had fabric across the entire arm rest of the door, which would just get dirty from skin oil on arms and hands touching them, especially on light colored fabric.
I notice newer cars do not have these features. The last car I remember with carpet on the door panels were the 2005 Chrysler Town and Country Limiteds, after that it was just plastic on the 06-07s, but still had the courtesy light and vinyl trim.
Also I notice older cars tend to have softer door panels. My 2001 car has vinyl on the top of the door panels with a fabric insert, and vinyl dashboard upper and lower. No carpet though or door courtesy lights, but for a basic car it was pretty nicely finished. Most new cars I see just have hard plastic on the dashboard and door panels.
This was a complaint I often heard with Chrysler around the mid-late 2000s when their interiors got square and boxy with hard plastic surfaces. Some called it lego block door panels.
Automakers seem to be going back to more pleasing interior designs, though.
One thing I didn't care for was some brands had fabric across the entire arm rest of the door, which would just get dirty from skin oil on arms and hands touching them, especially on light colored fabric.
