Here’s the thing about interiors. There’s a term called “fit & finish” that’s used a lot by auto journalists but almost none of them apply it correctly. Most only look at finish and ignore fit, which is understandable because they only have the car for a short time, so it’s easier to judge finish by looking at first glance but harder to judge fit because it takes a long time to realize if everything is screwed together properly.

Rule of thumb - if you see a lot of premium materials techy features in a car priced way below the median for a car with those features, it’s likely compromises were made in their assembly or durability. This applies to cars from any country, not just China. A lot of German cars also suffer from this “superficial premium” syndrome.

Let’s be realistic here. Our currency is worth toilet paper and anyone building cars for us will need to cut costs somewhere. Why do you think CKD Toyotas have the worst stereo systems or CKD Hondas have virtually zero sound insulation materials? It’s not just CKD. Even when importing, the manufacturer will judge how much they can get away with for the market price they’re selling to us. You think those Teslas that are going to be sold here will be the same quality as Teslas sold in Japan or Australia even if the specs are listed as the same and come out of the same factory?

This post has been edited by dev/numb: Aug 17 2023, 04:14 PM