If you go around just looking at this type of stuff or reminiscing of days past, you will miss out on a lot of good stuff

 

I think the door closing "thud" test is decades outdated. This was certainly true years ago; but I don't think this is really a true measure in modern cars.
Very well said.

 

Not sure I really agree with the term "outdated"...a nice solid closing, for many people (me included) is still more pleasant than tinniness.

You have one point, though. It is true, however, that modern metallurgy and computer-design/engineering have been able to produce strong structures from lighter, thinner materials.....that, I'll admit.

 

I think you are reading a little too much into what I said. See my reply to tex2670, just above.

 

Funny how quality is an outdated concept. How about when I got a deadly ding, in the lower front corner of the door of my 335i. That is in the area where PDR typically does not work--along a crease, or within a certain number of mm from the edge. PDR got it out and the tech said the metal on BMWs, MB, (note not Audi aluminum) is so easy to work on with nearly perfect results because of the memory. If this were a Hyundai, Toyota, it either can't be done or the results are not pleasing to the owner and they don't want to pay, so we don't take the job up front.

As much as BMW has chintzed out too, the doors are not one of the areas. It's what other word can I use, strange, to disregard the trend. I can't accept a $42k list car, made in MS, that has tinny doors, but that's me. The nav screen and center stack were very cool indeed.

Confound the hipster doofus who tell us what we must like, and say if you were born before 1986 you're the old guard!

edit p.s. thought of another example, what is the price point where you get quality sunglasses? I have spent (shame on me) $800 on a pair only to find out of the box, the temples are loose on one side. No, it isn't as simple as tightening the screw down for everything it's worth. It's bad quality, that $800 went towards the name, and maybe the optics, but not the frame...

edit 2 thought of yet another....I had a Samsung Galaxy S4, new in box, that had a weak home button from the get go. After about 1 yr, it was so bad sometimes it didn't respond. Now, this was new in box but from eBay. I peeled off all the customary stickers, and the box was sealed. But I bet that this is somehow a reject intended for Verizon. I would love to know the source of these phones, but that's another topic. The point is, some people, like me, care about how something feels. That loose/weak home button was not good for me. I was given some Samsung tablets, used, and the home buttons have solid clicks to them. imho it matters.

 

That's where Saturn had the answer, some 25 years ago....the polymer thermoplastic doors and fenders, which resisted all kinds of dings, dents, impacts, and corrosion. The special waterborne paint job they used also looked like a mirror, though the paint, of course, could scratch, even if the panels themselves didn't. I was a huge fan of those plastic side-panels, though soundproofing was difficult with them, and they contributed to the reputation those cars had for noise....early models more so then the later ones.

 

My 335i has composite fenders for weight reduction (coupes got them, not sedans), and funny, such a tiny car that is concerned about weight and got as close to 50/50 as they could, weighs under 400 lbs. less than a LS430. Both a 2007 335i and a 2006 LS430, have completely different feels than a 2018 Murano. While some argue it doesn't matter, to me, it does. The Murano to me is the equivalent to maybe a Sante Fe, but clearly below the solid feel of a CR-V.

edit anyway back to the Buick, it would be cool if somebody (maybe they have) parked a pre update one, next to the new one, and try to load it up. First, a queen sized mattress. Then, other logical things such as suitcases, golf bags, etc. I would like to see how the measurement changed such that 17 cu. ft can disappear (likely an S class trunk), yet it is more. Car mags could easily do this, but then subscriptions are done. We'll likely have to rely upon a youtuber....

 

What I'm saying is that with modern cars, even the more basic models do not have doors that have doors that sound cheap when they close.

Sorry--but I think she nailed it. Solid sounding closing doors just isn't a metric that is commonly used to evaluate new cars anymore, because, as you said, more modern construction methods have trickled down. Particularly in light of crashworthiness ratings.

Ironically, my 2001 Saturn SL1 was the last car I owned that had doors that sounded "tinny" when closing.

 

Well, like I said, I basically agree with that, but I just think that it's been overplayed. It still, even today, takes a certain amount of care and attention from an automaker to engineer a door that doesn't shut with Cracker-Jack tinniness. Whether the manufacturer actually does that or not depends on a umber of factors.


Oh, Yeah, I agree they were less than totally-solid, but my point was that they had they had some distinct advantages that sheet-metal doors didn't. If the paint itself didn't scratch or chip from carelessness or road-debris, the panels would look just like new for many years.

I really miss the Saturn S-series. If the sedans were still available brand-new today, I'd probably have one as a second (winter) car. Didn't think much of the later coupes, though...the later three-door SC versions, with the half-rear-door on the drivers' side, seemed to have some frame/structural problems that led to shimmies. My experience with the SL2 sedan was excellent.....not so with the coupe.

I remain firmly convinced, even today, 25 years later, that the end of the plastic-body S-series cars, in the early 2000s, was the start of Saturn's downfall. Their later products just weren't the same in either innovation or reliability....and, near the end, even Sarturn's famous customer-friendliness also suffered.

 

 

This video says it all. At the auto shows, some Saturn reps would actually do this with a baseball bat.....and invite show-goers to do the same (as I once did myself), but I can't find a video of it.

 

The latest Buick Lacrosse, BTW (supposedly) has plastic rear-fenders. Since I can't see under the paint, I can't personally verify that, but, when you lightly rap them, they do sound and feel slightly different from the panels on the rest of the car.

 

 

Why does the video with a bunch of stupid teenagers nearly breaking their hands say it all? When an car maker has a good idea, there are immediate copy-cats; no other car company followed suit. That should really tell you something about the plastic body panels.

Not to mention that, with the right impact, you get cracks and tears, not dents. Why do you think the guy in the video is telling the puncher not to kick the door panel?