At the WardsAuto Interiors Conference held earlier this year, industry leaders hinted that automakers may soon forgo dome lights in favor of multiple LED lamps – a possible precursor to LED-laden headliner boards like that found in the Rolls Royce Phantom.
They weren’t kidding. German automaker Opel has just introduced the first budget-priced car to feature a starlight headliner board.
The 2013 Opel Adam, which is said to have “virtually unlimited options for customization”, features 60 individual LED bulbs in its headliner that give passengers the feeling that they’re gazing up towards the night sky.
It looks nowhere as realistic or luxurious as the Phantom’s starlight headliner – which uses a combination of fiber optic and LED technology to feature up to 800 individually hand-fixed “stars”. But hey, this is an Opel and the option costs less than $500.
Of course, the Adam – like all Opel vehicles – isn’t available in the U.S., but it’s only a matter of time before this feature crosses over to American shores.
Let’s just hope it’s designed in a way that auto trimmers don’t go nuts every time a headliner needs to be replaced.
I’m not a fan of the over head lighting myself, when done right it can look amazing but on a cheap opel/vauxhall small/ town car… not for me.
In the rolls it “finishes” the scene on a small car full of plastic it just looks out of place
The problem that these automakers face is trying to pull off a luxury feature on a low budget without coming across chintzy or gimmicky.
It’s nice that Opel tried. But like you, I think the execution leaves a lot to be desired.
It’s near impossible now to make a nice recover of a flatknit headlier (such as VW or Volvo), so how in the heck can the upholstery shop successfully affect a repair or replacement on something like this?
We’re putting a star light headliner in a phantom at the moment, tbh you could make it for £200 plus your time, it just a board with loads of holes in it trimmed in a black foam with perforated leather over the top and the fiber optics are just poked through the holes and glued at the back.
Send us a picture when it’s complete. We’d love to see it!