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Improving automotive interior part quality in order to enhance consumer satisfaction was studied by determining the long term retention of plastic aesthetics through vehicle exposure and current accelerated testing techniques. A joint project between General Motors and The Dow Chemical Company was initiated in 1986 to study and compare the performance of accelerated and real time exposure testing on interior plastic materials and to determine the ability of accelerated methods to predict vehicle performance. Prediction of interior vehicle weathering would shorten the product development cycle and prevent over or under-engineering of molded-in-color interior plastic materials. Under-engineering may lead to increased warranty costs and lower customer satisfaction, while over-engineering of plastic materials adds unnecessary cost to the vehicle. The study included eleven polymers placed at thirty locations in vehicles in Arizona and Texas.