Is Piano Black Interior Trim Finally Dying Off?

That wretched piano black interior trim that no one seems to like in their cars is finally dying off, according to a rant by The Autopian.

The automotive website published another entertaining rant about piano black trim, that “very glossy, shiny plastic, I suppose named for the extremely glossy black laquerwork found on the grand pianos that you likely see multiple times a day.”

Here’s an excerpt from the rant:

Piano black is terrible stuff. It’s not just me saying this; the global consensus seems to be that nobody likes piano black! While it may look great in brochure pictures and carefully-staged photo shoots, when it comes to it actually in a real car that gets driven, it gets covered in fingerprints, micro-scratches and macro-scratches, it gets cloudy and dull and just looks awful. And because car owners know what it’s supposed to look like, because they have a vision of the platonic ideal of piano black in their heads, the disparity between what they know it’s supposed to look like and how it actually looks is driving people nuts.

This material is so demanding of constant upkeep and maintenance, it becomes a miserable burden for people. And because it’s often all over dashboards and around controls that require actually touching, it’s always visible and always being smudged or scratched or whatever.

But there is good news. The Autopian says the use of piano black trim is dying off, citing Kia’s abandonment of the once ubiquitous material as evidence. Last year, Kia’s head of design, Jochen Paesen, said they’d be eliminating it from upcoming electric vehicles. And at this year’s LA Auto Show, a Kia rep said it would “swap the previous high-gloss surfaces for a sophisticated texture.”

The rant concludes: “Now, finally, I think the piano black empire is crumbling.”

Hmm maybe?

We’re not convinced The Autopian provided enough evidence of piano black’s demise. But their rant sure was fun to read and we hope they’re right.