its called saving cost, because here in the US cars are made to last 5 years only, anything over this age that is considered obsolete and scrap metal, has only 25% of its original value and is sent to the crusher if any less, That is why the big three, specially GM have extremely bad plastic, you can buy the most expensive GM product and have a dashboard made of extremely brittle tinny plastic that rattles if you touch it, It may look like coated leather but as soon as you touch it - YEUCK!!!!!!!
Same with all toyotas made here, the corolla may have 2 interior colors but the dashboard pad is so flimsy it starts to squeak and rattle in 3 years, the HVAC box is so flimsy that once opened up you need to buy most parts brand new to complete what broke. The Camry, Avalon, Sienna, Venza, Tacoma, Tundra, Sequoia all have the same grade.
btw American cars are not exactly "high grade" - you need to see them in person and most probably repair them too to judge their quality, how would you like to see a wiring harness passed through a door then the connector spliced on - if you want to replace the wiring, guess what? you cut the thing - VERY VERY HIGH QUALITY ISNT IT?