Remember when…

C

CharBaby

Joined
May 25, 2005
Messages
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Location
ROCHESTER, NY
Does anyone remember… when buying a new vehicle that we would upgrade from vinyl seat material to cloth seat fabric?
Now it seams as though we’re upgrading from cloth to vinyl(pleather/faux leather/imitation leather/softex)..

Of course, the cloth fabric in many new vehicles is nothing to write home about and the new vinyl does a decent imitation of leather or at least tries.

What say you?
 
Say what you want, but car interiors today are vastly superior as compared to the seat materials in the past. Many modern cars in junkyards rarely have seats where the material has become threadbare. Ripped in some cases yes, but the cars from the 50s and 60s in junkyards mainly just have the spring foundations as the only thing left from the original seats.
 
CharBaby said:
Does anyone remember… when buying a new vehicle that we would upgrade from vinyl seat material to cloth seat fabric?
Now it seams as though we’re upgrading from cloth to vinyl(pleather/faux leather/imitation leather/softex)..

Of course, the cloth fabric in many new vehicles is nothing to write home about and the new vinyl does a decent imitation of leather or at least tries.

What say you?
Click to expand...
Yes. A right side view mirror was an option.
 
I "upgraded" the cracked vinyl seats in my '78 Monza to some nicer, very attractive cloth units from a wrecked Sunbird / Starfire. Much more comfortable and didn't inflict 2nd degree burns. That vinyl was hard as a rock in the winter and lethal to the thighs in summer.

I upgraded my Mustang coupe to Katzkin leather, as the base Ecoboost cloth is kinda ugly, and every dog hair they encounter becomes embedded in the weave.

I'd be interested to see what Mercedes and Lexus are using to replace leather. It must be pretty nice stuff.
 
Wrenchturner44 said:
www.carbuyer.co.uk

What is Mercedes Artico leather? | Carbuyer

Many Mercedes interiors are upholstered in Artico leather, which is a man-made substitute for animal hides
www.carbuyer.co.uk www.carbuyer.co.uk

My neighbor just bought a pre-owned Mercedes with this upholstery. A person would be hard pressed to not think it is not real leather.
Click to expand...
Looks like an improved MB-TEX that every mercedes from almost the beginning of time (well atleast the 80's LOL!) that has it still looks new.
 
Some of the most comfortable seats in vehicles that I've owned had velour seat material. Plus comfortable padding underneath. I miss this material.
 
My neighbor has an older mid level Mercedes sedan from 2007 era with 148k and the black hybrid leather seats are literally perfect. The rest of the car is falling apart but the seats inside not a wear mark, not a crack they look like they were produced yesterday.


I would prefer honestly a “fake” synthetic hybrid high-quality leather than a real leather that might rip crack and wear in a year flat

The forte has “leather” and it’s aging really well also. I don’t think Mercedes Benz well - they seem to go to the junkyard with showroom condition seats, but well enough that the seats will not wear out before the rest of the car.
5B4CF5BC-4CFF-4C4C-9507-AB3A0A63EE07.jpeg
1E94B8C5-0C16-41D7-98AD-77D0F255E39C.jpeg

I’ve never had a car with anything other than basic cloth or leather. My oldest car was from 89 cougar and even that had leather that was completely shot by the time I started driving it at 16 that seat covers were a necessity 😂
 
One of my old Novas had vinyl seats.... I used to sit on a towel because if I sat directly on the vinyl I'd get soaking wet from sweat. For some reason that doesn't happen with cloth seats which makes me wonder why not? I don't get sweaty on cloth seats.

I still prefer cloth seats to this day.
 
Ugh.. the weather beaten smell of an old vehicle's vinyl interior!

I do agree that even though interior materials have gotten thinner and lighter, they do seem to hold up better.

Some vehicles you paid extra for carpet. The standard flooring was black rubber/vinyl.

Or a wood grained plastic blank off plate on the dash where the AM/FM radio would go?
 
Real leather seats made from uncoated leather are actually pretty gross in my opinion. Imagine wearing the same motorcycle pants or lederhosen for 10 years. Lots of spilled Chinese take-out, burger juice, butt sweat, butt gas, any funky stuff you can think of. All this stuff baking and marinating, a fine bouquet indeed. Maybe some spot-cleaning over the years. Incontinent dogs, car-sick cats, and the wife's water probably broke on the way to the hospital. Bloody nose from a fun night out with your buddies results in unremovable stains the Ghost of the Cantervilles would be proud of. After ten years you want to trade in your luxury vehicle and its interior smells worse than a hobo's underwear.

Corinthian leather for the win. Khan knew what he was talking about.
 
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