Leather / vinyl seats? April 20, 2005, 01:49:22 AM I was recently disappointed, actually very upset to discover that the seats being sold in the new cars and trucks as leather are at least 90% vinyl (with the exception of only a few). They will contain a small strip of thin leather somewhere (usually on the sides or the armrest / headrests) and allows the set to be sold as leather. The grain pattern is basicly the only difference. I have watched these new product lines come through, and started seeing similarities in many different parts used to assemble them, and had suspicions for awhile. Recently confirmed my thoughts with a few questions, but once the individual figured out where I was going, there was a sort of hesitance with his answers.Does anyone know if the older Cats or Cougars are the same way? Quote Selected
Re: Leather / vinyl seats? Reply #1 – April 20, 2005, 08:08:26 AM Quote from: 87 3.8 CATI was recently disappointed, actually very upset to discover that the seats being sold in the new cars and trucks as leather are at least 90% vinyl (with the exception of only a few). They will contain a small strip of thin leather somewhere (usually on the sides or the armrest / headrests) and allows the set to be sold as leather. The grain pattern is basicly the only difference. I have watched these new product lines come through, and started seeing similarities in many different parts used to assemble them, and had suspicions for awhile. Recently confirmed my thoughts with a few questions, but once the individual figured out where I was going, there was a sort of hesitance with his answers.Does anyone know if the older Cats or Cougars are the same way?My guess on this one is when brochures read "leather trimmed interior" or "leather seating surfaces," you must take it for exactly what it reads.I have noticed that in a lot of cars for example that where you put your butt and back is leather, but the sides and backs of the seats are vinyl. Our birds and cats have vinyl mixed in the seats as well. Quote Selected
Re: Leather / vinyl seats? Reply #2 – April 20, 2005, 09:19:56 AM 'Tis true. Even we had leather seating surfaces--the sides and back were vinyl. At first it sounds like a ripoff. But ever since getting my interior redone the first time about 5 years ago I've been a big advocate of using vinyl. It's tougher, lasts longer, is more durable, comes in a wider range of colors, and it's a lot cheaper. What's not to love?! Okay, maybe the term 'vinyl'....how about 'man-made leather'? Because essentially that's exactly what it is. I could have spent three times as much on real leather for my seats. I wouldn't have had the light tan color, that's for sure...nothing like dying new leather. It just wasn't worth it. The way it was explained to me, one can only get a piece of leather so big from a cow. After that, pieces need to be sewn together to be of a decent size. And if the cow rubs up against a barb-wire fence that puts a real nice blemish in the hide. So an unblemished piece is rarer, therefore more expensive. Add some anthrax/mad cow disease in there, and take a wild guess what happens to the price of leather. At the time of my second seat redo (spring 2004) real leather was 4x the price of vinyl.So now you know why most of a seat is vinyl. Economically, and realistically, it makes much more sense. But it will never have the bragging rights. Quote Selected
Re: Leather / vinyl seats? Reply #3 – April 20, 2005, 10:44:24 AM So that means I have bragging rights, since the LSC I brought home last night has 100% leather..? :D Quote Selected
Re: Leather / vinyl seats? Reply #4 – April 21, 2005, 06:50:34 PM Hey,I used to work for a factory that made OEM seat covers and headrests for new cars, primarily Chrysler and Mitsubishi (some Ford). I worked in the development room, where we created patterns to fit the customers' seat and headrest designs. I actually ran a digital cutting table that cut the patterns I digitized electronically. In particular, we made the entire upholstery set for the Mitsubishi Eclipses, and the premium level was the "leather" trim. Eric is right; only the "A" surfaces are actually leather, that being like he said, anywhere your back or butt contacts the seat. And the front face of the headrests were leather, too. Now when cutting a cloth or vinyl material, it was as easy as rolling the material out on the table and cutting a nested grouping of the patterns necessary, grouped together as tightly as possible to minimize s. Well, when I had to cut a pattern from leather, I had to carefully cut one pattern at a time, having to miss any blemishes in the hide (brands, bug bites, scratches, etc.). You usually had to throw away quite a bit, depending on the size of the patterns you were cutting. Figure that a hide approximately 6 ft by 6 ft (cows aren't actually square, but use your imagination) tanned hide dyed black, tan, gray, whatever, cost us about $500 to $600. That's why so little of your "leather" seats are actually vinyl. And why when you opt for the "leather seating surfaces" option on your new car, it will run you $500 to $1000 extra. We did have some vinyls that you would probably never know the difference in, except that they would be more perfect than real leather. People who like leather in their cars just don't want any imperfections. In my '98 F150 Lariat, with leather seating surfaces, some of the material isn't even vinyl, it's carpet. This is on the surfaces that are nearly hidden. Didn't mean to get on such a roll there. I had the same reaction when I started working there; "what do you mean, it's not all leather?". When it came to cutting the patterns, I absolutely hated having to cut the leather. I was very picky and tried my best to not waste any, so it took me a lot longer than it might have with someone else. On that note, I happen to still have some leftover material that they let me take home, including some of the vinyl that you would mistake for calfskin leather (very soft). It's laminated with foam and would make great looking seats. Just thought I'd give myself a plug. Thanks for letting me ramble.Fordman3 Quote Selected
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