Seat trim: leather-appointed FRONT seats???

[Speedy1975]

Originally Posted by stovt001

For perspective, pleather/vinyl is standard on $35K+ BMWs, and you have to pay big bucks to upgrade to leather. It is expensive stuff.

Well, on my $26K Honda Accord both front and rear seats are leather. If the back seats in this Camaro are vinyl that's just cheap period.

[sykb47l]

I just read the Mustang brocure and it doesnt mention that the rear seats are vinyl for 2009. :(

But if the 2SS comes in at a decent price I still wont mind. Now only if I could get a blue Camaro.

[littlecammi]

Originally Posted by sykb47l

I just read the Mustang brocure and it doesnt mention that the rear seats are vinyl for 2009.

Taken directly from Mustang brochure:

"You get this on Mustang GT Premium: Leather-trimmed sport buckets"

This means only part of the two front bucket seats (the portion you sit on and against, also know as "leather front seating surfaces") are actually leather.

And to Txturbo: They aren't marketing them as full leather, so it isn't illegal. In fact, they insure legality by very carefully constructing their wording.

[5thGenAnyone?]

to keep costs down by doing this? um, let me see... hell yeah. I sit in the driver seat of my car, not in the back.

[pruettfan]

I know this has been an issue for pretty much all car manufactuers over the past several years. BMW for instance has a leather interior availible in their cars and a extended leather interior. This means if you want leather on any portion of the car besides the portion of the seat that touches your body then you have to pay quite a bit extra. We paid extra for our leather interior in my wifes Murano and discovered that most of the interior is vinyl. Nissan finally made a quite announcement that they had been doing this for year after a consumer report investigation.

[stovt001]

In the end, I'm most concerned about quality. If you're going to make some stuff vinyl, it had better be very high quality vinyl.

[Gmoney_2010]

Seriously guys this is the way it is on almost all GM vehicles.. But usually the first AND second rows have leather SEATING SURFACES, with vinyl sides and parts that you dont touch while sitting.. and SUV's and crossovers that have 3 rows of seats have this same setup and a completely vinyl third row seat... this is how it was with our suburban and how it is with our 09 Enclave.. and you honestly cannot tell the difference enless you really inspect it.. so i really dont see this as a big deal, i mean its not a luxury car, its a muscle car.. and if you take care of the leather/vinyl with good leather conditioners and cleaners then they will look and feel the same for a long time...

[TheClassicCarKid]

All of my seats are vinyl...but I don't really think about it when I kill the kid next to me in his new GT.
This all seems silly to me, it's not a luxury car.
Give me crank windows and manual locks. I'm not above using a key to enter my car.

If you want luxury you have other options for the 30k+ you'll be spending on an SS

[Mr_Draco]

Originally Posted by Gmoney_2010

and if you take care of the leather/vinyl with good leather conditioners and cleaners then they will look and feel the same for a long time...

Actually you don't need to use any leather conditioners or cleaners on almost all leather interiors nowadays as the leather is vinyl coated for protection, you should actually use vinyl conditioners and cleaners.

[Gmoney_2010]

Originally Posted by Mr_Draco

Actually you don't need to use any leather conditioners or cleaners on almost all leather interiors nowadays as the leather is vinyl coated for protection, you should actually use vinyl conditioners and cleaners.

Yes. The stuff I use is Zaino leather/vinyl cleaner and their leather/vinyl conditioner... Also has a great new leather smell..

[themossman]

Originally Posted by pruettfan

I know this has been an issue for pretty much all car manufactuers over the past several years. BMW for instance has a leather interior availible in their cars and a extended leather interior. This means if you want leather on any portion of the car besides the portion of the seat that touches your body then you have to pay quite a bit extra. We paid extra for our leather interior in my wifes Murano and discovered that most of the interior is vinyl. Nissan finally made a quite announcement that they had been doing this for year after a consumer report investigation.

Sorry...I hate to correct you...but BMW extended leather is not what you're suggesting. It's only available on certain cars (I think only the Ms)...it puts leather on the lower half of the dash and sides of the console.

In the M3...I think the only US BMW that has a cloth option...the seating surfaces are cloth and the sides are leather...kinda ironic considering this discussion.

Honestly...the quality of vinyl has continued to get better over the years and will very ofter wear much better long term than real leather. My biggest concern is knowing what I'm dealing with so that I can care for it properly.

My father had a 25 year old benz he recently sold and the 'vinyl' (mb-tex) still looked new. No fade...no apparent wear. I'd rather have high quality vinyl than cheap leather.

[stovt001]

Originally Posted by themossman

My father had a 25 year old benz he recently sold and the 'vinyl' (mb-tex) still looked new. No fade...no apparent wear. I'd rather have high quality vinyl than cheap leather.

Bingo! While usually I prefer the "real thing" to imitation stuff, in the end the ultimate quality and durability are more important, and hey it doesn't hurt if it is cheaper too.

Oh and with the BMW having a cloth seating surface and leather sides, I would think that would be due to the better gripping power of cloth, so cloth is there to hold you in place while the leather is there around the edges to make things look classy. That's why I think GM's "ultralux" and other upholstery options that put grippier material on the actual seating surfaces are great ideas. I was hoping we'd get something like that for the SS.