Leather in Cars is....

61.5mpg lifetime - 82mpg in recent months

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"fanatic" is what the lazy call the dedicated

... is great for some people (whatever floats your boat), personally I prefer the feel of cloth when it's really hot or really cold. I might consider trying leather seats sometime, if I didn't have kids, animals, etc., but at the present time, any benefit just doesn't justify the cost, in both $$ and worry about messing/cleaning it up. So color me indifferent, I guess.

I'm shocked so many people like leather. I'd read a while back, and I feel the same way myself, that hybrid-types would be against animal products, such as mentioned below:

http://clarkhoward.com/shownotes/2004/08/24/
"There is also a trend of “vegan” car owners. If they own a hybrid, they don’t want leather seats or any kind of animal-related products in the car. So, automakers are designing cars with the environmentally-conscious in mind. "

Personally I'm totally in the NO section here, I try to avoid leather, fur, and meat. What can I say, I'm a tree hugging vegetarian. Am I alone here? It always seemed to me that the hybrids that stay on the lot longest were the ones with leather seats.

-oppose the death penalty: neuter your pets-

I hate leather seats. I don't like the way they look, feel, or their lack of grip compared to fabric. The biggest disapointment when I owned my S2000 was the seats. I liked cloth Integra GS-R seats from the 90's a lot more than the S2000's leather seats.

Speaking of (Leather-In-Cars/Vehicles) I do have just a few comments regarding that very subject.

I just traded in a 2005 Honda Civic Special Edition 4-Door Sedan W/Auto Trans. and "Custom-Leather-Interior" added by the dealer I purchased the car from and I can tell you that the car did not bring anywhere near the $1,100.00 it cost me to have it installed if any? It even had the Special Edition Embossed on the front seats. If it did bring any monies to the trade in it was bare minimum at best. The Civic had 6,930 miles on it when traded in.

So much for added value. The Leather seat where your lower back touched it faded out and had to have the (Drivers-Seat) cover replaced, I noticed that when I dropped the car off to the dealer I traded it into that it looked like the drivers lower seat back was beginning to fade again and I don't think that I had driven the car but maybe another 2,000 miles since it had been done the first time. As another person pointed out Very-Hot and Sticky in the summer and Very-Cold in the winter. I use to think that Leather added a little more class (If-You-Will) to a vehicle. Now that I have had to put up with it I am over it.

Cloth in the new 06 HCH is from what I understand suppose to be of a very high quality and a good looking velvet like texture to it.

Terry

Love the leather. It was a selling point when buying the HAH.

<Best Tank Economy!><Best Tank Endurance!>

Another forum brought this up over a year ago. The thought pattern was anyone who bought an Insight was more likely than the general population to be vegan and lean towards animal rights.

For me, I'd like a steering wheel that oils don't stain. Plastic or leather, my hands will ruin them.

61.5mpg lifetime - 82mpg in recent months

Best Run >
www.cleanmpg.com

"fanatic" is what the lazy call the dedicated

I like leather myself and oh boy do I love a good steak too!! We do eat at least one meal a week with no meat but hey give me a lamb chop or a steak too!Kevin

2004 silverblue 5 sp.

That pretty much sums it up for me. One of my friends has an Eddie Bauer Expedition, with the leather package. When we'd go out as a group, he'd drive. I always either nearly burned myself in the summer or froze in the winter on those stupid leather seats. Mess management is an issue, and I don't really like the way they feel. Fabric for me all the way.

I had the option with the FEH, but laughed at the dealer when he asked, and I explained why, which he completely understood.

No, for other reasons.

First 4WD Hypermiler

Have you read the FEH FAQ?

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Read My Automotive Blog at Rich Rambles

Indeed. If it weren't for leather, I don't think we'd have nearly as much of a need for heated/air conditioned seats. My brother-in-law's Mercedes has pretty nice leather seats, but honestly, fabric is highly breatheable to begin with and doesn't seem as seceptible to temperature extremes. How much extra did it cost him to have leather with both heat and air conditioning in the seats? Probably not an insignificant amount.