Leather or fabric?
03/03/2015
In the early days of the automobile, leather was a common choice of upholstery material for car seats. Then fabric upholstery found its way into the noble vehicles and soon a car with velour or velvet upholstery was considered more desirable. Only the English remained loyal to leather.
The advantage of leather was its resistance to tearing and its durable nature. Fabric, on the other hand, often felt better, was odorless and allowed much more freedom in terms of patterns and colors. Both materials had and still have advantages and disadvantages.
In the second half of the 20th century, it became customary for leather upholstery to cost an additional 10% of the value of the car. However, this only made the leather interior even more desirable. In the end, only "accountants" chose the fabric interior when they ordered a convertible. Those who could afford it had their seats upholstered in leather. This is one of the reasons why fabric upholstery is the exception today, especially in more expensive cars, and is often the more desirable alternative, isn't it?
The following anecdote actually happened. A few years ago, a humorous acquaintance advertised his Mercedes R107 convertible with a fabric interior, which he referred to with the slogan "Everyone has leather". A no less humorous reader of this small advertisement replied with the following comment: "Without leather, it's a steal" (dialects are difficult to write down, but the good man said that the car would probably be almost unsaleable without leather).
And another convertible driver with fabric seats had someone shout into his car at a traffic light decades ago: "Kä Lädr?" (i.e.: No leather?), pointing out the obvious "defect".
Personally, I find the various check patterns and velour fabrics that were used in Mercedes-Benz cars, for example, as well as the psychadelic fabric upholstery in the Porsche 928, for example, much more desirable than the leather that has since been mostly restored. But that's just a matter of taste ....
