Interior Upholstery Developments

New wrinkles in automotive upholstery

Steve Temple / autoMedia.com

Despite such "flaws" in a natural-grain product (which vinyl manufacturers actually work hard to imitate), there are other reasons why leather continues to have a strong appeal over vinyl. "We offer an all-vinyl interior, but there's not much demand for it," explains Ron Leslie, marketing director for Katzkin. "Leather is just far superior; vinyl just doesn't have the feel or smell of leather. The reality is that we're dealing with a new car market and leather adds value to the car. It has residual value, and the Blue Book price is higher. You get extra dollars for having leather in your car. We could use vinyl to create a custom interior which would add value, but it's still not as valuable as leather."

In addition to developing soft-touch leathers, one manufacturer recently introduced a synthetic material with the same look and feel as suede which, according to Weiner, "has all the virtues of leather, but none of the drawbacks. It's not as hot or cold as leather. It's a nice alternative in color, texture, and feel, and gives tremendous character to a vehicle, creating contrasting colors and surfaces. It makes you want to feel the nap."

Style & Budget

Even with all this emphasis on vinyl as low-cost "imitation leather," there's another side to synthetics. According to vinyl manufacturers and distributors, a whole new generation of consumers, particularly in the sport-compact market, could care less about the debate between the luxury of leather and the cost-savings of vinyl. To them, vinyl has its own identity and virtues, and they like its look and feel.

"The lower-end youth market is more enamored of hot styles and performance," Weiner points out. "Those buyers have a smaller budget, and vinyls come in a wilder selection of colors, so leather is not as popular."

Various manufacturers and distributors point out that viewing vinyl solely as faux leather limits its use and inhibits design creativity. Moving away from the "imitation leather" perspective opens up a far wider range of applications. Without having to stick to leather-like textures, all sorts of grains are possible. The character of vinyl invites free thinking, so a designer who finds a texture that is interesting can mold it into vinyl.