For those interested in "Modern Classic" Cars

[boxbrownie]

11 hours ago, Nick C said:

I don't like any colour of leather for car seats, really uncomfortable when it's hot and you want to wear shorts. Making the interior darker is a good thing though, it reduces distraction. And shows the dirt less!

Light leather isn’t hot in hot weather, especially now virtually every car has solar glass, as for reduces distraction…..if your really stating the interior of a car distracts you when driving I’d be very worried indeed.

 

It would be nice if there were more manufactures that gave the choice though.

[Nick C]

31 minutes ago, boxbrownie said:

Light leather isn’t hot in hot weather, especially now virtually every car has solar glass, as for reduces distraction…..if your really stating the interior of a car distracts you when driving I’d be very worried indeed.

 

It would be nice if there were more manufactures that gave the choice though.

It certainly was in my old housemate's E class, which had cream leather - awful in hot weather. And there's a reason professional rally cars have flocked dashes, and it's not for looks - it's to stop glare which can distract the driver - admittedly, yes, the rest of the interior is out of your sightlines and so won't make a difference - but then equally that means you can't see it, so why not have a nice, practical colour instead of a light colour that needs cleaning every five minutes!

 

As for giving the choice, I'm sure they would if there was demand. I'd be more concerned about how few choices of exterior colour there are though - most new cars seem to only have one choice of colour that isn't some shade of grey.

Edited July 5, 2021 by Nick C
typo...

[boxbrownie]

7 hours ago, Nick C said:

It certainly was in my old housemate's E class, which had cream leather - awful in hot weather. And there's a reason professional rally cars have flocked dashes, and it's not for looks - it's to stop glare which can distract the driver - admittedly, yes, the rest of the interior is out of your sightlines and so won't make a difference - but then equally that means you can't see it, so why not have a nice, practical colour instead of a light colour that needs cleaning every five minutes!

 

As for giving the choice, I'm sure they would if there was demand. I'd be more concerned about how few choices of exterior colour there are though - most new cars seem to only have one choice of colour that isn't some shade of grey.

Mercedes have their own version of leather called Artico……basically plastic but it is a very good impression of leather and that does get hot in the sun. If you want real leather on a Mercedes it’s a very, very expensive on cost option.

 

Flocked dashes are for anti reflection a lot of exotic Italian sports cars have it as well, or used to.

Which is also why if you really look at most light leather interiors on cars the dash top is still covered with a dark trim, stopping windscreen reflections in sunlight.

 

The reason they doesn’t give the U.K. the choice is the silly company car (which is a major market) insistence on dark interiors which get dirty but don’t show it when auction time comes, and why on the continent where company cars are much less prevalent light interiors are given as an option.

[Dunsignalling]

47 minutes ago, boxbrownie said:

Mercedes have their own version of leather called Artico……basically plastic but it is a very good impression of leather and that does get hot in the sun. If you want real leather on a Mercedes it’s a very, very expensive on cost option.

 

Flocked dashes are for anti reflection a lot of exotic Italian sports cars have it as well, or used to.

Which is also why if you really look at most light leather interiors on cars the dash top is still covered with a dark trim, stopping windscreen reflections in sunlight.

 

The reason they doesn’t give the U.K. the choice is the silly company car (which is a major market) insistence on dark interiors which get dirty but don’t show it when auction time comes, and why on the continent where company cars are much less prevalent light interiors are given as an option.

I'd think the increasing proportion of the population that claims to be turning vegan should have an effect on the demand for cars with leather seats.

 

As someone who runs a white car with black leather seats, the latter being a first for me, I've been pleasantly surprised how cool the seats stay.

 

I therefore consider that body colour probably has a much bigger impact on the temperature of everything inside after the car has been left in the sun for a while.

 

John

Edited July 5, 2021 by Dunsignalling

[steve1]

Never seem a Porsche like this before. As it happens, there was a Panamera in the same (Co-op) car park earlier.

 

steve

 

 

[Stubby47]

4 minutes ago, steve1 said:

Never seem a Porsche like this before. As it happens, there was a Panamera in the same (Co-op) car park earlier.

 

steve

 

 

 

It's electric...

[Dunsignalling]

1 hour ago, steve1 said:

Never seem a Porsche like this before. As it happens, there was a Panamera in the same (Co-op) car park earlier.

 

steve

 

 

Plate gives a good hint as to what the owner had before....

 

John

[peanuts]

Question for the group in 2011 onecompany manufactured 381 million tyres for cars bikes trucks busses coaches tractors diggers planes etc more than double the output of it's two nearest competitors combined with out using Google can anybody else name them ?

[boxbrownie]

2 hours ago, Dunsignalling said:

Plate gives a good hint as to what the owner had before....

 

John

And also a big hint as to what he has now 

[MJI]

1 hour ago, peanuts said:

Question for the group in 2011 onecompany manufactured 381 million tyres for cars bikes trucks busses coaches tractors diggers planes etc more than double the output of it's two nearest competitors combined with out using Google can anybody else name them ?

Lego

[big jim]

35 minutes ago, MJI said:

Lego

 Someone has been watching Qi on Dave 

[peanuts]

9 hours ago, MJI said:

Lego

Correct 

[MJI]

14 hours ago, big jim said:

 Someone has been watching Qi on Dave 

 

Just read it somewhere

[johnlambert]

I've owned three cars with leather seats (two 1989 Honda Preludes and a 1995 Jaguar XJ6) and never had a problem with the seats being uncomfortably warm, sticky or unpleasant in the summer; nor were they unpleasantly cold in winter.  The Honda seats were a light grey and the Jaguar's were cream but I don't recall any particular problems with dirt or difficulty in cleaning the seats, none of the cars were new when I bought them but the seats always cleaned up  really well with leather cleaning products.

 

As for Mercedes-Benz Artico, I spent a mid-summer afternoon driving a Mercedes Benz CLC220 diesel around Essex about 10 years ago.  As I recall the seats remained perfectly comfortable, possibly because the car never spent any time sitting in the sun, and possibly because that car had very effective air-conditioning.

 

The worst seats in my recollection for sticky, clammy unpleasantness were the cheap cloth affairs fitted to a base-model 1994 Ford Fiesta that I once owned.  A long drive in the summer would leave you with a very damp back, not nice, and just one of the many ways in which that was an awfull car.

[monkeysarefun]

In the middle of a day with the car sitting out in the Australian sun in 45 degrees, the blast of hot air as you open the door is enough to instantly dry  your eyeballs and every drop of moisture from your body. My phone will shut itself down from overheating  in the first couple of minutes after I've put it in its holder but I've found leather seats are less an issue than the leather bound steering wheel and gearstick. Trying to steer by just quickly tapping the wheel with  fingertips for the few minutes it takes the airconditioning to cool the steering wheel to a touchable temperature is a bit hairy.

 

Can't compare though to the non air-conditioned 1970s when our parents cars had vinyl seats. I've left the skin on the back of my thighs fused to many a 1970s Holden back seat after a day at the beach. My dad wouldn't let us put our damp towels down to sit on as protection in case the salt water ruined his fancy vinyl. The day he finally installed fluffy leopard print seat covers was  a truly joyful one. 

Edited July 10, 2021 by monkeysarefun

[PatB]

17 minutes ago, monkeysarefun said:

In the middle of a day with the car sitting out in the Australian sun in 45 degree days, the blast of hot air as you open the door is enough to instantly dry  your eyeballs and every drop of moisture from your body. My phone will shut itself down from overheating  in the first couple of minutes after I've put it in its holder but I've found leather seats are less an issue than the leather bound steering wheel and gearstick. Trying to steer by just quickly tapping the wheel with  fingertips for the few minutes it takes the airconditioning to cool the steering wheel is a bit hairy.

 

Can't compare though to the non air-conditioned 1970s when our parents cars had vinyl seats. I've left the skin on the back of my thighs fused to many a 1970s Holden back seat after a day at the beach. My dad wouldn't let us put our damp towels down to sit on as protection in case the salt water ruined his fancy vinyl. The day he finally installed fluffy leopard print seat covers was  a truly joyful one. 

Ah, the hot car in the Australian sun. Back when I was a glorified sales rep, schlepping around the WA Goldfields, in summer I'd return to the trusty Commodore after a lengthy site visit and get in quite happily, because, in the 60-odd degree interior, all the zillion flies that were hanging around me would cook in their little exoskeletons and fall out of the air. Hah! This is why evolution gave me internal temperature regulation you little buzzers. 

[37114]

Nice Moonstone blue Sierra Cosworth at Goodwood today, brings back memories as my Dad had 3 of these in 3 years (due to them attracting the attention of the local car thieves of which there were many in Bristol in the early 90s)

[Quarryscapes]

Autocar have had a drive of the MST MK2 now too. https://bddy.me/3k8KHWp

 

Some of my handiwork found it's way into the pictures. 

[Reorte]

Leather seats hot? I'll take them over the Maxi with plastic seats that we had when I was a kid - getting in there, in shorts, when it had been parked in the sun all day, now those seats were hot!

[Lord Flashheart]

7 hours ago, Quarryscapes said:

Autocar have had a drive of the MST MK2 now too. https://bddy.me/3k8KHWp

 

Some of my handiwork found it's way into the pictures. 

Been following this on fb and elsewhere, I'd absolutely love one.

 

Rob

[big jim]

Vinyl wrapped the bonnet grille surround on the diesel today and put black perforated vinyl over the spotlights, pleased with how they have come out considering I used a cheap piece of £10 wrap off Amazon!

 

 

Edited July 13, 2021 by big jim

[steve1]

Looked equally immaculate inside.

 

steve

 

 

[spamcan61]

17 minutes ago, steve1 said:

Looked equally immaculate inside.

 

steve

 

 

Scary MoT history but still looks nice.

[steve1]

1 hour ago, spamcan61 said:

Scary MoT history but still looks nice.

 

See what you mean.

 

steve

[monkeysarefun]

7 hours ago, steve1 said:

 

See what you mean.

 

steve

Wow, your MoT checks are rather comprehensive compared to here!