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I don't get the use of Alcantara in luxury cars. This is a cheap synthetic material that does not wear well. I personally think it's one of the biggest con jobs in the automotive industry.
Agreed, but think about it from the auto business standpoint; they took a product like vinyl or leather that lasts a long time, and turned to Alcantara, which is a wear item designed to last about, oh, say, 3 years or 36,000 miles.
Car makers are wise now. It's in their interest to make cars, and their parts, that last only as long as the warranty period.
Also, most people are suckers, so they never think beyond their nose. Winner winner chicken dinner for the auto suppliers and manufacturers
Agreed - must be why most major racing teams and luxury manufactures used the stuff for decades and continue to use it. Not for its potential flame-retardant properties, or its versatility for dying/finishing and contouring for unique shapes, or its durability and stain resistance, or light weight and anti-glare properties. Hell it isn't like SpaceX uses it in its rocket-ship prototypes.
I think Alcantara is fabulous. I don;t get the piece...... Microfiber/Alcantera/Ultrasuede wears like iron, and is washable. You literally can put it in a washing machine with no deleterious effects.
Maybe the issue is cheap implementations or sourcing.
Bruce - that's been Jalopnik's shtick for some time, don't think much of it. They constantly publish some poorly research counter-opinion for viewership and ad revenue on their site. It's the automotive click-bait phenomena.
Agreed - must be why most major racing teams and luxury manufactures used the stuff for decades and continue to use it. Not for its potential flame-retardant properties, or its versatility for dying/finishing and contouring for unique shapes, or its durability and stain resistance, or light weight and anti-glare properties. Hell it isn't like SpaceX uses it in its rocket-ship prototypes.
All of the things you mention may be true, but rocket ships and racing teams aren't as concerned with long-term wear and aesthetics, I'd imagine
All of the things you mention may be true, but rocket ships and racing teams aren't as concerned with long-term wear and aesthetics, I'd imagine
I hear ya - I don't meant to bust anyone's chops about the matter - I can respect folks' opinion to crap all over Alcantara because it isn't what they think is appropriate but the stuff has proven itself to be a premier synthetic material for a variety of purpose built machines not limited to Formula 1 and space exploration. Obviously this stuff would make it into sportscars and folks would find it attractive to have something engineered for/from motorsports in their commuter car. Otherwise what're we doing here, getting silly about colors and whatnot. It's the dismissal of the material as something inferior or explicitly made garbage that's only successful because of marketing (I'm paraphrasing the article) which is silly and flat-out disingenuous - or more likely ignorant, from the author of the article. But again, this is the era of click-bait topic crap and Jalopnik is king of the pile.
Has anyone had both suede and Alcantara? I would be interested in how the two wear in relation to each other. On my 997.1, the original owner got the extended leather, so the only Alcantara is the roof liner, which looks minty after 12 years in my car but usually doesn't get any wear in cars I have owned, so I assume most people are in the same boat on that. On the other hand, I have a friend that got his cracked 66 GTO dash done in Suede with a matching roof liner when he had his full interior done at a solid shop, and the sun has done a number on both in the last decade. Different cars/situations but after seeing his "high end" suede "no expense spared" "restoration" on the GTO, I would not consider suede. (sorry for all the quotes but they felt necessary).
Alcantara is a great headliner material. I do not like it for seats having had it for a few years, with exception of not being as cold in the winter. Lots of people like it which is great. I do think it is premium priced and not worth what you get except as a headliner.
Alcantara is a great headliner material. I do not like it for seats having had it for a few years, with exception of not being as cold in the winter. Lots of people like it which is great. I do think it is premium priced and not worth what you get except as a headliner.
I'd only get Alcantara as a headliner, and only in black
I had the alcantara interior in a ZHP BMW. It looks and feels great when its new but didn't age well and I probably wouldn't choose it again. To each his own.
I have Alcantara in my 11 CTS-V coupe with 108k miles and to me it wears just fine, as long as your take care of it just like anything else. To me i love it, doesn't get super hot in the summer and keeps you in place in the seats, easy to clean etc. And to me it looks amazing. Even the steering wheel that gets lots of use looks perfect over 7 years and 100k miles.
Personally, not a fan. I like it on the headliner, but nowhere else. I like to be able to wiggle around in the seat on longer trips to adjust my position slightly, and Alcantara doesn't allow for that, instead rewarding you with a nice crotch wedgie. Maybe if I was a track guy I'd appreciate it, but much prefer the feel of leather and the smoothness (and contrast) of well done CF or dark wood in my interiors.
Synthetic suede is junk. If people knew how cheap it is to manufacture, they’d be sick about what they paid for the “upgrade”.
It does attract dirt, it stretches and wrinkles, it wears through, it pills. The article is correct that it is an awful choice for wear areas on a car.
If race cars cars and space ships use it, I’m sure it’s because it is light, gives good grip and only has to be used for one launch or season, and that has no relevance to its use in a car that is expected to last hundreds of thousands of miles. It’s ability to be thrown in the washing machine is also irrelevant, considering the fact that you can’t put steering wheels, headliners and seats in he washer.
Even REAL leather suede is a terrible material in cars. I had genuine cow suede seating surfaces in an ‘83 280ZX. I was in my teens and was **** about the car’s care, and still, the suede quickly became stained with sweat and blue jean blue. The lovely embossed script almost immediately disappeared and the material pilled badly. That was real leather, so at least it smelled good.
“Alcantara” is no more premium than the base cloth seat in a Chevy Astro Van—and the van’s seats will take a heckuvalot more wear before they’re worn out. The whole idea of it is as made up as Chrysler’s famous “Corinthian” leather of the seventies.
12-18-2018, 02:00 PM
Alcantara
