Vinyl interiors on new E Class
#32
Lexus Fanatic
If Lexus offered this crap as standard and charged people over $1500 for real leather the internetz would be up in arms about how cheap/Toyotaish it is.
Double standard strikes again!!
Well its easy to see how they price is lower than before. Leather is OPTIONAL. I wonder what else, wheels, paint, a steering wheel?
Double standard strikes again!!
Well its easy to see how they price is lower than before. Leather is OPTIONAL. I wonder what else, wheels, paint, a steering wheel?
btw, metallic paint is optional on Benz, BMW, Porsche cars.
#33
Lexus Fanatic
but are all the "extra" number of E and C sold all on mb-tex? if that's not the case then your argument doesn't hold. E and C are outselling GS and IS, but that can be a lot of reasons (brand image, designs, features, etc...) and personally i am not very sure if mb-tex is a major part of it
#34
Lexus Fanatic
The fact of the matter is the C and E (with MBTex standard) are easily outselling the IS and GS (with standard leather). Your opinion is not the opinion of the typical buyer of these cars, so Mercedes and BMW have taken their own approach based on people that really buy their cars.
(And, yes, this issue has been raised in other CAR CHAT threads as well, by me and many others)
I like leather too (like you) and have it in my Lexus and previous Jags and Porsches. I have both seat materials in both of my cars currently for long-term comparison.
IMO, cloth is the cheeziest of materials of the 3 and that's what I have in my snow/rain vehicle, a 2002 Jeep.
IMO, cloth is the cheeziest of materials of the 3 and that's what I have in my snow/rain vehicle, a 2002 Jeep.
Now, your bad-weather Jeep...........never mind cloth. THERE is a perfect candidate for vinyl seats, especially in a cheap Wrangler (if that is what you have).
I disagree that cloth, by its nature, is necessarily cheezy. Granted, some cloth feels cheap.....the seats in the Kia Soul that I recently reviewed are a good example. But cloth can be incredibly soft and plush-feeling. I know you are old enough, like me, to remember some of the 60's/70's luxury cars. Many of them (the ones without leather, of course) had extremely plush velour inside.
#35
exclusive matchup
iTrader: (4)
it's just like saying there are more cars than bikes in the US, therefore cars must use less gas (whether it's true or not)
#36
Lexus Fanatic
btw, my Jeep is Liberty 4wd with 3.7L V6. I call it my bad-weather car, but use it when utlity is required.
#37
Lexus Fanatic
like i said, in no way am i denying with that fact that mb is outselling lexus on those two cars, but unless there are further stat, it's incorrect to associate the sales number with the leather option. there is no correlation between them at all
it's just like saying there are more cars than bikes in the US, therefore cars must use less gas (whether it's true or not)
it's just like saying there are more cars than bikes in the US, therefore cars must use less gas (whether it's true or not)
BMW and Mercedes choose to make leather optional to increase profits, and they feel based on sales results versus Lexus for equivalent models that this greedy strategy is not killing sales.
Now as consumers/buyers (or people on this forum) some of us might feel cheated because we expect leather in these price ranges, I can certainly respect that opinion.
#38
Cycle Savant
iTrader: (5)
And although that's fine from a business standpoint, it can be disappointing to those who want value from what they buy.
Yes, MB and BMW can sell cars, and they can prove it with numbers. However, there is a general consensus that their products can be better if they use better quality materials.
Sometimes, a little more profit is not worth the taint in brand image.
#39
Lexus Fanatic
It is possible to make a car more profitable by using cheaper materials.
And although that's fine from a business standpoint, it can be disappointing to those who want value from what they buy.
Yes, MB and BMW can sell cars, and they can prove it with numbers. However, there is a general consensus that their products can be better if they use better quality materials.
Sometimes, a little more profit is not worth the taint in brand image.
And although that's fine from a business standpoint, it can be disappointing to those who want value from what they buy.
Yes, MB and BMW can sell cars, and they can prove it with numbers. However, there is a general consensus that their products can be better if they use better quality materials.
Sometimes, a little more profit is not worth the taint in brand image.
#41
Driver
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Also by the way the even more expensive Mercs do have standard leather. Why do you thing they offer this when the plastic is so superior?
I do agree with you on the old Mercs on the road though, they do hold up well and they usually have classic design. I've owned a couple so I know exactly what are the good points/bad points with them.
#43
exclusive matchup
iTrader: (4)
I don't agree, from a business standpoint it's more simple. I don't see the cars versus bike comparison as valid.
BMW and Mercedes choose to make leather optional to increase profits, and they feel based on sales results versus Lexus for equivalent models that this greedy strategy is not killing sales.
Now as consumers/buyers (or people on this forum) some of us might feel cheated because we expect leather in these price ranges, I can certainly respect that opinion.
BMW and Mercedes choose to make leather optional to increase profits, and they feel based on sales results versus Lexus for equivalent models that this greedy strategy is not killing sales.
Now as consumers/buyers (or people on this forum) some of us might feel cheated because we expect leather in these price ranges, I can certainly respect that opinion.
The fact of the matter is the C and E (with MBTex standard) are easily outselling the IS and GS (with standard leather)
#44
Guest
Posts: n/a
let me quote again what you said
i am not talking about margins or anything else. your statement excluding the parenthesis part is true and i completely agree. but there is no direct evidence saying that availability of mbtex actually helps the sales of mb over lexus. your statement makes it sound like mb is selling more e and c because mbtex is standard. my point is that's not necessarily true
i am not talking about margins or anything else. your statement excluding the parenthesis part is true and i completely agree. but there is no direct evidence saying that availability of mbtex actually helps the sales of mb over lexus. your statement makes it sound like mb is selling more e and c because mbtex is standard. my point is that's not necessarily true
#45
Lexus Test Driver
let me quote again what you said
i am not talking about margins or anything else. your statement excluding the parenthesis part is true and i completely agree. but there is no direct evidence saying that availability of mbtex actually helps the sales of mb over lexus. your statement makes it sound like mb is selling more e and c because mbtex is standard. my point is that's not necessarily true
i am not talking about margins or anything else. your statement excluding the parenthesis part is true and i completely agree. but there is no direct evidence saying that availability of mbtex actually helps the sales of mb over lexus. your statement makes it sound like mb is selling more e and c because mbtex is standard. my point is that's not necessarily true
I would much rather have full leather than mb-tex. I have an ML and I think the side bolsters are mb-tex but the seating surfaces are leather. Ironically the leather part is wearing better than the mb-tex part but I consider this pretty rare.