jlames Posted June 29, 2011 Author Share Posted June 29, 2011 Looks like "avoid the Fiat" advice was good advice. Ford just dropped the package from their 2012 F250 lineup according to their June product lineup schedule.That and owners will justl have to keep track of their tools on their own with no more Tool Link available!!! Good call. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlames Posted June 29, 2011 Author Share Posted June 29, 2011 (edited) Also, since Deanh seems to know this company pretty well, maybe you can answer a question for me. Is it true that the Lariat has pleather seats or inferior grade leather on the seats? Geeze I hope not. Edited June 29, 2011 by jlames Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardJensen Posted June 29, 2011 Share Posted June 29, 2011 (edited) Ford doesn't do leatherette on any NA vehicle. They do vinyl on several base models and the taxi prep Crown Vic, but no leatherette. However, the Lariat leather is (AFAIK) not of the same quality as the leather in the Platinum & King Ranch models. Edited June 29, 2011 by RichardJensen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timmm55 Posted June 29, 2011 Share Posted June 29, 2011 Also, since Deanh seems to know this company pretty well, maybe you can answer a question for me. Is it true that the Lariat has pleather seats or inferior grade leather on the seats? Geeze I hope not. Just wondering where you heard that......... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvrsvt Posted June 29, 2011 Share Posted June 29, 2011 Looks like "avoid the Fiat" advice was good advice. Ford just dropped the package from their 2012 F250 lineup according to their June product lineup schedule.That and owners will justl have to keep track of their tools on their own with no more Tool Link available!!! Good call. I'll assume that Tool Link was a good idea that no one wanted to use, thus why it was dropped.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlames Posted June 29, 2011 Author Share Posted June 29, 2011 (edited) Wouldn't doubt it. After the laughter dies down, it's actually a pretty good idea but I would think aftermarket. But, perhaps that's why I don't design trucks!!! As for the 'pleather", we're all over "the Boards" in research as to which truck to buy and listening to the comments of owners, separating the wheat from the chaffe so to speak, figuring out for ourselves what's a real concern and what's just some yahoo's rant about hi s seats being inferior because he had a wood chisel in his back pocket, got in his new truck and the seat ripped type of thing. Of course, had the seats not ripped but the chisel bent, he'd be all over faultychisels.com so... Some of the comments are good, some are bad but some are repetitive on a single theme like thjer leather/pleather debate containing references to people whose seats were showing severe wear after just a few months. Leather/ pleather debate, leather 'inserts" and the quality of the leather used were all topics. Powerstroke.com, powerstroke.org... the usual. Edited June 29, 2011 by jlames Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvrsvt Posted June 29, 2011 Share Posted June 29, 2011 Leather/ pleather debate, leather 'inserts" and the quality of the leather used were all topics. Ford doesn't do all leather seats, only the seating surfaces are "leather" and the backs and sides are plastic/pleather. Its nearly impossible to tell them apart. The leather Ford uses could use improvement IMO...my parents Sable hasn't held up that well and my red Mustang seats have seen better days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deanh Posted June 29, 2011 Share Posted June 29, 2011 Also, since Deanh seems to know this company pretty well, maybe you can answer a question for me. Is it true that the Lariat has pleather seats or inferior grade leather on the seats? Geeze I hope not. Leather on the seating surfaces I beleive, and I dont think that includes the rear seats, but I could be mistaken there. Will say this, we do get aftermarket Leather installed all the time, the quality of leather is better than factory, thicker and softer, and ALL the surfaces are true leather...the company that installs it is HUGE and gives a lifetime warranty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Extreme4x4 Posted June 29, 2011 Share Posted June 29, 2011 The leather on the seats of my '08 F250 Lariat, is called "monster hides," and comes from Montana (this information came from Ford truck employees). It is a nice thick, durable leather, that wears well, and is of much better quality than that on the car seats. It makes the leather in the cars (not counting titanium and Lincoln leathers) look and feel like pleather. Yes, the match between the leather seating surfaces, and the sides and backs is very good. The leather on the Platinum is much softer than the Lariat leather. KR leather is of a totally different type, and I believe is called glove leather (as in baseball glove). It is very thick and durable. The crazing that it easily gets is one of its "features." Most KR leather looks pretty bad after a few years, as noone thinks to condition it. They will condition the leather on their $100 baseball glove, but can't be bothered on their $60K truck. A true all leather interior is very expensive. You will find that fans of other brands like to perpetuate rumors about certain, very succesful, vehicles. It helps them to feel better about buying an inferior product. What to stay away from in a SuperDuty?? The manual transfercase. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlames Posted June 29, 2011 Author Share Posted June 29, 2011 We've about decided that the Ford is the truck for us even with all of its drawbacks which are, admittedly few and mostly not of Ford's making; i.e the emissions standards and the like. It'll be not a daily driver per se but I'll be in it alot so I want the interior as nice as possible. That's where the Ford really outshines the competition. Like the 06,07 Dodge 5.7 in power and fuel economy, the Ford is the tops in "luxury appointments" inside. Dodge is having mo0re than its share of problems with the new Lariat and, to be honest, the interior that apparently tried to copy the KR is just truly horrible in quality of product and workmanship. We have a quote of $1800 to re-upholster the interior in Hermann Oak leather which includes the seating surfaces and sides. Only the seat backs are lesser-grade leather but leather nonetheless and Hermann Oak is the best leather in the durability and looks department out there. Alot of our saddles and tack is Hermann Oak so its pretty good stuff. It's not the glove-soft Rolls Royce/Bentley stuff but we want tough not soft. We'll be throwing saddles and all the other usual horse junk inside so the more scratch resistant it is the better. And we'll be maintaining it like we do out saddles and tack anyway so it'll get both the work out we need it to stand up to and the care it deserves. I know I sound like a commercial for Hermann Oak or some type of leather expert but I'm not. I just know what kind of a pounding our horse tack takes and comes out beautiful after 20 years with maintenance so I though I'd pass my experience along. Anyway, people are yanking the 2011 sound system out and replacing it with $2-3k systems that are at least as good as the systems that came stock in the '08 F250 so we figure the leather seats at $1800 is for us. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V8-X Posted June 29, 2011 Share Posted June 29, 2011 (edited) In my opinion and experience, all Ford leather (or so called leather) need conditioning often, not just the KR leather. In my past few Fords (Explorer Limited & F150 Lariat) with leather (truly felt and held up like pleather), typically had to be conditioned every 3-4 months to ensure they didn't start cracking and drying out. Not sure if the 11/12 model SD's different leathers for the various trim levels still require as much attention as my prior two Fords I owned, but I'd still recommend conditioning often for longevity sake. Edited June 29, 2011 by V8-X Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlames Posted June 29, 2011 Author Share Posted June 29, 2011 yeah, that's the way it always is. People think because cows wear it without a bottle of conditioner, we must be able to too. Live cows have an internal oil pump that keeps their hide supple and durable!!! OK, sounds silly but its true. Our saddles, even at $4k or $5k a piece, would turn to dust without care and they're built for abuse so thinly cut leather seats in trucks, well, you get the picture. I can't tell you how many posts I read from people who actually complained that they had to condition their KR seats as if KR leather should somehow be impervious to wear and tear because they paid a high dollar for the package. Don't know what a KR interior adds to the price point of a Ford but I can assure you its far less that a $5000 Chavez cutting saddle and we have to clean and condition the heck out of our saddles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V8-X Posted June 29, 2011 Share Posted June 29, 2011 And further on the KR leather, I've seen many posts stating they stain real easy. One owner left a stain from where his sweat ran down his arm onto the center console. So while I love the appearance of the KR leather, it needs some good TLC to keep in immaculate condition. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edstock Posted June 29, 2011 Share Posted June 29, 2011 One owner left a stain from where his sweat ran down his arm onto the center console. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlames Posted June 29, 2011 Author Share Posted June 29, 2011 Are we sure that was a sweat stain??? You know, honestly,when we were buying our Mercedes a few years ago there was a dealer who joked about an "odor fan" located in the bottom of the seat to, shall we say, suck up the additional air released by passengers in the vicinity if the seat cushion ;-) (delicately put!!!) and filtering it so it didn't bother the other passengers. Sure enough, a year or so ago I found that Mercedes did in fact offer this, in conjunction of course with the 'heated/cooled seat". Passing reference was given the bonus functionality in the manual. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlames Posted June 29, 2011 Author Share Posted June 29, 2011 deanh was right in his concern relative to whether or not I was just a crackpot, lunatic or nay-sayer stirring up trouble. Some of the things people complain about or want are fairly ridiculous. Personally, I'd love the ability to just use the 6th wire in the rear electrical gangbox that's dead on delivery because the tailgate camera and power are only using up the other 5. Number 6 could be used for a second camera for a trailer or such. Makes more sense than fart fans! Or maybe not! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timmm55 Posted June 29, 2011 Share Posted June 29, 2011 Ford doesn't do all leather seats, only the seating surfaces are "leather" and the backs and sides are plastic/pleather. Its nearly impossible to tell them apart. The leather Ford uses could use improvement IMO...my parents Sable hasn't held up that well and my red Mustang seats have seen better days. Yeah, Ford (and Lincoln/Mercury) has been doing that since at least 1967. My 69 Cougar XR-7 had "leather seating surface" front buckets in tan, the rear seat was vinyl with only the top section in leather, NO CRACKS THERE! The sides, back, door panels were all vinyl. My old 71 Mark III was similar but the rear seat was also "leather seating surface" in a beautiful Dark Green, with sort of a metallic shine .......with the other things in vinyl. Same for my 96 Mark VIII in a soft Dover Gray. Gotta say, I prefer cloth! No matter how often you maintain leather, it WILL crease and crack with the driver's side the worst. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlames Posted June 29, 2011 Author Share Posted June 29, 2011 Oh, you had THE cars or pretty close anyway. My father had a brand new Lincoln Mk III, chocolate brown that just glistened with the factory metal flake in it and rich, dark, brown leather seats; still one of the most beautiful cars made. I had a Mark VII and VIII, the last one one of the Collector Series, metal flake pearl white with the two tone grey leather interior; another most beautiful car made. They sure knew how to do things "Fifth Avenue" as we used to say. Guess we still do. The trucks are the same way. I'll send along a pic of the interior of the one we're figuring on. You just can't beat it for style and class. Now, if they'd just go with Hermann Oak leather as an option and go back to a great sounding sound system, well, I'd buy one anyway. I just can't help but think, and here I go sounding like a Hermann Oak salesman which I assure you I'M NOT!!!, having a Hermann Oak two tone option in the KR say would have alot of upper hill cowboys, ranchers, mid-westerners and even Wall Streeters that dress like us working horse people on weekends writing out the checks for the option. I know I would. I'm trying to talk my wife into two-tone brown and black, almost like Jeep's if we get the new truck. I think it would look great in the cab that's now straight black leather and wood grain. And my old Mark VIII wood and leather steering wheel!!! I think I'm in the wrong business. Maybe I should be a car designer! Hey, how do I attach a small photo from my hard drive here anyway? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timmm55 Posted July 1, 2011 Share Posted July 1, 2011 (edited) Oh, you had THE cars or pretty close anyway. My father had a brand new Lincoln Mk III, chocolate brown that just glistened with the factory metal flake in it and rich, dark, brown leather seats; still one of the most beautiful cars made. I had a Mark VII and VIII, the last one one of the Collector Series, metal flake pearl white with the two tone grey leather interior; another most beautiful car made. They sure knew how to do things "Fifth Avenue" as we used to say. Guess we still do. The trucks are the same way. I'll send along a pic of the interior of the one we're figuring on. You just can't beat it for style and class. Now, if they'd just go with Hermann Oak leather as an option and go back to a great sounding sound system, well, I'd buy one anyway. I just can't help but think, and here I go sounding like a Hermann Oak salesman which I assure you I'M NOT!!!, having a Hermann Oak two tone option in the KR say would have alot of upper hill cowboys, ranchers, mid-westerners and even Wall Streeters that dress like us working horse people on weekends writing out the checks for the option. I know I would. I'm trying to talk my wife into two-tone brown and black, almost like Jeep's if we get the new truck. I think it would look great in the cab that's now straight black leather and wood grain. And my old Mark VIII wood and leather steering wheel!!! I think I'm in the wrong business. Maybe I should be a car designer! Hey, how do I attach a small photo from my hard drive here anyway? Under the writing block area there is "Attachments"........click "browse" highlight the photo you want to use then click "Open" Then "Attach this File" below that here. Another way, I use Photobucket. Just copy IMG code for image and paste here Edited July 1, 2011 by timmm55 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlames Posted July 1, 2011 Author Share Posted July 1, 2011 (edited) Great and thanks. I can't recall what I was going to send you a shot of but I'll remember it. In the mean time, let's try your solution with one of the truck they're "considering our offer on' right now. In the mean time, is this the appropriate forum to carry on our conversations in or is there another one. Don't want to run afoul of the "Forum Feds" although these moderators, and I have no idea of they even monitor this site or this forum, seem pretty nice just to let us discuss what we think should be on an F250. Got some great news I'd like to share with you and the other people I met through here but I don't want to clog up the wrong forum with chit chat. My wife's the beautiful expert on all thing Internet/Forum. I'm just the slug who got lucky enough to marry her and tag along.Also, I forgot and was mistaken. My father's car was a 1973 Mark IV, opera windows and all. Lincoln sure knew how to make luxury. Edited July 1, 2011 by jlames Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marginal Economist Posted July 2, 2011 Share Posted July 2, 2011 jlames - Welcome! I was pleased with the way this thread worked out - it started like a train wreck but turned around nicely. I look forward to your contrinutions going forward and appreciate your perspective. I hope you are able to get that beautiful truck in your driveway soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlames Posted July 2, 2011 Author Share Posted July 2, 2011 Yes, me too and thank you. I've always found that people who have differing opinions can only hear each other when they begin to listen to each other, accepting the other individual as as valuable a contributor to the interchange as he or she is. In my business, I always look forward with great anticipation to the "pitch" so to speak. I always want "their" best and brightest in the room to hit me with the hardest questions they can muster. If their issues have merit, I get the opportunity to see something I missed in the first go-round and fix it making the product better. If their issue is baseless, I have the opportunity to defend it and through that defense know my product even better than when I arrived for having the opportunity to defend it. Either way, I appreciate the individual who, for whatever reason, raises questions and I believe he appreciates me more for appreciating him or her. Kind of simple once you accept that "pride of authorship" can be as detrimental as it is necessary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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