Alan M

Allright. I know at least a few of you have been waiting to hear about the Classic Soft Trim leather installation on my 99.5 1.8TQMS. Let me just say that I was kind of skeptical about getting it done, but I really DON'T like the stock cloth. My two previous cars have had leather, and I think that in a car that cost almost $30,000 you should get leather or at least have it available as an option. Enough said. My car now looks like it should -- it looks "right" with leather. CST has pre-fab "kits" that come from a supplier in CA and then their local installers put it in your car. They needed the car for 3 days. My car has opal gray interior, and I wanted the leather to look stock. When I called to set up the appt., they said that their matching leather color listed in their database for the gray interior (which they called "Titan" not "opal" -- I think that titan was an older Audi interior color) was "silver leaf." I was initially going to trust them, but I didn't think that a color called "silver leaf" was going to match. I asked if I could instead pick up color samples. I'm glad I did: they literally have over a hundred different color choices, and you can pick any of them for the kit. The alleged "silver leaf" was way too blue and light a gray to match. I ended up choosing a color called "Titanium." It is a medium gray with a hint of brown in it. It is a perfect match for the plastic seat backs, although it's not a "perfect" match for the steering wheel and shifter leather it is really close and it looks VERY nice. In addition to the front and back seats, the kit includes the door panels and the armrests (front and back). Although in my case, my kit was somehow missing the leather for the front armrest. CST ordered it and they will install it in my car when it comes in. I'm not sure if you can picture different automotive leathers, but I would say the leather looks and feels most like leather in new Volvos. It is not as taut as the leather in the 2.8 sport seats, and it looks very inviting. Although it is not as "cushy" as Acura or Lexus leather, it is also not as taut as Mercedes. The kit definitely comes with padding, the back seat almost looks comfortable now instead of like the church pew it really is. There is a little CST "airbag" embossed logo on the sides of the front seats, so now I really am convinced these will work with the side airbags (plus CST has their own insurance to guarantee the airbag functioning). I will eventually post pics, but I am going to use my brother's digital camera and he lives 2hrs away. To sum it up, I would definitley have this done again. The seat heaters work fine as does the adjustable lumber support (although the new electric lumbar adjustment has some power -- even the middle setting molests my kidneys!). This is how my car should look. I just couldn't handle the exfoliant-factory cloth chaffing my skin any longer <br>Alan<br>Feel free to e-mail me with any further questions.