Did anyone see this article in yesterday's (Aug 23, 2004) paper? It was on the front page of the Los Angeles Times, and mentions that Toyota was being sensitive to the vegetarian/vegan consumer, and for that reason, they don't offer leather seats on the Prius. It (leather seats) is only available as a dealer option. Apparently, leather evokes too many images of dead cows!! MRV (Michelle Vadeboncoeur ) is quoted in the article, which I thought was pretty cool!! I didn't realize that Toyota was so aware of such a small population (vegans). My opinion, not supported by research, in case you are wondering. And I'm sorry for not putting this in the news area, I couldn't figure out how to attach the article or put in the link to it. So did you buy the Prius for its gas economy, emissions systems, animal friendly stance, or some other reason?
Some quotes from the article: Better get in line now, sister. I'm trying to picture what's advertised in Organic Style magazine. Fashionable hip boots for wading through manure? (Hey, I buy organic at the local co-op; I'm allowed to kid.) Request my :cussing: . More like, "leather is a way to jack the price up even higher, and you'll either buy it with leather or look elsewhere".
I'm going to hold off on getting leather until I get some daily, practical use out of the OEM seats. Who knows, I may end up liking it better than leather! (I guess I'll find out on Sat - woohoo!). Can't wait......... could barely sleep last night.
Well, I never really saw the need to carry dead cows around, except when I want to use an inverter to power my George Foreman Grill at the Tailgate Party.
vegetarian prius Kudos to Toyota for offering the Prius without leather seats. They probably recognize that many who are environmentally conscious limit their usage of animal products as well, due to, among other reasons, the negative environmental impact of modern animal "farming". I hope that, as the article implied, luxury car manufacturers will follow suit.
I'm not a vegan, but I do not eat meat or use leather. When I first read the "instructions for cleaning your leather seats" in the owner's manual I felt sick and freaked out. I looked hard at the seats, trying to figure out if it was suede, and could not be certain. I consoled myself saying that a $24,000 car would not have leather. I was extremely relieved when I finally determined that it really is cloth. Just the coronary artery disease that the same hamburger would cause you if you ate it outside the car.
