QOTD: Are You Using Protection?

That headline takes the author back to his 1990s sex ed classes, but we’re not talking about that today. No, sir. Wholesome, family content here.

Actually, wholesome families play a large role in the proliferation of the unique vehicular phenomenon we’ll be discussing in this QOTD. Families, retirees, and perhaps even you.

Seat covers. Beaded, zebra pattern, faux sheepskin, or perhaps something with a modicum of taste, these decidedly non-factory additions protect your vehicle’s precious fabrics from the ravages of the sun, spilled drinks, butt wear, and all other manner of in-car dangers. It’s a well-known fact that adding seat covers will boost your Kia Spectra’s resale value by several grand, thus preserving not just your seats, but your investment. *Cough*

The thought crossed my mind, after looking at pics of Corey’s base Jetta loaner, that Cruze 2.0’s seat fabric probably won’t hold up over time, being of the bargain-basement variety. Quite the contrast from my previous daily driver, which soaked up ass contact with dignity and aplomb. Nary a rip or wear line with that upholstery.

Do I dare purchase a set, like some sort of desperate Uber driver? The last seat covers in my family stood guard on two fronts — first, they protected the cracked blue vinyl of my dad’s Fairmont sedan from the dangers mentioned earlier, and secondly, they protected our vulnerable backsides from that very same cracked blue vinyl. If you thought this Fairmont came with air conditioning, you’re dreaming. That said, they were the opposite of tasteful. Nowadays, seat covers needn’t look like they originated from an 80-year-old Long Island grandmother’s Seville.

I harbor no belief that seat condition will return big bucks come the car’s eventual trade-in or sale time, but I would feel self-conscious if the low-grade fabric craps out before the car does. I might feel self-conscious with seat covers in place, too, depending on fit and grade. Thankfully, time is on my side. Or so it seems. There’s probably a couple of years before a decision must be made.

But enough about your humble author’s very humble sedan. What about you, dear reader? Are you a family man/woman who chose to protect your precious fabric from gross children and dogs? Are you a working type you doesn’t want to get oil, dirt or grease embedded deep within your vehicle’s seats?

Are you using protection right now, or would such a travesty never find its way into your bastion of road-going perfection?

[Image: Murilee Martin/TTAC]