Product of the Month - January, 1997

Custom Leather Seats

from Crazy Red Italian

Dave DeNuzzo is well known to many Miata owners as the Crazy Red Italian of airhorn fame. He has recently expanded his product line to include items such as intakes, driving lights, and leather seat covers.

The seat covers are top of the line. Custom made for your car, they are black with coloured stiching. A Miata logo is embroidered on each headrest. Unlike the Mazda leather seats, the entire cover is leather - and what wonderful leather it is! Not tight and shiny, these are closer to the Italian style of leather seats. They look soft and the leather is bunched up. Even before sitting in them, the seats are a treat. The embroidery of the logo is absolutely first-rate, and looks wonderful when the top is down. For those with headrest speakers, the headrest is perforated.

Installation of new seat covers is never a trivial job. It involves removing the seats, taking them apart, clipping a large number of metal "hog rings", putting the new covers on, and attaching them with an equally large number of new hog rings. It takes a couple of hours per seat. True to Crazy Red Italian tradition, however, full instructions and help are included. A video is in the works. Dave will also rent you a special set of hog ring pliers and supply you with the rings if you so desire. If you run in to any problems, Dave is always willing to help. Of course, if you run into Dave at a convention, he will install these for you.

I must admit, I've never been a big leather seat fanatic. I'd seen other covers, and they left me cold. I ended up installing a set of the Crazy Red Italian seat covers for a friend, and his car lived in my garage for a month afterwards. Every time I passed his car on the way to mine, I had to reach out and touch the seats. Walking towards the blue car, the blue Miata script on the headrest would catch my eye. I'd find myself sitting in it for no other reason than because I liked the feel of them. It felt so good I would feel guilty.

If black leather is too pedestrian for your tastes, you can get custom designs. Red leather, different coloured panels - your imagination is the limit. There are even custom heaters available for the seat! If you've got the lust for leather, you need to talk to the Crazy Red Italian.

Availability:

Copyright © 1997, Eunos Communications