We have Gunhild Liljequist to thank. :)
We have Gunhild Liljequist to thank. :)
I always assumed it was for the same reason BMW used that orange leather in their M cars. Germans have lousy taste, or are colourblind.
I have to say, I initially didn't love the idea of the plaid in my GTI ('18) but now I really love how they look (and they're great seats).
Same with the golf-ball knob. At first I thought it was kind of stupid and looked around for a replacement. But after 15k miles of shifting I really like how it feels on the hand.
I like the plaid interior, it looks much better than the westmoreland GTI interiors
I wish i could sew to make my own plaid seats....
Even though this is my adopted country I have a few pet peeves. The pedant in me must speak out. A Plaid is a garment, the pattern is named tartan.
Honest question: i thought tartan referred to a certain pattern of plaid belonging to a particular Scottish clan? Like we have the clan Crawford tartan.
In reply to Dusterbd13-michael :
My post was mainly in fun, but a Tartan is multi color criss cross pattern. Just as all square are quadrilaterals, not all quadrilaterals are square, hence a Scottish clan pattern is a tartan, not all tartan is a symbol of a Scottish clan. I think they are synonimous as through history Kilts have become associated with Scotland, even though they evolved amongst Celtish nations which include what we now know as Scotland, Island, wales etc. The original kilts were 'great kilts' which were originally known as 'Breceans' or a 'Belted Plaid'. There are rules, meanings and conventions about the colors, combinations and widthes etc. in tatan that I dont' even begin to claim to understand, but tartan first evolved in the British isles not necessarily or just Scotland. Also the English (as opposed to British) and Canadian military have their own tartans, it's very much not just a Scottish thing.
But I'm just an ass and even I slip into using the word plaid from time to time,
Adrian_Thompson said:Even though this is my adopted country I have a few pet peeves. The pedant in me must speak out. A Plaid is a garment, the pattern is named tartan.
Trust me, I gave pause when writing, but ultimately I went with what Volkswagen used in their headline.
I found this article that confirms my memory, as there was 79 and 80 round headlight GTIs in Canada https://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-drive/news/industry-news/a-look-back-at-40-years-of-the-golf-gti/article30073927/
Jordan Rimpela said:Adrian_Thompson said:Even though this is my adopted country I have a few pet peeves. The pedant in me must speak out. A Plaid is a garment, the pattern is named tartan.
Trust me, I gave pause when writing, but ultimately I went with what Volkswagen used in their headline.
VW US marketing!! Just because it's official doesn't make it right. Anyway, as I said I'm just being an ass. Plaid is the accepted term in American English as opposed to English.
Adrian_Thompson said:Jordan Rimpela said:Adrian_Thompson said:Even though this is my adopted country I have a few pet peeves. The pedant in me must speak out. A Plaid is a garment, the pattern is named tartan.
Trust me, I gave pause when writing, but ultimately I went with what Volkswagen used in their headline.
VW US marketing!! Just because it's official doesn't make it right. Anyway, as I said I'm just being an ass. Plaid is the accepted term in American English as opposed to English.
Ah, c'mon, push the boat out a little bit and embrace the weirdness of General American. 
I worked with a Brit for eight months when I lived in Saudi. He and I used to have a good time talking language. Fun times.
My late father used to say England and America were two countries divided by a common language.
.
Tartan seats in german cars have a long history. The 300sl had them. Westfalia vans had them, Porsche used them.
The GTI wasn't breaking any new ground, just carrying on a rather excellent tradition.
irish44j said:I have to say, I initially didn't love the idea of the plaid in my GTI ('18) but now I really love how they look (and they're great seats).
Same with the golf-ball knob. At first I thought it was kind of stupid and looked around for a replacement. But after 15k miles of shifting I really like how it feels on the hand.
I’ve stuck with my ‘10 GTI for so long largely because of how good the seats are. I haven’t found another car with seats that fit me so perfectly. They’re both all day comfortable and supportive in all the right places for when the road bends.
The only flaw my wife has is her hatred of the Clarke cloth seats. We ended up with leather in our GTI. I will survive . . . But as a man approaching 50 I was disappointed to not finally own a VW with tartan.
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