One of the great on-the-road ironies is that while you're sitting comfortably in your car seat, the seat itself is having to stand up to a tremendous amount of abuse. Dirty clothes, wet swimsuits, spilt drinks, kids snacking in the backseat, slobbering pets, seat friction and harsh sunlight all have the potential to ruin and wear out your great looking seats. And if something terrible has befallen your interior, a complete reupholster will cost you dearly.

The days of worrying about permanently staining your car seats or of being embarrassed by ripped, tattered and unkempt upholstery are close to being over. With the right set of seat covers, you'll be able to:

• Proactively protect your upholstery from a dizzying array of hazards

• Cover over existing damage rather than having to reupholster your seats

• Make over your interior to suit your tastes and lifestyle

Seat Cover Proactive Protection Reference

There are certain "high-traffic" areas in your vehicle that seem predestined to receive a lot of punishing use. Your carpets are constantly being trampled by dirty shoes, your steering wheel is being throttled non-stop by oily hands and your seats are always besieged by a steady onslaught of abuses. While the only surefire way to safeguard your seats is to stop driving your vehicle, that solution just isn't practical. Dressing your seats with a pair of form-fitting, protective seat covers is just as good, and this solution won't force you into riding public transportation either.

Your car seats face a number of perils, including:

Moisture

Whether you're driving home from an outing at the local pool, a kayaking trip or an endless summer's day of surfing, the moisture in your clothing can lead to serious problems for your upholstery. Moisture is especially problematic for residents of the drizzly Pacific Northwest and other wet zones. Leather's worst enemy is water. When it gets wet, it becomes tacky to the touch - a sign that the leather's natural oils are being washed out. Cloth seating is also prone to damage from moisture. When water seeps into factory-installed fabrics, it can fester and grow into ugly, stinky, disgusting mold. Never fear; our seat covers come in a wide selection of materials with varying degrees of water resistance to protect your interior.

Spills and Grime

No one plans on fumbling a 40 ounce beverage right into their lap while barreling down the freeway, but it happens. As drinks keep getting larger and larger, the potential damage keeps growing and growing. Besides sticky sodas and scalding coffees, on-the-go meals are a car seat's worst nightmare. That overstuffed burrito hanging out of your jaws is like a Sword of Damocles, looming disastrously over your upholstery and threatening a permanent stain with every succulent chomp. Not to mention soiled clothing, tracked-in mud and salty back sweat. Luckily, a snug set of seat covers will bear the brunt of any spillage and grime you can toss at it.

Kids and Pets

Nothing's quite as adorable as the mesmerized look of a toddler who's discovering the sweet, luscious delights of his or her first birthday cake. At the same time, that image of a child's tiny digits grabbing chunks of chocolate cake by the fist-full and smearing it over every square inch of their upper body should remind us that kids are just as messy as they are cute. And, while you can easily mop away accidents in your kitchen, it becomes a huge hassle when it happens in your back seat. The same goes for your furry, four-legged co-pilot. Not only does slobber leave white-bordered saliva stains, hair clings to everything and is a nightmare to remove. Plus, their sharp little talons can rip, tear and gouge your upholstery, especially leather. However, the right set of seat covers will shield your seats from the messes that children and pets inevitably create.

Friction

While getting in and out of your vehicle may seem like a harmless operation, it is, in fact, putting a lot of stress on your seats. Like sandpaper on a jagged block of wood, the texture of your clothing grates against the texture of the upholstery (leather and cloth alike). This constant friction between your body and your seat steadily grinds away at your upholstery. As time passes, the strength of the leather or fabric starts to wane, and it will eventually start becoming threadbare, torn and split. Of course, this pitiful fate can easily be avoided with a quality set of seat covers.

UV Damage

Just because every form of life on Earth is dependent on the sun for its existence doesn't mean that solar rays aren't a mixed blessing. Too much sun exposure is not healthy for our skin, and it certainly is harmful to our upholstery. Leather is especially susceptible to sun damage because UV radiation dries out the natural oils in the leather. Without these oils keeping things moist, the leather will eventually start to crack. Cloth upholstery is also in danger. Direct sunlight on your fabrics has a bleaching effect. Where once your seats were dark blue or black, an overdose of ultra violet radiation will leave your seats looking purple or ashen. Since you can't always park in the shade, you can give yourself year-round protection with a snazzy set of seat covers.

A Guide to Covering Your Damaged Seats

Sometimes bad things happen to good upholstery. If the interior of your vehicle has suffered some cruel twist of fate (a leaky pen left lying in the backseat, or a torn seam that's threatening to unravel completely), you have the ability to rejuvenate your vehicle's seats without having to go through the hassle of a complete reupholster job. Instead of calling up your dealer and shelling out an arm and a leg for new seats, you can simply slide a new set of seat covers directly over the old ones. No muss, no fuss-just great looking seat covers that fit like a glove.

There are three different types seat covers, a custom fit, semi-custom fit and universal fit. Let's take a closer look at the benefits you get with each style.

Custom Fit Seat Covers

Just as an Armani suit is properly measured, cut and stitched to fit the unique shapes and contours of the wearer, so too is a custom fit seat cover meticulously designed for a precise fit over your seats. No part of your particular vehicle's seat is forgotten or overlooked - not the position of the head rest, nor the location of the seat's ergonomic controls, nor even where your seatbelts are mounted. Everything is taken into consideration, and these made-to-measure seat covers will fit like they were factory-installed. Moreover, custom fit seat covers will not obstruct your seat's side-impact airbags, so you'll be just as secure as before, only with better looking and better protected upholstery.

Semi-Custom Fit Seat Covers

While a tailor-made suit fits your body to a T, off-the-rack clothing still looks and feels great, and you usually have enough left over for a matching shirt and tie. Semi-custom fit seat covers are the economical alternative to the tailored suit. They are stitched together following patterns that will work with your vehicle's seats as well as with similarly sized seats in other cars, trucks and SUVs. Except for the 3 Star Semi-Custom Sheepskin Seat Cover, semi-custom fit seat covers do not leave access to lumbar controls, and they should not be used if you have side-impact airbags on your vehicle. Nevertheless, they deliver fantastic protection against the whole gamut of seating hazards.

Universal Seat Covers

Like the name implies, universal seat covers fit any high-back and low-back bucket seat, regardless of your year, make or model. Rather than being used as long-term coverings, our universal seat covers are a perfect companion in your vehicle for when life gets a little messy. They install in seconds, so you can slip them on when you need them and store them away in your trunk when you don't. Like the semi-custom seat covers, the universal seat covers should not be used on seats with side-impact airbags.

Tips On Making Over Your Interior

Your vehicle is more than just a means of transportation - it is an extension of your identity, your personality and your uniqueness. You want your vehicle to mirror yourself, and the right set of seat covers is an excellent way to personalize your interior. And, with all the different colors, patterns and materials at your disposal, you have an almost limitless array of ways to customize your car seats.