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Learn more at wellsfargo.com/activecash. [MUSIC PLAYING] Welcome to the Total Car Score podcast, bringing you the world of cars from inside the car. And now your hosts, Carl Brower, Lauren Fix, and Javier Mota. [MUSIC PLAYING] This is the Total Car Score podcast live from Italy. I'm Lauren Fix. Javier is in Jackson Hole with Carl. And I am here with a good friend of the podcast, Al Vasquez. From Al Vasquez TV, make sure to follow him. Most of his content is Spanish, but sometimes he does some non-Spanish. Say hello, Al. Hello, hello from Italy. It's a great pleasure to be here today. You know, it's funny. We travel all over the world, but this was something a little different. We came to Milan to do a deep investigation to the truth about interiors on cars, because you're being lied to. You're being given all these silly, made-up names for interiors to make you think you're buying something you're not, and we're here to expose the truth. So Al and I spent quite a bit of time in Naples where one of the original tanneries were in Pompeii. And then we traveled to Milan to the Linna Pieli show to learn about leather and meet some leather experts. So I guess the question is, Al, what do we learn about interiors besides the fact that we're being lied to? Well, I was fooled for a long time. Every time I went to a car presentation, and they introduced me to these fancy new names for leather, as something that they were doing for the environment and how old it was. And now I feel like a fool after learning that it was all lies, that it's not real, that it's even worse, because it's plastic, chemicals, with fumes and everything. I hope from now on, I don't want to take that anymore from any car company. When I see it, now I know how to see it, I recognize it. And it's going to be different from now on. I was part of the people that were fooled by it. I was fooled as well. They used names like Softtechs, and NewLucks, and Telalux, SoftSense. I mean, they got a bunch of silly names, including Alcantara. And I know that we all hear these names and go, wow, that sounds really luxurious, and it feels luxurious. The truth is, it is plastic. It's made of derivatives of oil that come out of the ground. So if you're trying to use less oils, having plastics makes no sense. But then on top of that, they're using all kinds of chemicals to make these plastics have color and depth to them and feeling, and the fact is you're breathing in all these microparticles. And now all these health issues are coming up that you're sitting on them, it goes through your skin, and you're breathing this when you think that new car smell, it's really off-casting from those plastics. None of that is true when it comes to leather. - I'm really happy that we went back 2,000 years to see tanneries that were used back then because leather has been with us before fabrics. So for now on, well, I'm going to visit another one as we can believe you. And all this knowledge that I'm acquiring is fantastic. Even yesterday, we went into a store that I saw a leather jacket and it turns out, it's not leather, it's fake. And wow, for me, this learning curve, like I said, is something brand new, but I'm very happy that I did it, that I'm doing it, that I'm learning from it. And it's fantastic because it's actually a really big chain that they throw away more than a million heights every year. Not used because car companies and other companies, because it's not only car companies, it's everybody making fake leather. It's not recyclable. It's not recyclable, it's saying that in school for the environment, and the good one, they throw it away. So this is something that has to be, you know, taking care of and has to be advertised by people like us. So it stops happening. - Right, I think the education that we got here was quite dramatic. I mean, we all see these beautiful interiors. We drove in Alfa Romeo from Milan up to Lake Como. You can check that out on Al's channel as mine. We had lunch, we're driving back now as we speak, and we keep talking about the fact that we feel that we've been tricked, and you've been tricked. Everyone has, because when you ask questions like, what is Napa leather? So in my video that I used to cover this show, we met with a guy who goes by the name of Tanner Leatherstein, and Ben Geisler was there, and Yosifoko was there, and Katie was there. There's a whole bunch of leather experts, and we learned right from them, and they know not just about interiors, but clothing, and purses, and shoes, and when we left there, it's almost overwhelming how many lies they've been telling us. And in Italy, as in the EU, in Europe, they now have laws that say you can't say it's leather, unless it truly is leather, and the fact that it comes from a cow who eats grass, who eats grains, that's more vegan than what supposedly the name vegan leather, which is really plastic. So we've all been tricked, and I wanna educate as many of you as possible, because if you look at a car from the 50s, the leather interiors are still perfect. You look at anything from the 90s that has vinyl interior, it's all broken up, and basically it goes in the garbage. - Well, you have a jacket that is like 30 years old, and it looks fantastic. Now, I don't think our companies will mind using leather. They've been pressured by environmentalists, and by laws, and by politicians not to do it, and to go the other way, because I bet they would love to see leather in their beautiful cars. Tesla, for example, or any other brand that I-- - He used to have leather. He stopped carrying it because one of their investors was asked about vegan leather, and so he said, well, there's no such thing. - There's no such thing. - So we'll use plastic, and we'll tell you it's vegan, but the fact is, that is this fossil fuels work. Cows are certainly greener, because those hides, or they grow the cow, they milk the cow, do you eat the meat, and the hides have value, and throwing those away is horrible. Think about how many water bottles get thrown away in the garbage? Well, that won't be the case when it comes to these hides, 'cause they get reused. - Well, I hear that it takes one million water bottle to replace one square meter or leather. That's a lot, that's an impressive number. And knowing, you know, that water bottles are full of plastic that will never go away. - Right, plastic will always be plastic, where leather will always be sustainable, and these are things that I think that people forget about, and next time you're at a dealer, any dealer, or even there, Chase, see, that we go through the tow booth, and she goes, "Oh, are you over there?" She wouldn't you pay. That means they've taken your money. Part of the fun of being here in Italy, and all the nannies they have on these cars, if you don't have your seatbelt on, well, this guy's coming right over on you. Geez, Louise. (laughing) - Welcome, welcome. - Welcome to Italy. (laughing) - I know. - That's funny. So, next time you're at a dealership, anything, you're looking at a used car, a new car. Feel the interior, there's ways to know what's real leather and what's not. Part of it is like your skin. When you push on it, it has natural wrinkling. It smells like leather. It feels like leather. Don't go by feel alone, because you'll probably be tricked, because leather may cost a bit more, and it shouldn't. It actually should be less expensive, 'cause there's millions of hides that could be used in the used car for cars, for jackets, they use sheep, for gloves, they use pig, and then we got to see some exotic materials, too. - Oh my God, we saw pythons. - We saw all kinds of leather, which are koalas, which are fantastic, and the way they make them, when you touch them, you go like, wow, because all this, we're consuming more meat than ever before in the world. So, that's not gonna stop. And the fact that we can use every part of the cow, or whatever animal it is. - Alligator, yeah. - Alligator is good, because it's not been thrown away. Everything is being used. The alligator, they use everything. Nothing goes to waste. - From the teeth to the tails. - From the teeth to the tails. - Yeah, everything, and fantastic. In Miami, where I live, I go to the upper glades, and I try alligator, and the meat is fantastic. I'm glad they're using the skins, because they are really fancy, you know? - Right, and they've also made it very sustainable. There's companies out there that are actually breeding the alligators, so that they're not taking them down to being extinct, but they're actually replenishing them back into the environment, keeping a nice eco-balance. They're not doing that with plastics, that's for sure. They're taking fossil fuels, and they're putting in plastic bottles. You're breathing in little pieces of plastic. You're sitting on it, it's not good for us, it's not good for the environment. So, we learned a lot, and I don't call myself an environmentalist, but boy leather is a smarter choice. - Well, my guy, now, every time I see sneakers or shorts, even both types of clothes, make of water bottles. I'm not buying that ever again in my life. When I see that, I'm gonna stay away from it. It's not good for you. - No, it's not good for you. And you're breathing these fumes, and you know that it's never gonna go away. It's gonna get thrown to the garbage and stay there for millions of years. You know how many? - Yeah. So, I was watching Italian TV in the hotel room, and they had all these experts on talking about all these plastic protocols that people are breathing, and what it's doing in the environment. So, it sounds to me like there's about ready to be a turn for people to realize that using natural solutions, like leather, which you said, was around, been around longer than fabric. - I'm happy that I'm gonna be mentioning this in all my videos every time I see it on the car. Like, I'm sitting right now on a beautiful car. - It's an Alfa Romeo Julia. - Yeah, and I'm sitting on the red beautiful, whatever it is, that is not leather. And it looks good. It will give them better with leather on it. - Oh my God, if this was real red leather, it'd be a big tag, it'd be like sitting in a glove. But it's not. And so, these are the kind of things you need to know. Yes, it costs a bit more, and it shouldn't, actually. 'Cause the plastics cost more for the environment and to you. And they have to be made in China in many cases. Leather is being tanned all over the world. The number one leather tannery for interiors of cars is in Mexico. They wanna be close to where cars are being built in North America. There's some in the US, there's some in Canada as well. And they also have some near factories like Bentley, where they use Napa Leather, or near Rolls Royce, who raises their own cows, not letting them near any fences, or there's no fencing. 'Cause they want these cows to have no damage to their hides. - There are some perfect hides. - Yes. - I'm happy because I'm, well, first of all, I'm gonna have a real wallet made, beautiful red wallet. - Oh, yes, tanner leather styling, dude. - And a leather style is gonna make it. But the fact that Mexico is the number one market for character is fantastic. I'm gonna visit Bolivia, hopefully we'll go to Mexico and see how it is and how it works, and make people conscious about it, because nobody's talking about this. - This is the first time. - Not for characters at all. - Not at all, not at all. - You might hear it in fashion, you might hear about it in other things, but we didn't realize how big this industry is. And there's a leather used in a lot of places or should have leather being used instead of plastics. So don't be tricked. We really wanted you to be aware of what's going on, what we're doing here in Italy. And honestly, I'm super impressed with what we learned. And we started in Naples at Pompeii. We made our way up to Milan. It's a three-day trade show. If you're into making things, they sold everything here. - We saw so many beautiful pieces of leather. I've never seen this in my life. And the way it's made of natural smell, like no chemicals. We visited this tannery and we saw how they tainted and they're trying to use plants and olive branches to stay away from the chemicals. This is so fantastic. I think it's going on the right way. And hopefully, things are once I shake it. - So as far as what we learned here in Italy, there's a lot of fake interiors. Don't be tricked by the names. Ask questions. And if a salesperson tries to make you feel like you don't know what you're talking about, say, I want to know, I want you to look at what you show me that the real world word is leather. And not just leather-seeding surface 'cause it's only in the center cushion. The rest is plastic. So make sure to do your homework. And Elle has a ton of content on his channel at Elvaska's TV. I have a lot online at car coach reports, also my social media at Lauren Fix. And we appreciate the invitation from Unich, which is the leather industry here in Italy. And we'll continue to be reporting out from-- - You're going to Bolivia, that-- - I'm going to Bolivia, this is the tannery there in Bolivia, which I had no idea there was one there. So that will be an experience for me this week. - Yeah, I'm really looking forward to hearing more from Elle on that. I'll bring Elle back on to talk about it. Thanks so much for listening to us. Make sure to like and subscribe. You can find Carl Brower at K-A-R-L Brower, B-R-A-U-E-R on social media. Javier is at Javier Mota. I'm at Lauren Fix, and Elle Vasquez is at Elle Vasquez TV. Thanks so much for listening. Make sure to like and subscribe. Have a good day. - Thank you for listening. For more, check us out online at totalcarscore.com. With the Wells Fargo Active Cash Credit Card, you can earn unlimited 2% cash rewards on purchases you want and purchases you need. That means you earn 2% cash rewards on what you want, like season tickets to watch your favorite team and 2% cash rewards on what you need, like paying for parking. That's the beauty of the Active Cash Credit Card. It's ready when you are with unlimited 2% cash rewards. The Wells Fargo Active Cash Credit Card, that's real life ready. Terms apply. Learn more at wellsfargo.com/activecash. Thank you for listening to Elle Muevo iPhone 16 Pro on AT&T NextUp Anytime. It's been a long time ago. It's been a long time ago and it's been a long time ago. It's been a long time ago and it's been a long time ago. It's been a long time ago and it's been a long time ago. It's been a long time ago and it's been a long time ago. On AT&T NextUp Anytime, it's been a long time ago and it's been a long time ago. 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