leather failure etc.

Well this might be a topic that's been discussed before, but not in a while...and DEFINITELY NOT BY ME.

What's the general opinion of the durability of the leather seats?

I've noticed that in the creases that develop over time in the lower seat bolsters, the actual ebony color is flaking off! The creases are not bugging me, (they add character) just the fact that the undyed leather is starting to show through...nice, real nice.

This reaffirms my opinion that the leather is not tanned or dyed to the kind of standard one would expect on a $40K vehicle.

And while I'm on a rant, has anyone got any complaints regarding the incredibly non-scuff resistant plastic chosen for the interior panels?
My dash has permanent scuffs from LIGHT contact from a passenger's shoe while crossing her legs. The door panels have scratches from incidental contact with my FINGERNAILS (I'm a guy...and keep 'em trimmed short).

And of course we don't have to mention the disaster on the plastic where the seat belt buckle contacts the pillar when retracted! I can't imagine what kids could actually do to this car.

What were the Honda engineers thinking? My last vehicle, an '89 Dodge Caravan w/5-sp turbo (cool car) lasted 12 years in my care and had NO visible scratches AT ALL on the interior surfaces. That's value. And I could get 20mpg while towing my boat!

All this and more, but of course I knew that first year vehicles were something of a crap shoot, so I have no one to blame but myself for my impatience...still love the handling, performance, heater/ac, most of the looks etc...
mister c