Cocomats: An Enduring Motoring Accessory Revived Thanks to a Chance Encounter

Paid article presented by CocoMats.

 

What helped define a sports car back in the day? A snarling exhaust, just the right amount of chrome, and a set of cocomats. 

You could have ordered a set of these iconic mats as a factory accessory item from your Porsche, Mercedes Benz or BMW dealer or right out of the Vilém B. Haan catalog advertised in every issue of Road & Track. You just needed to specify the application and color. A heavy-duty vinyl heel pad for the driver came standard. 

Cocomats, as found in the Porsche 356B accessory catalog.

Cocomats, as the name suggests, were woven from coconut fibers. The end result was a long-lasting mat that offered depth, texture and insulation while allowing moisture to circulate–remember, not all cars came fully carpeted back in the day, so these mats might’ve found themselves sitting on top of steel floorboards or a simple rubber mat. 

These cocomats were also self-cleaning, since dirt would simply fall through the material. End result: a rich-looking mat with few, if any, downsides. 

From the ’50s and well through the ’70s, cocomats served as a popular choice. They worked in anything: Benz or Beetle, Morgan or Mini. American or Japanese marque? Cocomats fit well there as well. 

By the middle of the ’90s, however, cocomats had been conscripted to time. An era had ended.

Cocomats: Back by Luck

A stroke of luck in 1996 reintroduced cocomats–all thanks to a shipping snafu. 

Jeff Allwine, an importer of clothing at the time, had ordered a sample shirt from a factory in India. Instead of the shirt he ordered, however, he received a parcel with a sample of woven coconut fibers. 

The contents of that parcel from India were supposed to go to the United Kingdom. Somehow, they landed at Jeff’s California home.

“Well, it was a mistake that I got the cocomat package in the first place,” he explains. “I was supposed to have gotten a sample pique knit shirt from India, and DHL had somehow switched the contents of the package and I received some woven coco matting.”

But–and there’s always one–he continues: “What really got me going and excited is that I was in a Beck/Arnley foreign parts and accessory shop a day after getting the package, and someone walked in and asked if they had any of those coco car mats.”

That encounter triggered a demand switch, he explains, so he did some research: No one was making cocomats at the time, so he contacted Gary Emory from Parts Obsolete–father of Porsche outlaw builder Rod Emory–and bought a couple of old vintage sets to inspect and copy. 

Then Jeff contacted that factory in India: Could they supply more material? 

Jeff launched his own cocomat company–simply named CocoMats.com–later in 1996 but performed a few updates. He added a nibbed rubber backing that helps secure the mats and also stops dirt from going into the carpet. “All you have to do is shake them out or bang them against a tree and all of the dirt comes out and they look like new again,” Allwine explains.

After time in California and then Connecticut, CocoMats.com is now located in Fort Mill, South Carolina, a city with a rich tradition in millworks. 

More Colors, More Offerings

Today’s offerings dwarf those of yesteryear. First, more colors: Back in the ’60s, you had fewer than 10 choices; today, that number tops 20, in a mix of solids and multi-tones. 

“We also send out free swatches of any of our colors so customers can lay the swatches in their interior and make sure it complements their car’s interior,” Allwine explains. He also offers a high-tech option: “We also offer a virtual swatch that can be pulled up on an iPad or tablet and laid on the floor of the car to look at the various colors we offer.”

CocoMats.com isn’t just limited to those coco fibers. Sisal mats are offered as well. These mats are made using fibers from the agave sisalana plant. Compared to cocomats, sisal mats feature a thinner and tighter-woven fiber. 

“Lots of people use the name of coco and/or sisal in talking about cocomats,” Allwine explains. “They are different materials and offer different looks and characteristics and benefits. 

“Coco was the original mat started by Porsche–closely followed by other European can manufacturers–in the late 1940s,” he continues. “These were unbacked and laid over the rubber mat on the floors of their new 356 models and they helped to hide the dirt and add some color to the interiors. For instance, almost all of the earlier interiors were black, so if you had a red 356 and a black interior, you would put in black/red cocomats and that would dress up the car and keep it looking clean. 

“Sisal mats came in the ’70s and were in many cars. In fact, the Porsche that Steve McQueen drove in ‘Le Mans’ and that sold a couple of years ago to the Peterson Museum for over a million dollars had some old, raggedy black sisal mats in it. We had sold cocomats in black-white to the customer who sold it to Peterson Museum, but they had also saved the old sisal mats as well.”

The sisal material can also be woven into a checkered pattern, a look pioneered by BMW in the ’70s for their Campaign of Colors. 

A synthetic sisal, sold by CocoMats.com under the Nylon 6.6 model name, is also offered. “It has sisal look and feel but is a tough synthetic and lasts much longer than natural fibers and can be used in mud and snow conditions and always looks great,” Allwine explains. The CocoMats.com catalog also contains mats made in sea grass, woven vinyl and wool. 

In addition to more materials, more patterns are offered today as well. Custom applications are also possible: Existing ones can be modified as needed, or mats can be created from customer-supplied patterns. Need a cocomat for the cargo hold or as cover for folded-down rear seats? That’s also on the menu. 

Cocomats have been a timeless part of the automotive scene for more than half a century. “It is such a classic look and feel,” Allwine says. “It brings back so many happy memories for people.

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