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I have been searching for a car for my new job, and one thing that sticks out is the boring selection of colors out there. A quick google search shows a lot of other people asking why the colors are so boring, too. Almost every company I look at--high end, low end--all have white, silver, dull blue, and grey. Maybe black, and if they're super adventurous, a dark red. The only answers I can find online are demand-related or resale-related, but I don't believe it. I'm guessing it's just cheaper to paint these colors for some reason. Have you noticed this, too? Do you desire a color not on the bland menu? I miss colorful cars.

fade said:

The only answers I can find online are demand-related or resale-related, but I don't believe it.

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You should believe it. A majority of americans are dull. And they want a car that reflects that shining personality.

And I can't count the number of times I've heard that people say they don't want bright/unusual colors because it attracts police.

Mazda seems to be unloading quite a few of this combo, though. Very surprising.

My old Wrangler was lime green. I think they have a Mango Tango Orange color available for them now.

The King of boring car colors is Subaru. The only thing that stands out as awesome at all is the deep blue or blood red on the WRX.

Vagabond said:

Mazda seems to be unloading quite a few of this combo, though. Very surprising.

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I'd buy that.

Need Joker colors.

I've been amazed at all of the eggshell base colors, mint-eggshell, extremely pale blue-eggshell, lime-eggshell. Some cars can get away with non-metallic paint, but this eggshell bs has got ta' go.

fade said:

http://www.theautochannel.com/news/2005/10/27/146637.html

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I'd like to know if any of that came to pass. Silver, white, and black still reign supreme in my opinion.

Love that Americans pick duller colors, but with sparkles!

My parents bought a Citroen DS3, it had 11 colour choices but also patterns and colour combos (roof different from body). I suppose it depends heavily on the level of car, I imagine the higher end cars aren't in big demand for odd colours so the sellers don't bother offering it.

Seraphyn said:

My parents bought a Citroen DS3, it had 11 colour choices but also patterns and colour combos (roof different from body). I suppose it depends heavily on the level of car, I imagine the higher end cars aren't in big demand for odd colours so the sellers don't bother offering it.

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Because after all, who wants everyone to think their penis is purple or green, am I right?

Mostly its because car companies have decades of data that shows that if they can only produce 5 standard colors for a given model, then the ones that will sell the most are (ta-da!) the ones they choose as standard.

There are other factors though.

- Making a paint that will last for 10+ years is actually a very interesting (and difficult) problem. The sun is a harsh mistress.
- Making a paint that is easy to apply in few coats with little waste with the above property is challenging.
- Making a paint that is cheap with the above properties is not trivial.

But, honestly, it's like buying a house. You don't walk away from the house because the carpet is shag - you can change it for a small fraction of the cost of the house.

If you have a particular color you want, buy the car with the interior you like, then go get a paint job. A cheap one will last for years, and should be under $1,000. If you're buying a new car you're already looking at $15k-$30k, and an extra $1k for your preferred paint job is only a big deal if you really aren't interested in getting exactly what you want.

You may even be able to get the dealer to do it for you if you play your cards right.
Added at: 20:02
But what you should do is pay $15k for a shimmering holographic paint job.

Those cars look sweet. Photographs don't do it justice.

Or you can any color Jeep and not give a shit about the color because the only good color on a Jeep is dirt and mud.

stienman said:

Mostly its because car companies have decades of data that shows that if they can only produce 5 standard colors for a given model, then the ones that will sell the most are (ta-da!) the ones they choose as standard.

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I mean, I thought of this (I mentioned it in the OP), but it immediately struck me as a chicken/egg situation. People buy the 5 standard colors because those are the most common colors. I know I've done it several times now. Do that for decades, and the dealerships get decades of data saying the colors that sell are the 5 standards.

I'm happy if I can AFFORD a car... worrying about color can come when I'm in the black.

fade said:

I mean, I thought of this (I mentioned it in the OP), but it immediately struck me as a chicken/egg situation. People buy the 5 standard colors because those are the most common colors. I know I've done it several times now. Do that for decades, and the dealerships get decades of data saying the colors that sell are the 5 standards.

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I feel the same way about manual transmission. Almost NO cars in the US are ordered with that option (or the automatic is ordered as the option). The rationale that the dealer suggested to me is because there's market analysis that Americans don't buy manual transmission cars, but who's to say that's not merely because the car dealerships don't order manual transmission cars in equal numbers because there's market research that shows that Americans don't buy manual transmission cars...

My theory is that automatic transmission options tag on 1000 bucks to the car price, so the dealers just order it knowing the American public will buy it anyway.

When we bought our cars color was not part of the reason we bought them. When I purchased my SUV I would have preferred blue. I got a silver one because it was on the lot, it had all the options I wanted, and the price was right. The same thing happened when my husband got his car. We would have preferred a different color (deep red), but ended up with silver since it was either that one or a black one on the lot.

Chrysler needs to bring back the NEON... but make it a better car this time.

Mathias said:

I feel the same way about manual transmission. Almost NO cars in the US are ordered with that option (or the automatic is ordered as the option). The rationale that the dealer suggested to me is because there's market analysis that Americans don't buy manual transmission cars, but who's to say that's not merely because the car dealerships don't order manual transmission cars in equal numbers because there's market research that shows that Americans don't buy manual transmission cars...

My theory is that automatic transmission options tag on 1000 bucks to the car price, so the dealers just order it knowing the American public will buy it anyway.

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I've found that a manual transmission is only available on the low end model or the high end. When I was looking into getting a Ford Focus my only 2 options for a manual was the very bottom of the barrel or the Sport class V6.

I bought a Hyundai.

I keep looking for the smallest of the full-sized pick-ups. I want a normal cab, short bed (6-7 foot), small V-8 with a manual. They no longer exist.

I recently saw a Camaro on the road that was a vivid green (apparently the color is called Synergy Green) with black stripes. It looked awesome. The Camaro doesn't look as good in the metallics, but the Corvette looks good in EVERYTHING.

Of course, the more you can spend for a car, obviously the wilder color options you have, unless you drive a Ferrari, in which case you go with Ferrari Red.

I really need to stop watching shows about supercars that are way out of any price range I'll ever be in.

Null said:

I recently saw a Camaro on the road that was a vivid green (apparently the color is called Synergy Green) with black stripes. It looked awesome. The Camaro doesn't look as good in the metallics, but the Corvette looks good in EVERYTHING.

Of course, the more you can spend for a car, obviously the wilder color options you have, unless you drive a Ferrari, in which case you go with Ferrari Red.

I really need to stop watching shows about supercars that are way out of any price range I'll ever be in.

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Nothing wrong with Top Gear.

Also the Tesla Roadster comes in a color called "Very Orange."

I know I'll never have a true super car, but when I can establish a home for myself with a good 2-car garage, I am going to build myself a kit built club-racer. For $18,000 you can build a car that will blow the doors of any but the fastest of Porches. You will still give those a run for their money.

Which kit are you looking at shaker? The dull car colors, since people everywhere are just as dull as they are in the U.S thank you vagabond, are simply there because you can sell more cars that way. Jeep has their orange, Mazda has that green, the upcoming Focus ST comes in a tangerine metallic and most performance cars (at nearly any point in the economic strata) will offer some interesting color choices. You can get a Camaro with V6 or V8 in that metallic green or bright yellow. I love Corvettes and raced many in the past but will disagree with whomever said they look good in anything and will ask you to think back to some of the off-cream and shit brown colors and vomit yellow hues that you could so many cars in during the 60s through the 80s including Porsches, Corvettes and BMWs. More interesting and better color combinations are on the way, or you could always factor a good paint job into your budget and come out with exactly what you want. Mini has some interesting choices, or you could got for a 1 Series M Coupe! http://www.bmwusa.com/Standard/Content/Vehicles/2011/M/1SeriesMCoupe/default.aspx
There are even variations on those standard colors, my silver M3 has this subtle blue tint to it and I really love the color and car. Yours is out there, good luck finding the right car!

http://www.bruntonauto.com/

A Lotus Super 7 kit. That is mainly designed to use S-10 V-6 mechanicals. There are some other options like the Super-Charged V-6 from the Bonneville.

Because that way, when the auto company comes out with their next high-margin product, they can offer it in a bold, exciting color and demand for it will spike just because of the color, which will therefore make the auto company a higher percentage of profit.

--Patrick

Do you guys remember the Forrest Green Fad in the 90's?

When a car company finds a color that is new, different and tests well with the customers... they will produce millions of cars in that color.

Silver Frost Metallic is the new fad, you did not see many cars of that color 10 years ago. But now they are about a third of the cars on the streets.

You know, I was actually thinking about this last night when I was driving home. I know I said that I hate this egg-shell crap when it comes to auto-paint, but there were two cars side-by-side on the road, both of them white. One was the new white with the new paint formula, the other was only a couple years old, but it was like watching one of those cheesy laundry detergent commercials - which detergent gets your socks whiter - it was blatantly obvious that the new white was whiter. <shrug> Maybe there's something to this new paint after all. Does kinda suck that there are only 5 colors though.

What I meant was that the new Corvettes - the Z-06 and ZR-1 - look good in the current array of offered colors. And I was mistaken - the ZR-1 doesn't look great in the Inferno Orange Metallic. In the 80's there were a lot of ugly colors on Corvettes.

Null said:

What I meant was that the new Corvettes - the Z-06 and ZR-1 - look good in the current array of offered colors. And I was mistaken - the ZR-1 doesn't look great in the Inferno Orange Metallic. In the 80's there were a lot of ugly colors on Corvettes.

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The new 'Vettes I will totally agree, great colors except for that particular orange!

sixpackshaker said:

http://www.bruntonauto.com/
A Lotus Super 7 kit. That is mainly designed to use S-10 V-6 mechanicals. There are some other options like the Super-Charged V-6 from the Bonneville.

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That is one wicked Super 7 kit and update! Bet that would be fun to race!

Want a car colour with a lot of energy?

Try ultraviolet.

The Mazda 3 and Mazda 6 look real good in red - Velocity Red for the 3 and Sangria Red for the 6, but they're pretty much the same color.

Honestly, the Mazda 3 will probably be the first new car I ever buy.