# Car Colors: Then and Now **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 30, 2022, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-colors-then-and-now/975813 "2022-11-30T18:39:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2022, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-colors-then-and-now/975813/41 "2022-12-01T16:25:17Z")
I’ve just ordered a RAV4 and the colors sound really exciting Ruby Flame (an extra $250): Ordinary red Magnetic Grey: It’s just dark grey Lunar Rock: Greyish minty green. I guess it would be cooler if I didn’t see it on a million Ford Escapes five years ago. Blueprint: The only exciting color. Dark blue and shades of purple based on the light going to black in low light. Hugh metallic flakes. So of course the one I ordered. Wife was offered a Tesla that came in before hers (charcoal grey, yawn!) came in. It was white with black trim and black interior. I asked the salesman, “Wouldn’t that be like driving inside a stormtrooper?” ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2022, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-colors-then-and-now/975813/42 "2022-12-01T16:37:22Z")
I notice the Broncos and Mavericks come in some nice retro blues and green. Really nice looking. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2022, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-colors-then-and-now/975813/43 "2022-12-01T16:44:42Z")
I see green paints on the hybrids and electric cars, sometimes, presumably to align with the “eco” branding. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2022, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-colors-then-and-now/975813/44 "2022-12-01T16:46:01Z")
An old neighbor of mine had a car in his driveway he worked on most weekends. He eventually got it running, the bodywork patched up and sanded down, etc. When the time came for paint, he said fuck it and painted it where it sat, using a bucket and a brush. He was careful to keep paint off the glass and chrome, but wow was that an ass-ugly car. ---
**Author:** ![TheCuse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thecuse/32/2854_2.png) [@TheCuse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheCuse)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2022, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-colors-then-and-now/975813/45 "2022-12-01T16:58:31Z")
I’ve got a 2021 Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk. I opted for the Starburst Orange, rather than the black or granite crystal (i.e., grey) one. ---
**Author:** ![SmellMyWort](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SmellMyWort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmellMyWort)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2022, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-colors-then-and-now/975813/46 "2022-12-01T17:00:16Z")
I don’t doubt those statistics at all. I took the OP as referring to the _availability_ of non-drab car color choices. The fact is that with most vehicles you can get a non-grayscale color if you want. People just don’t want them that much. While one of my current vehicles is gray, it’s available in 10 different colors. Every other car I’ve owned has been a shade of red or blue. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2022, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-colors-then-and-now/975813/47 "2022-12-01T17:03:46Z")
> [@SmellMyWort](#): > > The fact is that with most vehicles you can get a non-grayscale color if you want. People just don’t want them that much. True, and, as noted, most new car buyers are now buying a car directly off of their dealer’s lot, rather than ordering a car to spec; even if a particular model is offered in cool/unusual colors, a shopper may have a difficult time actually finding the car in those colors at their local dealer. ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2022, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-colors-then-and-now/975813/48 "2022-12-01T17:16:15Z")
That’s what popped into my head as well! ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2022, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-colors-then-and-now/975813/49 "2022-12-01T17:20:01Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > While droning along on the freeway in semi-thick traffic I love imaging that suddenly all the white cars were Raptured and just disappeared. Try it yourself; you’ll be amazed at how empty the roads would suddenly be. Try the same thing for tan/beige or black or gray. When I visited Japan in the 1980s, nearly all the cars were white. When there was a non-white car in view, it looked strange. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2022, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-colors-then-and-now/975813/50 "2022-12-01T17:22:00Z")
I didn’t put a kid in the car, but my husband was supposed to pick me up somewhere, and I saw what I thought was his silver Civic - and found out it wasn’t when I opened the passenger-side door and someone else was in the driver’s seat. And he wonders why I was so annoyed when he bought the same car same color next time. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2022, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-colors-then-and-now/975813/51 "2022-12-01T17:22:23Z")
Kia Souls seem to come in a lot of interesting colors. Whenever I see a bright orange car on the road, it’s almost always a Kia Soul. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2022, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-colors-then-and-now/975813/52 "2022-12-01T17:24:28Z")
Heh. Did that myself, too, back in high school. My friends had an early 90s gray Mustang 5.0, and what I thought was them was parked along 47th Street. From the back of their heads, it sure as hell looked like them. I slid into the back seat, closed the door, and yelled out “Hey Slav, hey John!” To which two unfamiliar heads turned back. We all paused for a moment. I sheepishly said “whoops, wrong car” and they started yelling at me as I slid right back out and hurriedly crossed the street. This seems to happen to me much more than it should. Lock your cars, people! ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2022, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-colors-then-and-now/975813/53 "2022-12-01T17:55:13Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > When I visited Japan in the 1980s, nearly all the cars were white. When there was a non-white car in view, it looked strange. Here in Arizona white is pretty much the default as well. Even the school buses have white roofs. One co-worker had a black SUV with the plate, AZ OVEN. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2022, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-colors-then-and-now/975813/54 "2022-12-01T19:04:33Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > This explains much of the proponderance of “neutral” hues on cars. What it comes down to in the end is most people _want_ white, silver, beige or gray vehicles, because they’re so much easier to find in parking lots. > > /sarcasm > > When I was looking for a particular model several years ago, I wanted it in the nice shade of blue they were advertising. The only model on the lot with manual transmission (which was also a desired feature) was dark gray. It was discounted and I didn’t want to wait forever for a factory order, so that’s what I wound up with. I think your second paragraph pretty much sums up what’s happening. It’s not that people _want_ the boring colors, but they’re willing to settle for a boring color if the car has all the other features they want and is in the dealer’s inventory, rather than having to wait for a special order. But they’re probably more likely to settle if the car is an “inoffensive” color, not one that some might consider “too flashy”, like the bright blue Mazda @kenobi_65 got a deal on because no one else wanted it. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2022, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-colors-then-and-now/975813/55 "2022-12-01T20:51:30Z")
> [@WildaBeast](#): > > It’s become the norm to buy a car “off the lot” as opposed to making a custom order\*. Decades ago when you bought a new car, you went to the dealer and put in an order specifying the specific options and colors you wanted, the dealer ordered it from the factory, and you took delivery weeks later. I don’t want to start a hijack, but was it really the case that at some time in the U.S. most, or even a large portion of, new cars were ordered from the factory instead of bought out of dealer inventory? Out of the dozen or so cars I’ve owned, only one was bought new, the 2003 350Z I mentioned above, pre-ordered in 2002 before they were released and available at dealerships. AFAIK, no one in my family ever bought a new car before that, so I don’t know what the norm for buying new cars was or is. But I just didn’t imagine that ordering from the factory was a very common practice. Please fight my ignorance. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2022, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-colors-then-and-now/975813/56 "2022-12-01T20:53:40Z")
> [@commasense](#): > > I don’t want to start a hijack, but was it really the case that at some time in the U.S. most, or even a large portion of, new cars were ordered from the factory instead of bought out of dealer inventory? I’ve probably bought 10-12 new cars in my life, starting in 1987. The only one I didn’t buy off the lot was a Tesla. ---
**Author:** ![SuntanLotion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suntanlotion/32/16165_2.png) [@SuntanLotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanLotion)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2022, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-colors-then-and-now/975813/57 "2022-12-01T21:10:10Z")
Was just waiting for a bus at a busy 4 lane street. Hey, let me pay attention and see! Yep. All white, grey, black. 6 red ones, darkish red. About 6 vibrant cerullean blue. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2022, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-colors-then-and-now/975813/58 "2022-12-01T21:20:43Z")
> [@commasense](#): > > I don’t want to start a hijack, but was it really the case that at some time in the U.S. most, or even a large portion of, new cars were ordered from the factory instead of bought out of dealer inventory? I admit I was basing that off of what I have read online and not from any personal experience – the only new car I’ve ever bought was in 2019. But my understanding is that dealerships in the 1950s-60s era were a lot smaller than now. Most of them didn’t have huge lots full of new cars for sale. There was pretty much just a showroom and a few demo cars you could test drive. I think my parents ordered their first minivan from the factory in 1984, but I was really young so I don’t really know for sure. All I remember is that it felt like an eternity from when they decided to buy one to when we actually picked it up from the dealer. That could just have been because minivans were the hot new thing at the time and dealers couldn’t keep them in stock. Or maybe they didn’t actually order it from the factory but just had to have it shipped from another dealer. ---
**Author:** ![Lancia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lancia/32/17174_2.png) [@Lancia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lancia)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2022, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-colors-then-and-now/975813/59 "2022-12-01T21:24:47Z")
My family has 4 cars: 1990 Mercedes 300E: pewter silver 2007 Chevy HHR: burnt copper/orange 2014 GMC Terrain; cherry red 2020 Honda Civic: dark silver. I have never seen another 300E on the road so have no idea how common that color was then. I have seen other HHR’s on the road that are the same burnt orange as the one I have. I have seen other GMC Terrains the same vibrant red color that ours is. And I have seen many Civics the same dark silver as the one I have – indeed, I work with someone who has one. I have to look at the license plates when leaving work to determine which one is mine. My first car was a canary yellow 1975 VW bus. My wife’s first car was a cherry red 1987 Eagle Summit. I have not seen a factory yellow paint job in ~20 years. If I had my way I’d have a British racing metallic green paint scheme. Alas, such was not an option when I bought my Civic; all the other cars were acquired used. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2022, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-colors-then-and-now/975813/60 "2022-12-01T21:27:09Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > I asked the salesman, “Wouldn’t that be like driving inside a stormtrooper?” 😆 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-colors-then-and-now/975813.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-colors-then-and-now/975813.md?page=4)