# Discussion thread for the "Polls only" thread (Part 3) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 29, 2026, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157 "2026-01-29T18:21:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 149
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2026, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/2961 "2026-09-10T04:32:46Z")
We bought my primary vehicle, the 2025 Prius after a lot of searching. Originally, I had put a grand down on the high end version, which was cherry red and had all the features I wanted (natch, they’re ONLY on the top end). This particular model was only 50-60 miles away and they were _supposed_ to just trade it with my dealership. In retrospect, I -could- have called and tried to get it in person… A week later, I noticed the online listing had jumped $4k (!) in price, and confirmed with my dealer that once the trade was done, the original price would be honored. Three more weeks later, we were informed it had been sold above MSRP and my deposit would be returned. 🤷‍♂️ I compromised on the base model - much less expensive, still the PHEV (drivetrain vote), Toyota (reliability), and technically _better_ fuel economy (longer EV only range at 48, and 51/53 MPG) due to it’s smaller wheels and lighter weight. By the time the next order of Prius came to my dealer, there were only two available, one in “premium” pearlescent white, and one in dark gray. Feature wise, basically the same, but I chose the gray because it was almost a grand less (premium WHITE pain, groan!). And because it was a grand less, it kept it under Colorado’s “cheap” EV incentives, which got me another two grand back. IF the EV incentives hadn’t been about to end, I might have waited for other options, all things considered. My vehicle was still working fine, but the nearly $12k in incentives was a powerful motivator, along with knowledge that it was not going to be reconsidered for several more years at a minimum. ---
**Author:** ![pjd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pjd/32/3009_2.png) [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2026, 8:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/2962 "2026-09-10T08:47:07Z")
It’s not so much the colour I care about, more the brightness thereof. I want something unassuming/inconspicuous/understated. I recently bought a new (used) car and the main criteria were price and mileage. When I found the right one, I may have rejected it if it was bright red/yellow or something but it was dull red (crimson / cherry maybe), so acceptable. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2026, 10:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/2963 "2026-09-10T10:53:26Z")
Legit question: does blue paint cost more than white? Is red more expensive than black? I suppose some of the premium colors require some magical ingredient to give them their special-ness, but what about your basic reds and blues, etc.? mmm ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2026, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/2964 "2026-09-10T11:26:05Z")
> [@ParallelLines](#): > > premium WHITE pain, groan!). Was this a typo? If so, it’s a funny one — sounds like an admission of privileged griping! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Bayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bayaker/32/3454_2.png) [@Bayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bayaker)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2026, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/2965 "2026-09-10T11:56:51Z")
> [@pjd](#): > > It’s not so much the colour I care about, more the brightness thereof. > I want something unassuming/inconspicuous/understated. > I recently bought a new (used) car and the main criteria were price and mileage. > When I found the right one, I may have rejected it if it was bright red/yellow > or something but it was dull red (crimson / cherry maybe), so acceptable. Same here - I don’t want to stand out. That said, I would consider an outlandish color if the price was right 🙂 The main criteria for me are: Real 4WD (not AWD) Ground clearance (nothing under 8") Mileage/reliability I drive on the beach a lot and don’t want to get stranded. I have used my tow strap dozens of times to yank a car or small SUV (but it has all wheel drive!) out of soft sand over the years. I also don’t worry too much about minor road flooding every time there’s a thunderstorm. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2026, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/2966 "2026-09-10T12:06:26Z")
> [@Bayaker](#): > > I don’t want to stand out. I kinda do. I want to be able to find my car in the parking lot, or see if my husband has come to pick me up. I used to have a black accord. It looked exactly like sooo many cars (and got too hot. But it was used and the price was right.) I didn’t think anything would be worse than that. But now i drive a white Kia Niro, and there are sometimes 6 cars in the row of parked cars that all look the same to me. I need to look at the plates to recognize my own car. My husband, who also struggles with this, points out that one set of lights has a funky shape, and if i have a good view of them, that helps. But damn. It looks so much like so many cars. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2026, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/2967 "2026-09-10T12:09:02Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > Legit question: does blue paint cost more than white? Is red more expensive than black? > > I suppose some of the premium colors require some magical ingredient to give them their special-ness, but what about your basic reds and blues, etc.? > > mmm I think some of the sparkly colors actually cost a little more. But i think the real cost of a car that has a recognizable color is that someone may decline to buy it, and it will sit on the lot longer. ---
**Author:** ![Thumper668](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thumper668/32/20803_2.png) [@Thumper668](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thumper668)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2026, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/2968 "2026-09-10T12:15:30Z")
I traded in my King’s Red VW Mk 8 GTI in April. I absolutely loved that car for the cool factor and the sheer fun of driving it. The fuel economy didn’t hurt. But it had 2 flaws: I couldn’t find anyone willing to install a trailer hitch to tow my small sailboat, and that model has a glitch with the automatic cruise control sensor that randomly and intermittently throws warnings. I had it fixed 2 years into owning it, but it came back after the car was out of warranty. So I had my ear to the ground for something that would better meet my needs. The 2 primary criteria was a trailer hitch and a manual transmission, which kind of limited my search to Jeep Wranglers and Toyota Tacomas. Then I found a semi-local dealer with a 2-door manual Wrangler that was 5 years old and only had 8K on the odometer. The one drawback was that it was “Snazzberry” - a kind of purplish dark red. The previous owner liked purple cars and only drove the Jeep in the snow because her daily driver was a Dodge Charger. Jeep came out with a true purple Wrangler in 2026 so she traded this one in with almost nothing on the clock. This was a woman for whom color was apparently the primary consideration. I had no such misgivings, so I decided I could live with Snazzberry. It has grown on me. I have a rather long history of making car-buying decisions that don’t make financial sense and cause me to regret them later. This was not one of them. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2026, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/2969 "2026-09-10T16:00:34Z")
I asked the “floor” question after watching [this YouTube video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hE1i8qQvGF8) by GeoWizard, in which he is trying to walk as far as possible surviving only on loose change that he finds on the ground. Except he keeps calling it the “floor”. The first time he said it, I thought it was just a slip of the tongue, but he repeats it over and over throughout the video. I wondered if it was a British usage. Based on the poll, it’s unheard of by US English speakers but apparently used by a minority of British English speakers. I wonder if it is a regional usage. Apparently the YouTuber grew up in Aldridge, West Midlands. ---
**Author:** ![ricepad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b38774/32.png) [@ricepad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ricepad)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2026, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/2970 "2026-09-10T16:03:12Z")
I don’t know about other field sports, but in many countries, the ground is often called ‘the floor’ in football (soccer). ---
**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:** [September 10, 2026, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/2971 "2026-09-10T17:02:04Z")
I picked the criteria I used to select my current car, which you might call my “midlife crisis” car: - Brand reputation / reliability: The main reason I picked a Mazda MX5 Miata over something like a Mini Cooper S or Fiat Spider was specifically Mazda’s reputation for reliability (and those other brands’ lack thereof). - A manual transmission was something I specifically wanted. - Fun factor: I did specifically want a fun, sporty car. The poll only allows three options, but I did also specifically want a convertible, which is why I rejected a more practical “hot hatch” like a VW GTI. And while I didn’t have a specific color in mind, I did want a non-greyscale color so I paid extra for Mazda’s “Soul Red”, which IIRC was the only non-greyscale color they offered at the time. Although I do have to admit the Miata looks pretty good in that dark grey Mazda has. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2026, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/2972 "2026-09-10T17:13:11Z")
I couldn’t really get it down to three or four. But high on the list, and not on the options, are seats that can be adjusted to fit me, and that I need to be able to see well out of the car. I’m a bit shy of 5’2”. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2026, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/2973 "2026-09-10T17:20:14Z")
Yeah, it’s rarely an issue in my household, but “both drivers fit in the car, can reach everything, and can see out” is actually at the top of the list. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2026, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/2974 "2026-09-10T17:53:29Z")
I’ve given up on “can reach everything.” I’ll settle for being able to reach everything I absolutely need to be able to get at without stopping the car. Many designers of assorted things don’t seem to understand that short people are likely to also have short arms. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2026, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/2975 "2026-09-10T18:06:29Z")
I rejected one of the cars i test-drove because the controls were in word places and i was concerned about seeing and reaching them. (And I’m average sized. It was just a weird design choice.) ---
**Author:** ![Common\_Tater](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/common_tater/32/13846_2.png) [@Common\_Tater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Common_Tater)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2026, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/2976 "2026-09-10T19:23:21Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > Legit question: does blue paint cost more than white? Is red more expensive than black? My understanding is, yes. Cherry Red is pricey, but I read somewhere Yellow - the Canary Yellow, is off the charts when it comes to automotive paint. Body work is very expensive now, the labor of course but also the materials. Paint is just damnably expensive in general. Not sure why. Ford offered all the usual color schemes early on, apparently, but when he strove to reduce costs and thus the retail price of his latest models, that’s when “You can have any color you want, as long as it’s black” was born. The black enamel then available was less expensive, and maybe more importantly dried much faster than other colors. He could keep the assembly lines running faster, increasing production. ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2026, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/2977 "2026-09-10T19:38:39Z")
Yes, it was a typo for “WHITE painT”, but that version works far too well! It’s Windchill Pearl or something else similar in name, a three coat layer that results in a more … “sparkly”? white maybe. It’s a freaking white car with a name-based surcharge as far as I’m concerned. ---
**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:** [September 10, 2026, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/2978 "2026-09-10T19:56:14Z")
> [@Common\_Tater](#): > > Ford offered all the usual color schemes early on, apparently, but when he strove to reduce costs and thus the retail price of his latest models, that’s when “You can have any color you want, as long as it’s black” was born. The black enamel then available was less expensive, and maybe more importantly dried much faster than other colors. He could keep the assembly lines running faster, increasing production. And interestingly, in that era white automotive paint was actually very expensive, so white cars were very uncommon before about the mid-1950s. I find that interesting given how common white cars are today. > **[Automotive History: The Long Road To The White Car (Part 1) - Curbside Classic](https://www.curbsideclassic.com/automotive-histories/automotive-history-the-long-road-to-the-white-car-part-1/)** > > There is no doubt that automotive paint colors have come and gone through the years, and that the modern selection is not what it once was.  The modern staples of \[…\] ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2026, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/2979 "2026-09-11T04:31:32Z")
> [@WildaBeast](#): > > I find that interesting given how common white cars are today. Many fleet cars are white, maybe skewing the statistics. I liked that cite, thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2026, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/2980 "2026-09-11T17:01:13Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > I live in the desert, and dark-colored vehicles are miserable in the summer. Doesn’t interior color play a bigger part in that than exterior color? I didn’t buy a vehicle in my #1 color choice because that exterior only came with a black interior, I went with # 2 exterior color so I could get the tan/beige interior which isn’t as hot in the summer sun. I _never_ want to own a black or white car as they both show every little spec of dirt much worse than any other car color. I think it’s a self-fulfilling prophecy by the automakers - black & white are the most common colors sold; yeah because you offer those in every trim level. I really want the [blue] but I’m not spending $8000 to get it because you only offer it two trim levels up from the model I otherwise want. Current car is maroon, which as pointed out above, is not the same as red. Colors change depending upon sex & species… [![](https://i.pinimg.com/736x/cc/18/08/cc1808d1ca3a75271a044ff448c3c340.jpg) ](https://i.pinimg.com/736x/cc/18/08/cc1808d1ca3a75271a044ff448c3c340.jpg) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157.md?page=148) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157.md?page=150)