My buddy Ken saw my since-retracted "dibs" post about our 2006 Mazda Miata and gave me a call.
"You don't even like blue cars. You hated my blue CRX. Why would you buy that?" he groused.
"Umm Errr," mumbled I. Then I retorted with some unkind comment about the lameness of his CRX's particular shade of baby blue. But basically, he had me dead to rights.
Driving around this weekend, I stumbled upon The Answer. Traffic was pretty bad, but with the top down I had a really good chance to see all of it. And it wasn't a pretty sight. All the cars out there were varying shades of bland. Black, White, Silver, very dark Green, very dark Blue, de-emphasized Gold. From a distance, the freeway almost looked black and white. Oh sure, there was the odd red. But for the most part, it was pure bláse.
Where is the color? Real colors. Hot wheels colors. The colors VW Beetles used to come in in the 70's. We see decent colors on the press cars we drive, but those don't seem to be the ones that get bought by the public.
What gives? We're not dogs. Our eyes have cones as well as rods.
Now I know why damn near all of my cars have been red. And every time I say I'll never get another red one, the lame choices I see at replacement time lead me right back to red. My favorite Miata color ever was the '91 Yellow one. Had had I been in the market at the time, that's what I would have bought. But that color lasted but one year. Poor sales, I think they said. Lot rot. So my current Miata is red (mostly).
But I like this blue. No really. And not just because it isn't red (although that is part of it).
Dan Edmunds, Director of Vehicle Testing @ 20,444 miles
banhugh says:
06:14 PM, 03/26/07
The reason that the roads are full of silver/grey/black cars is that dealers play it safe and conservative and have stock of only these colors. For some reason most drivers want dark colored cars so the dealers get stock of them. The people who would like a bright color car have to compromise or wait a lot and beg the dealer - pay above MSRP- for a custom order car.
I am so pissed about it. They manufacturers let you build your own dream car based on the colors and accessories you want and then you realize this is not possible to buy because you have to pay and then wait 6 months for the car to arrive. And kiss the dealers bottom for this.
vviley says:
10:55 PM, 03/26/07
it also doesn't help that brightly colored cars carry that awful stigma of attracting undue attention in the form of unwanted tickets - hence, few people w/ any tendency of lead footedness is willing to take the chance
greenpony says:
07:31 AM, 03/27/07
I like my green car. :-) I almost never see another one like it. It doesn't jump out and say "hey cops, look at me!" but it's not so bland that I can lose it in a parking lot of either.
stingray454 says:
08:01 AM, 03/27/07
I wish the automakers would offer chameleon metallic colors. The previous generation Mustang Cobra's Mystic chameleon by PPG was really cool looking, as was the chameleon green-blue offered on the mid 90's Firebird and Camaro.
The boring public just didn't seem to warm up to the interesting chameleon paints, so we're back to plain old boring colors. Boring Camry's painted white, grey, and black. Yawn.
trackwrex says:
08:28 AM, 03/27/07
i absolutely LOVE color. i'd get a lotus in orange or some other bold, primary color. sadly, the way i drive, i'd also get pulled over. well, back to bland to blend... :P
boxermike says:
08:49 AM, 03/27/07
I know a few people who have bought beige (or as ferrari calls it: sandstorm metallic), silver, or otherwise bland colors to "hide the dirt." As they come from the factory looking dull a bit of road grime isn't going to embarrass the (lazy) driver.
Story: When my mother was looking for a new car last year she went to a dealer to find a new, bright, red car. When she arrived at the dealership they didn't have a red one. The dealer went out of his way to convince her that she did not, in fact, want a red car...that what she really wanted to avoid attention and frequent washings was a....wait for it...beige car. That store did not get her money.
ahightower says:
12:14 PM, 03/27/07
It's not that I'm lazy. I take good care of my cars. But my black Yukon XL only looks good for about an hour after it's been washed. Before I had kids, there was plenty of time every weekend to dote over my Mustang. Probably waxed it four times a year. Now reality interferes, and I'd like something that looks better a bit longer. My next family car will certainly be some shade of dust - bronzed tannish sandy misty fog, etc.
boxermike says:
12:55 PM, 03/27/07
Ahightower, you need to start detailing that yukon with Zaino. You do the "big" detail once (maybe twice) a year....in between you can California Duster it or spritz it down with Z6 (drooool) and wipe it shiney in just a few minutes. A good sealant does help keep crud from sticking...and from forcing you to buy a dirt colored car.
crowb says:
02:03 PM, 03/27/07
First Car: Beige '98 Toyota Corolla.
If I'd driven that car another 6 months I would have been elligible for medicare. It made me feel old and boring.
New Car: '07 Honda Fit Sport Blaze Orange Metallic!!!
Love that color! Don't care if it gets dirty, don't care if cops take notice. Its nice to drive something that looks different. And I've notice more orange cars on the road lately. I think more people are starting to get tired of the drab 'ol grays and tans.
Wouldn't trade my car color for anything. And I didn't pay extra to get it. If someone tried to make me do that, I'd walk and take my business elsewhere.
blueguydotcom says:
02:03 PM, 03/27/07
From experience, I'd avoid black and white cars. Third on the list: dark colors like green, blue, gray. My silver gray BMW was the best in terms of keeping clean. You could wash it and 5 days later the car still looked shiny. My current white e90 needs a bath 2 hours after washing it as dust settles on the trunk/back bumper immediately. Same was true of my black cars.
Silvers may be boring but they hold up the appearance of clean longer. Mundane cars (Honda, Mazda, Acura, BMW, MB, etc) it seems more worthwhile to go for the clean look.
That said, I'd still be all over an orange Elise or a yellow 911. Some cars look so damn aggressive with a splash of color that it's worth it. A Miata is worth the effort.
desmolicious says:
02:07 PM, 03/27/07
I loved my Laguna Seca Blue Mcoupe. It was a bright bubblegum blue non metallic colour. I've also seen it on a few 911s.
mcloffs says:
05:13 PM, 03/27/07
The Miata came in Sunburst Yellow in '92.
And if Mazda were to build the PRHT in the Winning Blue of your car (or, better yet, the Laguna Blue of my '94) I'd be at my local dealership ordering one.
actualsize says:
11:32 AM, 03/28/07
Yeah. Thanks for the reminder of the actual name, Sunburst Yellow, and the correct year. The tolerance on my early 90's memory is +/- one year.
desmolicious says:
01:22 PM, 03/28/07
Sunburst yellow! What a great name for that colour! The best at naming their colours has to be Range Rover. While my 330 is Alpine White (an ok effort), Rover's white is Chawton White; and they have other colour descriptions like "Rimini Red Micatallic, Buckingham Blue, Giverny Green". Tip top!
actualsize says:
11:43 AM, 03/29/07
Desmo, you're showing your true colours, old chap.
desmolicious says:
05:16 PM, 03/29/07
Stone the crows, me secret is out guvnor!
mirandarae says:
11:38 AM, 04/12/07
I know what you mean about the bland colors... When I set out to buy my car (06 mustang) I wanted the legend lime green... Unfortunatly I was at the end of the model year and couldnt find a single one that had what I wanted... So I settled on a Silver mustang.. But...Going to give it some color in the form of le mans stripes.
actualsize says:
06:54 AM, 04/17/07
I just came back from a trip to Australia (more on that later) and it seems that they are not afraid of colorful cars down there. In fact they rather like them.
Even a mainstream player like Ford has quite a pallette available. To see the best ones, click on any Falcon XR model.
And check out the names. Try to guess which colors these are:
Fever
Flare
Conquer
Octane
Vixen
Lightning Strike
Seduce
Bionic
DeJaVu
Ego
Neo
Breeze
Hey Ford! How about some color over here, please?
jay_laz says:
05:20 PM, 01/ 7/10
Dan Edmunds wrote, "My favorite Miata color ever was the '91 Yellow one. Had had I been in the market at the time, that's what I would have bought." No, you wouldn't've bought THE 1991 Sunburst Yellow, as it wasn't offered for sale. Only available as a "factory-custom", One-of-a-Kind, Magazine-Cover-Only-Car. Famous in Miata circles. Though "Sunburst Yellow" paint was offered in 1992 as a "factory order", it wasn't very popular then, and only 15xx were manufactured. '92 Sunburst are now considered a "Real" [tm] Special, and highly among Miata cogescenti. 1991? Good luck buying that ONE. It last sold for $21K, and the owner considers himself a "custodian" of a cultural artifact. Let us know how you manage to "Pry His Cold, Dead Hands Off The Car Keys..."