When did color fall out of favor?

[StevenGuthmiller]

Nothing like the colors available in the 20s-30s... and then again in the 50s-60s. Those two eras were the best when it came to tons of cool colors available.

I agree 100%.

And the number of colors offered were huge compared to today.

The late 60s & early 70s cars offered a large array of colors as well.

I believe there were nearly 30 paint color options available for the '70 Plymouths for example.

Now you're lucky if you get 6 or 8.

 

Steve

[StevenGuthmiller]

Some of us actually like the color.  My dad's favorite car ('59 Chevy Belair) was silver.  He bought it used, so the color wasn't a choice for him. 

I've only bought three go-to-work/daily driver vehicles since 1979.  The first one ('79 AMC Spirit GT) was ordered as opposed to bought off the lot.  After looking over other new and used AMC cars on the lot, I went with silver.  I didn't want black.  Dark color cars look great when they're clean...trouble is, they're never clean.  I looked at three/four year old AMC cars...the red ones were fading, the white ones looked rough, like the finish on a refrigerator (no, AMC didn't still own Kelvinator by then).  Thinking about my dad's '59 Chevy, I went with silver and never regretted it.  I'd like to have another one of those cars.

Next up, an '88 Dodge Dakota.  Those trucks were just taking off sales-wise when I wanted to buy one.  The dealer I went to had only two on the lot.  They offered me a better deal if I'd order one and wait for it.  They did a search for one with the options I wanted; the only one they found was midnight blue.  No thanks.  Now I've got to order the thing, may as well get the color I want.

In 2004 I bought another Dakota.  Again, they only had a few on the lot, all four wheel drive/extended cab monstrosities in the high twenties price range.  I knew what I wanted, again had to order it.  I initially chose a metallic beige just to be a little different this time.  Oh no, that color is only available on the extended cab models.  Again, they did a search for a truck with identical equipment.  I was willing to take one in metallic blue, or maybe white, but all they could find was a black one.  No thanks, I'll order it and wait for it.  I actually do like silver.  

My other car ('62 Fairlane 500) is metallic brown.  I don't think you could have gotten that car in silver, and I wouldn't think of painting it silver...it just wouldn't look good.

I like silver, but when it's 4 of the 8 color choices offered by a manufacturer, it's a kind of overkill.

 

Steve

[SfanGoch]

 

That reminds me of the old Wendy's "Soviet Fashion Show" ad

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFaIcx0WkOY

 

 

 

 

[Harry P.]

Times sure have changed...

[Spex84]

When I go to the auto-parts store to look at the racks of touchup paint, there's...grey, silver, charcoal, beige,vaguely red, vaguely green, and vaguely blue. In other words, if I want silver or "champagne" I have 30 choices, but if I want anything more vibrant...zilch.

Nail polish offers a much larger range of color, once you get past all the pink and red.

[Mark]

When I go to the auto-parts store to look at the racks of touchup paint, there's...grey, silver, charcoal, beige,vaguely red, vaguely green, and vaguely blue. In other words, if I want silver or "champagne" I have 30 choices, but if I want anything more vibrant...zilch.

Nail polish offers a much larger range of color, once you get past all the pink and red.

I'm surprised they still make touchup paint in spray cans.  You wouldn't catch me trying to touch up a new car with the stuff.  Other than minor scratches and road rash, I hadn't used it on a car at all until recently.  I did hit the lower rocker panels on my 2004 truck this spring...it looks good for now, but there's a lot of other nastiness that's about to go into full bloom after another winter.

[High octane]

I recently ordered a new truck and had done in RED, yep not maroon, metallic red, etc. Eye poppin' fire engine red, arrest me red, flame red, etc. It's easy to pick out in the parking lot full of black, white, silver, gunmetal, aluminum, grey,and champagne colored vehicles.

[Junkman]

Meanwhile in Europe...

Edited July 30, 2016 by Junkman

[Snake45]

Some guy where I work has a bright pink (late) VW Beetle, with pictures of Dolly Parton all over it. Dolly vanity plates, too. I noticed last week he's added a sign on the back: "I'm not gay, I just love Dolly!"

THAT thing never gets lost in the parking lot, I assure you!

[SfanGoch]

That would depend on the neighborhood.

[Mark]

Some guy where I work has a bright pink (late) VW Beetle, with pictures of Dolly Parton all over it. Dolly vanity plates, too. I noticed last week he's added a sign on the back: "I'm not gay, I just love Dolly!"

THAT thing never gets lost in the parking lot, I assure you!

I liked her too, back when her and gravity were getting along better...

[Snake45]

That would depend on the neighborhood.

I'm talking about my company's parking lot. I'm pretty sure that straight men are the smallest minority in the joint.

The good news is that straight women seem to be the largest majority, and by a good margin.

Better yet, it's summer!

[Rob Hall]

 Ford, Jeep, Toyota/Lexus, and Kia have some sweet metallic browns, oranges and greens in recent years.

[Spex84]

Ford has a really nice harvest gold on their 2011 trucks, not sure about the newer ones. It looks fairly dull under full midday sunlight, almost brown. But just before sundown, in that golden hour, it really pops! It's a color that would look amazing on a late 40s to mid-50s custom.

[martinfan5]

I liked her too, back when her and gravity were getting along better...

[ChrisBcritter]

My other car ('62 Fairlane 500) is metallic brown.  I don't think you could have gotten that car in silver, and I wouldn't think of painting it silver...it just wouldn't look good.

Well... (1962 Ford color chips from autocolorlibrary):

[berr13]

I miss automotive color myself.  My wife and I have driven back and forth to California several times, and she's noticed the lack of brighter colors on cars on the interstate.  Reminds me of a description of a group of librarians in a novel by Sarah Bird: "...all of them garbed in three-piece suits in a rainbow of hues running from clam to cement."   

[Pete J.]

Here is Ca, there are a lot of white cars but frankly that is more a function of 365 days of sunshine and not so many garages.  White paint doesn't degrade as quickly as dark colors.  Frankly, I think you can blame the Japanese for the significant reduction in paint and interior colors.  Those of us who lived through the Japanese car invasion in the seventies remember that Japanese cars came in about three or four colors with 2 color interiors.  My 72 240z had 10 colors with 2 interiors.  At the same time you could custom order a mustang in 32 different colors with 3 different color vinyl roofs and 9 different color stripes and 18 different interior colors.  The Japanese didn't have the option to do that.  At the time because of the scarcity of 240zs you got on the list and took what ever came in or you went to the end of the list.  Net, I am sure it cost the Japanese a ton less in production costs to limit the color combinations.  It didn't take the US manufactures to long to figure that out.  The days of the custom ordered car is long gone.  You want something different, you either have it resprayed or the dealer searches other dealers to see if it is out there.   

Edited July 30, 2016 by Pete J.

[StevenGuthmiller]

Well... (1962 Ford color chips from autocolorlibrary):

Looks pretty good to me.

But at least you had other options.

 

Steve

 

[Richard Bartrop]

Nothing like the colors available in the 20s-30s... and then again in the 50s-60s. Those two eras were the best when it came to tons of cool colors available.

Oh yes, they went  nuts with colour once Duco lacquer became available.  Then that all went away once the Depression made itself felt.  Maybe some of what we're seeing today comes out of the recession, and the grumbling in some circles about the "1%" so maybe people are feeling that maybe it's not a good time to be showing off.

[espo]

As others here have pointed out, it is hard to find a car with some "personality" when it comes to color. One problem is that I think most of us here are some what car focused and want to drive something that will standout. Most people will buy a car thinking of it more like an appliance rather than thinking of any sort of self expression. Most new cars are bought "out of Stock" from a dealership with someone who orders the inventory trying to have enough middle of the road cars with equipment and colors that are easy to sell. Buying a new car can be very frustrating for anyone who cares at all about what they drive and how it is equipped. So if you have the patience to wait 6 to 8 weeks to get it your way that is sometimes the best thing to do. I have noticed that some of the manufactures are starting to offer some very interesting color options, but to few dealers or ordering them for stock. A couple of years ago we got a new car for my wife. She wanted a Dodge Challenger as she felt it looked like our Charger but smaller. We had looked around on Chrysler's web site for inventory with the equipment we wanted and found a dealer who had three units inbound. We went there when they opened Saturday morning and saw the three cars. Red, White, and a very bright blue. It was hard trying to negotiate a good price and muzzle my wife's excitement at the same time. We were down the road in the bright blue RT before noon.       

[10thumbs]

In Europe, black or silver, that's about all.  Lately though, French and Jap cars are seen with colorful clothes.  I like Vespas.  They've been colorful for decades.

White seems to be coming back again with German cars.

Maybe there's some environmental issues with blues and greens?  For a while in the 90's, when the black cars became predominant, the blue shades were just plain ugly.  I'm a blue-type-guy basically, but since then I haven't seen a good blue.  BMW used to have a "midnight blue metallic" that was my opinion out of this world.  Haven't seen anything like it in years.  More "earth" colors nowadays are coming around over here.  Some are really nice.

[charlie8575]

Love it!

And it's so true, especially for the A4s.

Charlie Larkin

[Lovefordgalaxie]

People use to look at my S-10, and say it's too colorful. 

Back to the factory tires by Túlio Lazzaroni, on Flickr

[Bob Ellis]

Now that would be funny if it wasn't so close to being true!

All the cars loo the same today! Even Mercedez look like Toyotas and Lexus. Must be tough being a cop and reporting the get away car