50 Shades of Bland: CarMax Finds Buyers Forgo Bold Colors When It Comes to Cars

[GTPNewsWire]

This is the discussion thread for a recent post on GTPlanet:

50 Shades of Bland: CarMax Finds Buyers Forgo Bold Colors When It Comes to Cars

This article was published by Joe Donaldson (@Joey D) on February 24th, 2019 in the Car Culture category.

 

[samdu]

The general public tends to choose bland everything when it comes to everything.

 

[05XR8]

I don't have the data, but many older people, here in Australia, choose a bright colored car so they can find it in a parking lot. True story told by customers I sold cars to(years ago) and random older car people I've come in contact with.

 

[RACECAR]

The general public tends to choose bland everything when it comes to everything.

Quite a sad truth in life. Hell, you could argue "General Public" pretty much tells you "Interesting" is something you won't find common

 

[Dave A]

I've never had a black, white, silver or grey car now that I think about it.

My first car was a green Peugeot 306, my second was a blue Ford Focus. After that I inherited a navy blue Renault Clio which lasted 5 or 6 months before I bought another blue car, a Suzuki Swift and most recently I purchased a Red Mini Cooper 5 Door.

My next car is likely to be an Alfa-Romeo, but what colour will depend on what's availalbe. I want a Guilia, the wife wants a Guilietta, so we're likely to talk about it, I will exaplin why the Guilia is the better car and worth the extra money and then we'll ggo ahead and buy a Guilietta .

Most of the cars I've bought were second hand so I didn't make quite as conscientious a decision on the colour. The Suzuki and Mini were new, albeit the Suzuki was a showroom model whereas the Mini was built to order.

 

[zdenko]

LOL I'm in the bland category. By default, not by choice as I have never bought new, only used.

1st car was Arctic Blue. What they really meant was silver with a blue hue. Proton Waja. This was probably the best colour on that car anyway. Long gone.
2nd was Sunlight Silver. NB Mazda MX-5 SE. I would have liked a Black Mica one, but there's not even 10 of them in the country so good luck. Sold it yesterday.
3rd was Liquid Silver. AU Ford Falcon XR6 VCT. If I was buying this new I would have loved the bright Blue Print colour. I ended up Vinyl wrapping the roof and boot carbon fibre look because of the rubbish paint quality on AU Falcons. Glad to see it go in the end.
4th was Banquise White. But with a very loud Red and Black GT Stripe and Red lions on the doors. Peugeot 207 HDi Lemans. Love it. Only other choice was Black with a Red and White stripe. This is my current daily. Will never lose it in a car park.
5th was Titanium Grey. NB Mazda MX-5 SE. As per the 1st SE, would have loved a Black one. This is my current track pig.

Also half own a Soul Red ND Mazda MX-5 GT.

 

[daan]

I've had generic blue (Saxo), Sparkle Green (323f), Satellite Grey (406 Coupe), Nordic Green (RX8), Non-descript Silver (3), Velocity Red (6MPS) & Soul Red (3).

 

[Krakenous]

Same deal in the UK i suspect, a trend of which I'm gladly not a part of! Apollo Blue metallic flake paint for me, and it's lovely, not to garish, changes colour slightly in the sun, the shade and cloudy weather etc. The whole resale thing is rubbish, on UK auto-trader I see colourful variants of classic cars go for way more money that dull black/white/silver cars. Plus, why do so many people think about resale? I buy a car to keep unless i suddenly find there is huge future investment for it like there was for the old 206 GTI i had for which it become worth nearly 3x what i paid for it. I'm glad i'm in the colourful category as I'll keep hounding dealers for bold colours .

 

[Obelisk]

My cars have been silved (Altima), a strange gray (Impala) and black (Mazda3).

I picked the color for the 3 - It looked really nice in that black. I'm definitely thinking of a less conventional color for my next car.

 

[Robin]

It also has a lot to do with which colours are no cost options offered by the manufacturer. Many car companies offer things like Silver for free which is why the roads have ended up filled with them. In my opinion you have to choose a colour that suits the car rather than choosing just the colour, most of the general public don't seem to do that, they just pick a colour they like even if it doesn't work.

 

[Joey D]

The only car I've ever had with any sort of color to it is my racecar which is obnoxious green. Past that everything else has either been black, grey, or silver with the exception of the Cooper which was gold. Every time I buy a car I promise myself I'm not getting a black one, then I end up with one. I'm not very good at this color thing.

The whole resale thing is rubbish, on UK auto-trader I see colourful variants of classic cars go for way more money that dull black/white/silver cars.

It's not rubbish though, it's the most commonly cited reason why bland colors are often the most popular. And classic cars are a bit different, something like a bright green Dodge Challenger is a bit different than a bright green Toyota Corolla.

Plus, why do so many people think about resale? I buy a car to keep unless i suddenly find there is huge future investment for it like there was for the old 206 GTI i had for which it become worth nearly 3x what i paid for it. I'm glad i'm in the colourful category as I'll keep hounding dealers for bold colours

People like to change vehicles. I get a new car every 2-3 years because I get tired of the one I have or just want a change. Due to this, I take resale into consideration so I don't end up losing as much money (I already know I'm losing some money). As an example, a few years ago I bought a Toyota Tacoma. It wasn't exactly the truck I wanted, but I knew when I went to swap it out in a few years time it would hold its value better than any other truck on the market. As a result, I traded it in and lost about $3,000 over 2.5 years of ownership. That's pretty good.

I had the same experience with my MINI Cooper too, although I didn't get as much for it since it had mechanical issues.

 

[Dave A]

Same deal in the UK i suspect, a trend of which I'm gladly not a part of! Apollo Blue metallic flake paint for me, and it's lovely, not to garish, changes colour slightly in the sun, the shade and cloudy weather etc. The whole resale thing is rubbish, on UK auto-trader I see colourful variants of classic cars go for way more money that dull black/white/silver cars. Plus, why do so many people think about resale? I buy a car to keep unless i suddenly find there is huge future investment for it like there was for the old 206 GTI i had for which it become worth nearly 3x what i paid for it. I'm glad i'm in the colourful category as I'll keep hounding dealers for bold colours .

I tend to part-ex my car every 3-5 years, the Clio was a hand-me-down and lasted 6 months and is an exception to that as was my first car the 306 which I had for just 2 years.

I one reason bland colours are common is due to what @Robin posted about, which is that bland colours are often included as a free options when you buy a new car, and that leads to more of those colours around. Then becuase there are more of them around, perception is that bland colours are more desireable/popular and that then impacts peoples opinions and choices going forward.

If you ask a person, they will probably like certain cars in blue, red, purple, green etc. but then ask them what colour they would buy and they may say silver, black, white, grey etc. because of resale value. But I believe it's a self-perpetuating cycle contributed to by bland colours being free options in most cases.

 

[Robin]

I one reason bland colours are common is due to what @Robin posted about, which that bland colours oare ften included as a free options when you buy a new car, and that leads to more of those colours around. Then becuase there are more of them around, perception isthat bland colours are more desireable/popular and that then impacts peoples opinions and choices going forward.

If you ask a person, they will probably like certain cars in blue, red, purple, green etc. but then ask them what colour they would buy and they may say silver, black, white, grey etc. because of resale value. But I believe it's a self-perpetuating cycle contributed to by bland colours being free options in most cases.

It really is a self perpetuating cycle, it's much how 'White' got started as a popular car colour pretty much out of nowhere.

Being a relatively cheap colour to produce after the recession many manufacturers started offering it as a no cost option and because it was sold as quite practical and neutral it really took off. As more people saw it more people bought it!

 

[Eunos_Cosmo]

I've been mostly bland, but more adventurous when I've had a choice:

2x White Merkur XR4Ti (I think most of these cars were white)
1x Black Mustang coupe (a lot of these cars were black)
1x White Integra (would pick white regardless, because Honda)
1x White Civic (as above)
1x Red RX-7 (love this color on this car.)
1x Red Mazda2 (Only car I've bought new, and I picked red)
1x Silver Boxster (Cliche, but apart from the super rare white and green, silver looks just right on a Boxster)

I was thinking the other day that green is probably the least-loved car color, and that's a great shame. I LOVE the non-metallic deeper greens. The NA MX-5 in this color is absolutely perfect:

If Mazda made an ND in this color, I would not be able to resist it. I would sign anything to have one.

 

[Danoff]

Depends on the car of course. For the first-gen NSX, red was the dominant color for sales:

https://www.nsxprime.com/wiki/Production_Numbers

 

[EngieDiesel]

It really is a self perpetuating cycle, it's much how 'White' got started as a popular car colour pretty much out of nowhere.

Being a relatively cheap colour to produce after the recession many manufacturers started offering it as a no cost option and because it was sold as quite practical and neutral it really took off. As more people saw it more people bought it!

There's also other factors as well, like the (incorrect) belief that cars of certain colors are cheaper to insure because they're considered less likely to be driven recklessly. That one's been debunked more than once but it's still widely believed.

 

[CyborgGT]

My silver RSX needs body work, and so I'll be giving it a color change. I hate that it's such a dull color and blends in with every other blob of metal in traffic, so I went looking for a beautiful shade of blue or red to throw at it. There are so many nice options from BMW and Audi... but it's going to end up Championship White. I hate that white's a bland color, too, but as Eunos_Cosmo puts it: "because Honda." It just works best, and I've come to terms with that fact.

 

[daan]

I was thinking the other day that green is probably the least-loved car color, and that's a great shame. I LOVE the non-metallic deeper greens. The NA MX-5 in this color is absolutely perfect:

The Nordic Green on the RX8 was pretty epic too.

 

[WyldAnimal]

Here is a different perspective.

There is also a Direct Correlation to a Persons Intelligence Level and the Car color they Buy.
Lower IQ will follow the Manufacturers recommended colors.
Where person of a Higher IQ tend to be a bit more free spirited with color choice.
Black, White, Gray, Silver is the most often bought color for persons with a lower IQ
Red, Blue, Yellow, Green are Color Choice made by Person with above Average IQ
Purples and Bright Shades or a Custom Color choice is Made by Persons with Higher IQ levels.
60% of the population is at or Below average Intelligence.
of the Above Average Intelligence population. about 50% of them will chose the Black, White Gray, Silver
because of Higher Potential re-sale value.


So that equates to about 73% of car buyers going with the bland colors..

 

[AudiMan2011]

Stick me in the Bland corner then. The Corsa diesel I first had was black and my 1.0T petrol was a dark pearlescent grey. Now my VXR is a more metallic grey.

I'm not very imaginative.

 

[Northstar]

Here is a different perspective.

There is also a Direct Correlation to a Persons Intelligence Level and the Car color they Buy.
Lower IQ will follow the Manufacturers recommended colors.
Where person of a Higher IQ tend to be a bit more free spirited with color choice.
Black, White, Gray, Silver is the most often bought color for persons with a lower IQ
Red, Blue, Yellow, Green are Color Choice made by Person with above Average IQ
Purples and Bright Shades or a Custom Color choice is Made by Persons with Higher IQ levels.
60% of the population is at or Below average Intelligence.
of the Above Average Intelligence population. about 50% of them will chose the Black, White Gray, Silver
because of Higher Potential re-sale value.


So that equates to about 73% of car buyers going with the bland colors..

I can't find a single flaw in this logic!

The owner must be the successor to Stephen Hawking!

 

[Obelisk]

Here is a different perspective.

There is also a Direct Correlation to a Persons Intelligence Level and the Car color they Buy.
Lower IQ will follow the Manufacturers recommended colors.
Where person of a Higher IQ tend to be a bit more free spirited with color choice.
Black, White, Gray, Silver is the most often bought color for persons with a lower IQ
Red, Blue, Yellow, Green are Color Choice made by Person with above Average IQ
Purples and Bright Shades or a Custom Color choice is Made by Persons with Higher IQ levels.
60% of the population is at or Below average Intelligence.
of the Above Average Intelligence population. about 50% of them will chose the Black, White Gray, Silver
because of Higher Potential re-sale value.


So that equates to about 73% of car buyers going with the bland colors..

 

[Tornado]

"CarMax pays someone to perform study that could be replicated by looking at any Wal-Mart or mall parking lot" was too long for the headline.

 

[McLaren]

It really is a self perpetuating cycle, it's much how 'White' got started as a popular car colour pretty much out of nowhere.

Being a relatively cheap colour to produce after the recession many manufacturers started offering it as a no cost option and because it was sold as quite practical and neutral it really took off. As more people saw it more people bought it!

White is also easy to manipulate into different shades as well.

Depends on the car of course. For the first-gen NSX, red was the dominant color for sales:

https://www.nsxprime.com/wiki/Production_Numbers

That's also a higher end sports car, so it's not really surprising. Would be like finding out Rosso is the most popular palette for Ferrari.

I can't find a single flaw in this logic!

The owner must be the successor to Stephen Hawking!

His post is definitely mind boggling, but all of those owner's cars are black underneath those wraps. J/s.

 

[Gotbeefboy564]

I can't find a single flaw in this logic!

The owner must be the successor to Stephen Hawking!

You do realize his car is wrapped right and he does rallys too I saw it last year for gold rush.

 

[Northstar]

You do realize his car is wrapped right and he does rallys too I saw it last year for gold rush.View attachment 803509 View attachment 803511

He still chose to make his car chrome. Not sure how it being a wrap changes that fact.

 

[Famine]

My car is purple and I've won every "Most Knowledgeable" award in the GTP Awards except this year. I'm behind the high intelligence explanation.

 

[TB]

1982 Oldsmobile Omega Brougham - nast rust brown color with worse brownish-red vinyl top
1992 Chevrolet S-10 Blazer - white
1997 Plymouth Neon - red
1999 Pontiac Grand Prix GT - Dark Forest Green Metallic
2005 Honda Pilot - Sagebrush Pearl
2009 Honda Civic - Nighthawk Black Pearl
2009 Honda CR-V - Tango Red Pearl
1973 Fiat 124 Spider - Super Faded Red
2015 Toyota Highlander - Nautical Blue Metallic

I'm kind of all over the place. My wife fully believes that black, white and gray are not colors. Personally, gray is towards the top of my acceptable list.

 

[05XR8]

1990 Saab 9000 turbo - black
1992 VW Passat GL - black
1986 VW Jetta 2-door - silver
1988 Ford Festiva L - red
1988 VW Jetta GLi 16V - white
2001 Honda Accord LX - Eternal Blue
2004 Honda Civic Si - Nighthawk Black Pearl
2005 Honda Odyssey EX-L - Ocean Mist Metallic
1969 Oldsmobile Cutlass 'S' - light blue
1983 Toyota Corona S - Toyota Creme
2003 Daihatsu Charade L251- silver
2005 Ford Falcon XR8 - Velocity(light blue metallic)
1995 Toyota Camry DX - Sunfire Red Metallic
1998 Mitsubishi Mirage - white
1998 Honda Civic EK1- Ebony Black
2002 Mazda 323 Astina - silver

Interestingly, my wife says(in no particular order):

1972 Ford Cortina- caramel brown
2004 Ford Falcon XR8 - Phantom(purple)
1960 Ford Falcon XK - red
2013 Renault Megane R.S.265 Trophy+ - Star Black Metallic
Mini Moke - dark green
Holden Commodore VC V8 - red
1962 Wolseley - oyster pink(factory color shift in the light?)
Mazda 929 wagon - dark silver metallic
Chrysler Valliant Regal station wagon - white
1983 Toyota Corolla - white

 

[WyldAnimal]

All my Cars picks were Purple, Red, Blue, or Yellow...
the Only Black or White cars were the Ex-Wifes picks.