Horribly boring colors on new cars

[ampire]

Anyone notice the latest fad for the past few years has been to offer cars in like 4 shades of silver, a dark red, a dark blue, and a black.

What a boring world we live in.

 

[Jondot]

There's a very good reason for that.

But no, you are right - the trend seems to be towards making everything look like a suit. There's also a delightful trend towards painting small cars metallic lime green, if anyone's spotted it. Pretty much anything Fiesta-sized comes in it now.

 

[AOS-]

Silver is such a gross colour choice on an everyday car IMO..... The Silver-to-Color ratio in an average parking lot here is like 9-2...

 

[Tornado]

Don't forget Amazing Beige! A.K.A. Toyota Camry Color #1.

 

[Keef]

Don't forget Amazing Beige! A.K.A. Toyota Camry Color #1.

I call it Daytona Beach Brown.

 

[motortrend]

I used to like the charcoal grey Toyota and Lexus offered until I saw it on probably 30 to 40% of the cars, which the other 40 to 30 is silver. I'm glad my dad got the IS in desert sage, which wasn't that attractive at first, but I got used to it and currently love it:

 

[BrutherSuperior]

I think you see a lot of boring colors b/c people don't really give a damn about their car anymore...aside from the badge.

Its one of several symptoms that plague the industry today. First off, many cars look very similar. Long are the days where you can name a car from a mile away. Now, most 4-doors share the same profile, shoulders, and proportions. From the side, it's difficult to name who manufactured what. Many look generic. So why not have generic colors?

Furthermore, women & beta males do not take care of their cars. It's why they put little sparkles in black paint; so it looks shiny, somewhat at least, after it hasn't been washed all summer. Likewise, it's also why some cars are sold w/o a dip-stick, with ever-fill fluids, and idiot lights to remind you to go to the dealer for a service. People don't take care of their cars nor do they understand how they work.

An iPhone? You can run into a number of 'experts' on that. But if a car is making a funny noise? Forget it...

People are indifferent so they sell indifferent, un-offensive, and happy-sparkly colors.

 

[Shant J.]

I hate that trend too. Luckily, my car is available in a bright red.

It wan't always this way...

Chrysler had plenty of wild colors around 1970, from Vitamin-C to Lemon Twist.

 

[JCE]

Unfortunately you can blame Japan and the US for a large number of boring colors in the late 80's throughout the early 2000's.

And even more so Toyota and Chrysler taking the lead. Now that isn't to say that Europe's finest aren't guilty, I see way too many gold/tan/**** colors on too many Mercs, Jags, BMWs, Audis and VWs. Makes me want to puke. Gold/tan/**** is the worst automotive color ever.

 

[motortrend]

Likewise, it's also why some cars are sold w/o a dip-stick

THIS. Many M3 owners hate the absence of the dipstick in the car, especially because the system is not as exact as a dipstick would be and it takes times for the readings to work since the car has to be warm. The other problem is that it's another sensor that can fail.

 

[MedigoFlame]

It is depressing about today's color choices... The problem is taste, no one really wants a bright and colorful car anymore due to it's value and how conformed people are these days... My parents plan on getting silver for their next car... X_X (possibly a 2011 Subaru Outback)

 

[xNEVER-ONEx]

A lot of people who buy new cars think about depreciation and resale value, and it is much harder to sell a brilliant yellow than it is selling silver on the used market.

Also, I think my least favorite "boring" color is Champagne/light cold. Hate it. My favorite color in recent years was the Lime Green offered on the 5th Gen Mustangs, but they discontinued them.

 

[skynyrd]

Actually, I think dark blue and dark red are good colors for cars. Provided the blue's not too dark, anyway. I'm just glad what I call the 'puke' colors seem to be fading out. You know the ones; they look vaguely like someone took an already boring color and tried to make it as much like beige as possible, resulting in a washed out, unpleasant, nearly indescribable shade that should never have been created in the first place, much less put on a car. The results are typically best described by names such as 'puke brown', 'puke green', 'puke blue', and my personal favorite, 'puke pink'. Don't even try to imagine what 'puke beige' looks like; your head will explode.

Totally agree about 'most 4 doors look alike'; pretty much the only difference in many of them (besides the badge, obviously), is the shape of the openings in the grill. Even the headlights and taillights generally look alike now.

 

[Zenith]

There will always be one king of outlandish colors.

 

[homeforsummer]

I think you see a lot of boring colors b/c people don't really give a damn about their car anymore...aside from the badge.

^ This.

It isn't just the colours, it's how many cars less than a handful of years old you see going around with unrepaired dings, blowing exhausts, rust spots etc. People treat them like disposable items, and then wonder why their car is unreliable and they have to spend a fortune on it after a few years.

 

[Sniffs]

whadaya mean "past 4 years"? kid, they've been on silver/dk blue/dk red/black/beige routine since the end of the muscle car era. I still say those are the "insurance safe" colors

 

[MatskiMonk]

Despite being a big fan of the BMW brand I always find myself looking at their new cars and struggling to find a colour I would spend my money on.

 

[MitchZ06]

White/silver cars sell better than bright green or orange cars...when you buy a car (yes, in reality not in GT5) there's no doubt you'll consider resale value and go buy that white or silver car....

 

[Vince_Fiero]

Also, I think my least favorite "boring" color is Champagne/light cold. Hate it.

My Fiero is that colour and I thought of buying a car that colour afterwards.


But clearly people try to present cars in bright colours:

I actually had one this colour:

but they do not seem to be asked that by people buying.

 

[JacoJa]

There's also a delightful trend towards painting small cars metallic lime green, if anyone's spotted it. Pretty much anything Fiesta-sized comes in it now.

I plan on painting my Sera in a lime green metallic, once I get around to restoring it a bit. Part of my decision is to inspire other people into buying cars in colour. 👍
Though there has been a nice change over the past few years with larger cars using loud colours, such as SS Commodores and XR Falcons. I'm also loving the new colour selections from Mazda and Hyundai.

I still don't understand why 95% of motorists choose a dull colour. Does nobody have an imagination in Australia?

 

[Apok]

I actually like silver cars. Don't like bronze/beige, but silver is fine for me.

 

[Pupik]

I call it Daytona Beach Brown.

My brother had a mid-90s Ford Contour in the that color, and we called it "Retirement Brown".

I think most people don't want their car to stand out too much; I had a Flame Red Dodge Neon, and it wasn't a stranger to getting attention from the cops (although speeding didn't help). I'll probably never buy another red car again, although there's something to be said about having a bright-colored car on a rainy day, for example.

Otherwise, I've pretty much only had silver cars, or in the case of my Corolla, a beige one (a free car is better than none at all). Kind of stuck with me after my first car...an Accord with a silver that contained a dollop of brownish-tint to it. Blended with the road nicely:

 

[homeforsummer]

Despite being a big fan of the BMW brand I always find myself looking at their new cars and struggling to find a colour I would spend my money on.

I like the bright red, metallic blue and alpine white from current colour range. Dark metallic grey looks good too (actually called Space Grey by the looks of things, see the image below) and some of the current BMWs even look pretty good in metallic brown too.

With the right paint job even normally dull colours like grey can look good. That particular BMW shade (and the shape of the car, admittedly) works very well because it interacts well with light, shows off the shape very well.

 

[buickgnx88]

Don't forget Amazing Beige! A.K.A. Toyota Camry Color #1.

What's funny is there's a house near mine that has 2 Camrys, same year and trim. Best part is they are both the same shade of Toyota Beige! When you look in the garage, it's like it's a mirror image!

I'm looking into getting a new Tacoma next summer, and I agree about boring colors. Best one is the red they offer which will contrast nicely with the black bumpers and flares.

 

[AOS-]

The plus side to having many people buy boring colours is that your colourful car will be the most outstanding in a parking lot....

Every time there's a yellow car in a parking lot (or an orange or green if you happen to pass one), it jumps out immediately.

 

[buickgnx88]

That's why I like having a yellow Wrangler. Best part is it's the only yellow YJ in a town that has a bunch of Wranglers/CJs.

 

[Azure Flare]

Beige is usually a color for boring cars....

....usually.

 

[The Vanishing Boy]

-> It may not be boring but...

...it makes me want to throw up! Its the Scion Cement (1H5) color!

-> I'm sorry, but even as a fan of silver/gray colors. That one above is completely unacceptable! 👎

 

[Joey D]

Here in the states quite a few people just buy off the dealer's lot and since silver, white and black tend to be the most successful colours that's what dealers stock their inventory with.

 

[C-ZETA]

Car colouring these days is such a grey area. (Pun intended, but also not intended )

But to be honest, you would expect calmer colours on, say, luxury cars, wouldn't you? I mean, putting a full luxury Audi A8 in a wild, sporty red doesn't really seem fitting, does it? I don't even think the S8 should get such colours, since it's both to be honest.

By the way, leather is always best in beiiiiige. That's the proper name for it.

Beiiiiige.