Car Colours

I know very little about cars or the mechanics of cars. According to a global survey of cars in 2015 white was the most popular colour closely followed by black. When I was looking to buy my current car, the sales man showed me the lower spec, a newer version of the car I wanted, and at a great price but the problem was it was a bright red colour. So I bought the higher spec, year older, 5000 extra miles on clock car in navy. Yes purely because it is a lovely dark metallic navy, (ok and it has a bigger engine) but I just really couldn't face looking at and owning a red car. I know there are probably people shaking their heads at me in despair, but colour is important.

Black cars are notorious for being difficult to wash and so is navy, however it looks great when it has been cleaned well. Silver, from my experience has been the best car colour for keeping clean and not looking 'as bad when dirty', now there are so many shade options of silver for cars. My first memory of my Dad's car was that it was white with grey seats, not glossy white more of a chalky or should I say non metallic white. About 6 years ago white cars became trendy again and they are everywhere. Personally I wouldn't choose a white car because of the dirt and because they look a little bit cold. Unless it was small 'trendy car' like a Fiat 500 or a Mini Cooper. Cars that have softer curves or have a 'retro style' I feel, are better suited to a different colour palette to that of a 'regular car' like a Golf or a Focus.

For example, I have loved Volkswagen Beetles since I was 11, I would like a convertible Beetle as my next car. For a Beetle, I would choose it either in a glossy cream (with a navy soft roof) or a glossy light blue/grey (with a charcoal roof). I wouldn't pick a Beetle in my beloved Navy colour, it somehow feels like too much of a harsh colour for a car in that style. Another car that I feel has a distinct colour link is Land Rovers; to me they need to be dark green or at least black. This is because traditionally were a farming and countryside vehicle so naturally the green colour is an obvious link to nature and country fields. I have seen the green colours Land Rover offer do vary, and the image below looks quite metallic and up market to compared previous more mossy shades of green.

For other cars though, the dark bottle shade of green seems to be a bit out of fashion. Black, navy, what I would describe as a darker 'sexier' shade of red is popular and white doesn't appear to be fading out or going out of fashion at the moment. Companies like Citroen, Peugeot and Vauxhall are trying to compete with the Fiat 500/Mini Cooper trendy car market and have introduced their own more 'fun' models' such as the DSE or ADAM where the customer can have an alternative colour roof, wing mirrors, alloy detail and interior design. Whilst this is intended to appeal to younger drivers, who want something different and as Vauxhall say to 'express themselves'. Personally, I am not really sold on this look it seems a little gimmicky and young.

I previously mentioned shades of silver, again whilst browsing for my current car, the sales man caught on pretty quickly that the colour of the car was very important and asked if I would be interested in silver cars, I said only the dark charcoal silver. According to a Forbes survey women are more inclined to buy a silver car to men, yet men buy more red cars than women. There are so many different silvery shades of car; whitey silver, aluminium silver, gun metal silver, blue silver, green silver (totally out of fashion), silver that has a browny tinge to it but NOT bronze, beige silver, dark silver... I could go on. Silver is undoubtedly a very popular and versatile an inoffensive colour. When I was younger I remember thinking cars and certain gadgets in silver looked 'so modern' not so much any more.

In the 1950's and 1960's brighter car colours were popular and mainstream, but now cars colours are typically more neutral. A notoriously difficult colour for reselling a car is yellow, yet there seems to be a few cheery yellow cars on the road, but would you choose one knowing the value a would decrease faster than pretty much any other colour? Sunny yellow, mustard yellow, banana yellow... these are all available most models of car. The Fiat 500 embraced colours that have previously never taken off with cars such as bubble gum pink, mint green, pearlescent purple, as I previously mentioned I think a Fiat 500 can carry off different colours that other cars typically don't suit, yet again the resale for these cars I think must be harder. Matt finishes are becoming popular amongst certain motoring enthusiasts cars such as Range Rovers, BMWs and Audis usually in shades of black or grey, I have even seen a 'flocked' textured finish. My neighbour used to own a car that changed from a shade of bluey green to red in the sun. Again these colours and finishes aren't very practical and maintenance could prove tricky for resale.

I love old cars, particularly 1930's and 1940's. To compared these cars, designs of cars today undoubtedly look boring and boxy despite their superior efficiency. I admire the use of different colours with 'vintage automobile', additionally the positioning of the lights and the bright glossy colours seem stylish and I can envision the dressed up families driving them with pride. The placement of the spare tyres on two of the vehicles below along with the slightly exaggerated proportions with large bonnets makes me want the my future Beetle even more.

Finally, taxis; why are taxis in London typically black (not an Uber) and in New York why are they yellow? I like how each city has a taxi colour identity to a point where it has become iconic... Despite the fact that other countries such as Egypt, India and China have yellow taxis too.

SaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSave

#car #pastel #colour #purpose #fiat500 #VWBeetle #Taxi #matt