Car Colors
White's Number One
White was the most popular auto color in North
America this year, overthrowing silver's seven-year reign. DuPont Co.'s
2007 Global Automotive Color Popularity Report says 19 percent of the overall
market went to white/white pearl.
- Newsday, Friday, December 14, 2007
Silver Is Golden For Cars
The hottest car color? Silver is coolest when it
comes to American car buyers, a survey has found.
"It just looks great on pretty much any body style," says Susan Lampinen, chief
designer of color and material design for Ford Motor Co.
It's the runaway favorite with consumers, across the board, from buyers of
family sedans to sport utility vehicles. Even in some sports cars, if silver
isn't first choice, it's may be a not-too-distant second. The color conveys a
clean, mechanical image that appeals to consumers and mirrors the technology
that dominates modern life, experts say.
"People are becoming more aware of design," says Teresa Spafford, lead designer
for Mazda North American Operations. "Our cell phones, our computers our
furniture, our home decor accessories - everything has some sort of metallic
accent or detail or element of metal."
Silver accounts for 24.1 percent of sales, according to statistics for the
fourth quarter of 2004 compiled by the Power Information Network, a division of
J.D. Power and Associates. The runner-up: black, with 16.7 percent.
"Silver really shapes cars the best," says Ron Will, manager of product planning
and design for Subaru of America Inc. "With dark colors, it's difficult to see
the shape. Whites don't do it. Solids don't do it. You need metallic or
pearlescent in a lighter color. That's why I think silver works the best."
It's also practical. Silver, like a lot of lighter colors, hides dirt.
"This has been kind of an enduring trend for the last three or four years," says
Margaret Hackstedde, director of product design for color and trim for the
Chrysler Group. "We're not anticipating it will change overnight."
But other experts believe silver could be losing its appeal. "We're actually
seeing it stabilizing," says Chris Webb, exterior color and trim designer for GM
North America.
"I would say it's starting to decline a bit," adds Cynthia Leighton, product
planner for color materials and finishes with Toyota Motor Sales USA Inc. The
company's recent market research in Los Angeles shows "silver is not the number
one choice for future buyers."
Next up? Many automakers are having good luck with shades that incorporate
silver with a bit of color, such as ice blues, celery greens and even warmer,
golden-toned hues.
Others believe that grays - deeper, darker metallics - will eclipse the lighter
silvery shades. "Gray offers more dimensions, from warm to cool," Leighton says.
"It's a fresh look and an alternative to silver."
And blue is gaining fast. "There is a whole trend in blue and purple," says GM's
Webb. Of the 21 new shades his company is developing, "at least half are blue or
have some evidence of blue in them."
Future car colors will still be "fairly conservative," Will says. "We're not
going with brights except for our sports cars." Instead, look for colors with
subtle tints, such as rich blacks that tend toward green.
When it comes to car color, size matters. "Smaller cars you tend to be able to
do in brighter colors," Spafford says. But on an SUV, "it's a lot of color, so
you have to be aware of how much color you are putting on the road."
And as SUV designers marry aspects from cars, trucks and sport utility vehicles,
colors are also becoming less distinct, Webb says. "Because the line has blurred
as to what the vehicle is, it has blurred when it comes to color."
SUV buyers are turning to "more sophisticated, indefinable colors," Spafford
notes, "not a true blue or true red or true orange. Off. A mixture of
something."
Sometimes, the brand or model will dictate a particular color or palette, such
as the jewel tones popular on the Mini Coopers, the brights on Volkswagen's
Beetle or the traditional dark green that's become the signature color for the
Jeep brand.
In sports cars or even sportier models, "people are willing to take a chance
with a brighter color," Leighton says. Brighter blues, reds and yellows are a
hit. But black and silver tie for the lead, each accounting for 23.5 percent of
sales, according to Power stats.
One big hit is Xirallic paints, which contain flakes of metal that catch the
light. "It really sparkles," Webb says. "So when customers walk into the
dealership, these colors will grab their attention."
Price impacts color choices, too. While many carmakers find that entry-level
buyers will experiment with color, they tend to get more practical as the price
of the vehicle goes up. For full-sized sedans, beige inched out silver by less
than 1 percent, according to Power.
In luxury cars, black leads silver by 1/3 of 1 percent, Power numbers revealed.
"When a customer is spending $60,000 or $70,000 on a car, they're going to be a
little more conservative," Spafford says.
But some manufacturers believe that lively color is making a comeback. Hues from
terra cottas to brighter sunburst shades are popular for several makers,
Hackstedde says. "Yellow and orange, they are kind of your impact colors right
now." And red "is still a very classic traditional automobile color."
Another impulse that's driving the color quest: the desire for individuality.
"All the rules that used to exist are being thrown out," Webb says. "The
customer wants something different than other people."
The top 10
Here are the 10 most popular car colors by percentage of sales:
Silver, 24.1
Black, 16.7
Blue, 12.7
White, 11.8
Gray, 10.5
Red, 10.3
Green, 5.7
Beige, 4.3
Gold, 2.6
Brown, 0.7
Source: Power Information Network, a division of J.D. Power and Associates (2004
fourth quarter sales)
- Dana Dratch, Bankrate.com, Newsday, Sunday,
June 12, 2005
Silver Is Gold Standard
Silver remains the solid favorite among automotive
exterior color choices. But Jon Hall, manager of color development at BASF
Corp. in Southfield, Michigan, suspects (perhaps in five years) that
rich-looking blues and reds will replace silver.
The 2004 model year was the fourth consecutive year that silver was the most
popular vehicle color in North America, according to PPG Industries Inc. of
Pittsburg.
-
Automotive News, Newsday, Friday, November 5, 2004
Silver Is Top Color Choice
Silver
was the most popular vehicle color in North America in 2003, the third straight
year it took the top spot, according to paint supplier PPG Industries. PPG
says 24 percent of vehicles were painted silver. White was second at 16
percent, followed by red at 14 percent and black at 13. Blue tied with
"natural" colors (such as champagne, gold and light brown) at 11 percent.
Green, a leader in the 1990s, ranked last among major colors at 7 percent.
-
Chicago Tribune, Newsday, Friday, January 2, 2004
This page was last updated on
12/15/07
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