One of my fondest memories so far is from a few summers ago, when my dad and I repainted my car to my ideal specifications. We replaced the stock maroon with a vivid metal-flake grass green. It was extremely eye-catching, and made me very proud of an otherwise lackluster car. Unfortunately, that fall, it met its end on the front of a semi-truck, but those three months of bright green were awesome.

I know i sound like a total girl and a flake just because i like the color so much, but this was after spending a lot of time deciding on the make and model we wanted (i tend to be more practical than he is). But the color, that was what sealed the deal. I never get tired of it.

qfrog, it is HARLEKIN. It’s a German car and a German site and that’s the car’s name in German. Did you even look at the site?

The answer is: Racing.

The traditional racing-colors for the most known countries are:

Germany: White or Silver
France: Light Blue
GB: British Racing Green (a specifik hue)
Italy: Red
Japan: White with Red “Sun”
USA: Blue with white stripes, or reversed

So if you ever wondered why a Maserati or Ferrari looks absolutely best in red, there’s your answer. Or if you wondered why silver has been the preferred color on premium cars the last ten years, ask you local Mercedes-Benz dealer about Silver Arrows.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racing_colors

However, what first attracts a majority of buyers to a vehicle are name brand and looks.

I believe that this editorial is more from a consumer point of view about the lack of color choices buyers have nowadays.

This sort of easy whining is not valid criticism. It simply shows a degree of familiarity with photos of car models.

Having not much else to criticize in an era of mostly excellent cars, I think we’re too often resorting to griping about Bangle-butt this and retro-nerd that.

But then I don’t care what I wear, either. Clothes are fabric, to me, to cover my bony ass and keep out the cold, and that’s it.

Many of us do not get the chance (nor ever will) hyper-exotics, exotics, or those historical vehicles that helped the automotive evolution. We can only sit back and appreciate the visual beauty of an automobile.

The editorial is lamenting the loss of color choice for today’s vehicles. I fully understand why most colors are variants of grey, silver, white, blue and black, but that does not mean that it is right.

Would I not buy a Porsche (if given the opportunity) because of the lack of colors? No, but I would enjoy my Porsche that much more if it came in a color I truly liked.

Fortunately for me I have had the opporunity to own some great cars, both in performance and visual styling:

1995 Toyota Tacoma LX 4×4 – Purple
2002 BMW 325 Ci – Silver (very fun to drive – wish it was not in the shop 4 times in one month)
2003 350z – Le Mans Sunset (best color)
2002 Audi S4 – (AMS Chip, Intrax Coil Overs, Nogaro Blue)
2002 Nissan Xterra – (Yellow – wife’s car)
2005 Infiniti FX35 – (ok, Diamond Graphite, a little boring, but the color I wanted was no longer in stock (copper))

2000 Ducati 748 – Ducati Red

and last but not least, my project car:

1972 Datsun 240z – Orange

On the other hand, I saw the new Dukes of Hazzard movie on the tube the other night. Maybe not offering Hemi Orange was a blessing.

Shut up and drive.

And car guys: Those of us who like two wheels have been subjected to even more bizzare fashion trends. Several years ago, Honda and Yamaha were putting out bikes with flat gray paint schemes. No, it wasn’t primer, that was the intended color (of course, they had to give it some cool sounding name like “asphalt” but it was still primer gray.) Flat blacks have also found their way onto bikes recently, for reasons I can’t understand, except maybe with so many squids out there dumping their bikes right off the showroom floor, maybe it makes the touch-up a bit easier.

No stripes though.

Me? I drive an electric blue MP3 protege (lazer blue mica!) or a BRG Miata, so I stick out too. And I’ve paid my local taxes as a result.

“The new Porsche 911 GT3 RS is available in vivid orange and bright lime green with contrasting black or orange wheels. It’s one of the fastest Porsches ever and even comes with a fire extinguisher as standard equipment. Although it won’t be available in the USA until March 2007, you can bet the stunning colors will telegraph the level of performance of the vehicle. In the animal kingdom, bright colors often denote poison; and that characteristic surely seems apt for the GT3 RS as well. The same colors on a Kia just won’t work.”

Okay, now that the comments work…

I think the color changes are partially just a fashion trend, like necktie widths or hem lengths.  For example, Hunter green became very popular in the 1990's, but try to find a car from the 80's with that color. 

And as for the notion that companies don't offer bright colors, there are a few, one in particular is the bright orange metalflake that several companies, both domestic and foreign, are offering on some of their cars.  I like it  – it really stands out. 

But I also think the reason that car exterior colors have changed can be traced to the changing role of the car in society.  Let's face it, most car owners aren't "Car people."  To most buyers, a car is an appliance, nothing more.  If a car is an appliance, we shouldn't be surprised to see appliance like colors, right? 

As for interior colors, I totally disagree with frank!  The last thing we need are pimp-red or avocado green interiors!  Ugh!  Would you paint your living room, to include carpet, ceiling, and all your furniture blood red?  Not unless you were psychotic.    Yuck!  No, neutral colors are definitely the best way to go for interiors!