QOTD: Standing Out With Bad Paint Colors?

I sparked a minor Twitter argument this week after offering up an image of a brand new car that’s available in a truly horrible exterior color. Public Car Twitter opinion mobilized quickly and angrily against my take, and only a couple others were brave enough to take my side against such a visual crime.

Today we talk paint.

For reference, the Twitter thread is here. I’d seen a press shot of the new Hyundai Sonata, which happened to be painted a dreadful Hot Gold Metallic color. It’s too mustard, a bit downmarket, and worst of all, will age any car painted this color in short order. Some other gold-painted things which didn’t age well include the Jaguar XJ-S, the first generation Porsche Cayenne, and the 1998 Lincoln Town Car. And here’s another example:

That’s right, the Spicy Gold available on the similarly shaded Volkswagen Arteon is also bad. “Well, good luck with silver or black then, jerk,” they seemed to say. A bit hyperbolic, says me. I’m all for availability of different colors, and even personally stay away from silver or black rides. But some colors are just bad. The Arteon up there is great in other colors, and I’d go for an electric blue (available), that orange color from the Tiguan (not available), or teal like a C4 Corvette (not available).

That leads to our question today, which happens to be a two-part affair. First, I’d like to get your opinion on the gold metallic lacquers shown above ⁠— whether I’m right about the 1979 Dodge Monaco vibes, or if I’m just way out of touch. For the second part, let’s hear some more examples of factory paint colors that proved very questionable. Off to you.

[Images: Hyundai, Volkswagen]