Cars used to have their own unique personalities; with fins, lighting, wheels, and interiors, along with body lines could tell you what a car was by just a glance from a football field away.
Nowadays, most cars follow a cookie cutter style that is generic and functional, but as exciting as the toaster on your kitchen counter. One of the things we have lost in the past few decades is color.
The next time you drive past a conventional car lot, take a broad look at the colors of the cars.
Modern car lots look like an episode of “Leave it to Beaver” on Nick at Nite: 50 shades of gray.
Sure, there might be a red sports car or an odd blue truck here or there, but the majority of cars you will see will be black, white, gray, or silver.
According to Edmunds.com, in 2020, 75% of all new car sales were cars that were considered “gray scale” cars. While it is somewhat difficult to give a one size fits all answer, I have my guess to why that is.
Throughout automotive history, automobile styling has followed architectural trends hand in hand. If you look at the homes and offices in the 1950’s and 1960’s, you will see that the cars fit nicely in the driveway.
Bright colors and pastels matched the mid-century furniture and appliances. Space age chrome trim on bumpers and wheels were reminiscent of the sputnik style lighting fixtures that hung from the ceiling.
Moving into the 70’s and 80’s, our homes became more plastic, and our cars did too. Browns, shades of gold, and metallic primary colors were available. Wood grain, real or simulated, was on our dashboards and in the paneling in our living room.
The relationship between buildings and cars has followed hand in hand for 100 years, and we are seeing a continuation of this.
People say the Cyber Truck looks like their refrigerator. If you saw a refrigerator in the late fifties, it looked very similar to Cadillacs of the late fifties.
If you have been on any real estate listing websites or have watched any home improvement shows on TV, you will make the grayscale connection quickly.
Stainless steel, neutral stone tile, wood flooring, and insufferable shiplap are all the rage. Brick exteriors glowing with red and orange hues are now painted over in gray or white, which in my opinion should be a code violation or at least public shaming.
A brightly colored car in the driveway would be out of place and it is all Chip and Joanna Gaines’ fault.
If you look up why most cars are some shade of gray, you will find my fellow automotive writers speaking of resale value, car washing intervals, or even avoiding speeding tickets.
There are advantages of having a car this color. Scratches and dings are harder to see, they attract less attention, and outside of black, they do need less washing.
Unconventional colors are sometimes a hard sell on automotive lots as well. Sometimes this can be used as an advantage to get a better deal. This may also be why most dealer inventory is a neutral hue.
My wife’s car is silver, but not by choice. It happened to be the best deal on the lot at the time and was $2,000 cheaper than the orange one she really wanted, but she is not the typical buyer.
The first car we bought when we were married was a bright yellow Mazda Protégé wagon. It was OFFENSIBLY yellow and hurt my eyes a bit in the morning, but it was a great car!
My daily driver is black, and that is also because it was the only one on the lot. They don’t make a used car factory you can order from yet. It is a nightmare to keep clean and you can see scratches from 10 feet away. Other than that, it is an elegant choice for a little Lexus hatchback; and in all fairness, Lexus makes my car in bright red, burgundy, and a nice dark blue.
Two months ago, I purchased my fun car, a 1992 BMW 325i Touring, and it pretty much breaks all the normal American car preferences. It is a wagon, manual transmission, with an inline six cylinder, and cloth interior.
The best part? It is what the Germans call “brilliantrot,” which is bright red in English. I had to get it repainted and everyone asked me what color it would be.
It stayed red and it will as long as I have it.
As for me, I will see you on the road!
