Sometimes, the particular brand or model will dictate
a particular color or palette -- like 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," says Leighton.
Brighter blues, reds, 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: 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 makers
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 one percent, according
to Power stats.
In luxury cars, black leads silver by 1/3 of one 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,"
says Spafford.
Shifting out of neutral
Some makers believe that real color is making
a comeback. The star? "Blue is the biggest color moving forward,"
Webb says.
Orange is also making an appearance. Hues from terra
cottas to brighter sunburst shades are popular for several makers.
"Blue is still a fairly important color,"
says Hackstedde. "Same as yellow and orange -- they are kind
of your impact colors right now." And red "is still
a very classic traditional automobile color," she says.
Another impulse that's driving the color quest:
the desire for individuality.
"All the rules that used to exist are being
thrown out," says Webb. Truck buyers used to stick to black,
white, silver, beige and dark shades of blue, green and red. "Now
you're seeing orange, yellow," he says. "The customer
wants something different than other people."
But look for the return of brown, says Webb. Traditionally
a very difficult color for cars, look for "elegant"
shades in some of the high end 2007 and 2008 models, he says.
No matter what they are driving, people "want
their cars to be more luxurious," says Will. And that extends
to the color. As the paint technology keeps improving, mid- and
lower-market consumers will have access to paint options - like
pearlescent colors - that were once only available on higher-end
vehicles.
"Technology keeps moving and bringing the price
down," Will says.
It's a small world after all
So what does all this silver, grey and neutral say about the consumer
mindset?
"Some people say that when the economy's low,
people buy more vanilla-type colors," Spafford says. "But
on the other hand, if they have money to make a purchase, they
may want something that will pick them up. You can kind of flip
a coin either side."
But buyers are getting more observant when it comes
to colors. In 2003, Ford jazzed up the red on their 2003 Ford
Explorer, adding compounds that gave the color more depth and
sparkle, says Lampinen. Red shot from the eighth most popular
choice to the second.
Consumers devour books, magazines and TV show about
design. And that has spilled over into their automotive choices.
"We have a much more design-savvy consumer
now and they are more picky," Spafford says.
And car colors are going global.
"The world is a lot smaller," says Webb.
When he compares palettes for his company's colors in various
parts of the world, "almost three quarters are identical,"
he says. "It really shows how people are aware what's going
on globally and are really sensitive of their colors right now."
Here are the most popular vehicle colors:
| 10 Most Popular Car
Colors |
| Color |
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 |
.7 |
Dana Dratch is a freelance writer based
in Georgia.
-- Posted: Feb. 15, 2005
