Sensational Color Pro Kate Smith's Online Color Journal » automotive

AKA ‘Goofy Grape’

Kate Smith — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 21:32:57 +0000

Forget the technical or factory name. Once a color has been dubbed with a moniker by the masses you might as well just go with it.

I was reminded of this as I was searching for something today and came upon Smokin Joe’s comment on the forum board at JalopyJournal.com and it make me smile so I thought I’d share with you.

Ford has always come up with colorful names for their paint. Most of them give you NO idea of what the paint’s supposed to look like. Other factories followed suit. Mopar had some really strange colors for the cudas and challengers back in the 70’s. I tried to get some of the purple from a paint store once for an AAR cuda using the factory paint name and the guy didn’t know what I was after till I told him I wanted “Goofy Grape”.

Pic from http://auto.howstuffworks.com

California to Ban Black Cars?

Kate Smith — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 20:29:41 +0000

News that California may ban the sale of black cars for climate protection reasons has many in an uproar.

I enjoyed this picture and the comments on Tech Crunch.

Others adding their voice to the conversation include:

New Scientist

AutoBlogGreen

The Truth About Cars

A bit of background: In 2006, California adopted the

Best and Worst Truck Color Names

Kate Smith — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 10:46:54 +0000

Although this was posted a couple of months ago I just happened across it this morning and thought you’d enjoy it as much as I did.

From Best and Worst Truck Color Names

Unfortunately, while making sure their paint colors stay unique from their competitors’, what often happens is trucks and SUVs get saddled with truly awful color names. Here are some of our favorites, which really were offered on trucks in the recent past. The colors might not be bad, but imagine bragging to buddies about your new Mocha Frost 4×4.

Here’s his list of the worst names:

What Your Car Color Reveals About Your Psyche

Kate Smith — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 21:49:15 +0000

U.S. News reports that “People who own emerald green automobiles…have the most positive attitude about the course of their own lives. Dark blue and silver are other colors chosen by upbeat people.”

The article goes on to say that, “Red supposedly connotes an aggressive, high-speed personality, while yellow, theoretically, is for folks with sunny dispositions. But survey data show that people who drive red or yellow cars have below-average confidence. And black cars, supposedly a sign of power and elegance, are driven by the most downbeat drivers of all.”

‘Green’ going blue

Kate Smith — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 14:04:46 +0000

‘Green’ has become synonymous with the environmental movement so naturally companies around the globe are using the term ‘green’ and the color green to communicate that their practices and products are environmentally friendly.

Overuse of this color however coupled with the fact that many companies that claim to be ‘green’ do not in fact follow environmentally sound practices (also known as ‘greenwashing’) has reduced the positive impact of this color.

Companies looking to differeniate thenselves are choosing to use blue to communicate their commitment to the environment and as Ann Mack of JWT put it so beautifully, “represent a much broader spirit of good citizenship”.

With growning concerns over having sufficient clean water and clean air to support the global population blue, a color associated with the the ocean and sky, is a natural choice.

Add to this the fact that blue is seen as trustworthy, dependable, and committed and it simply makes sense that forward thinking companies like Mercedes-Benz that want to distance thenselves from ‘greenwashing’ and be seen above the glut of green have chosen to incorporate blue into their ‘green’ marketing. For example Mercedes-Benz coine the term Bluetec for their clean diesel fuel technology.

VW also uses blue. BlueMotion badge is an environmental sub-brand, denoting the most efficient model in each VW car range. But it’s not just automakers but also the French government that are going blue rather than green.

Blue will not replace green as the color of nature but in 2008 the color will be seen with closer associations to the enviroment and global issues.

Blue will also be a color that is influencial in many other areas. Pantone named blue the color of the year for 2008 and as we ushered in the new year many hues of blue from sky to navy were already appearing in home and fashion stores everywhere.

Silver Tops Charts as Most Popular Vehicle Color…

Kate Smith — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 16:00:25 +0000

… but around the globe other colors are gaining on the front-runner.

Black, a color that held the top spot on the charts for years has regained its popularity and other hues that are brighter and appeal to niche markets are also stepping up to steal some of the limelight.

According to PPG Industries, a leading manufacturer of transportation coatings globally, silver held the top position as the most popular car color.

2007 Color Ranking
Silver 31.5% [down from '06 ranking of 33.0%]
Black 18.0% [up from '06 ranking of 15.4%]
White 12.5%
Blue 12.4%
Red 8.8%
Naturals (gold, orange and brown tones) 6.6%
Other/niche market colors 5.9%
Green 3.8%

It appears that while many of us want our vehicles to be “green” we don’t prefer them to be painted that color.

Black Cars Coming on Strong in the UK

Kate Smith — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 05:37:05 +0000

Not only are brand new black cars storming up the sales league among customers, second-hand black cars are commanding a £500 price premium over other colours.

“UK sales of new silver cars fell substantially in 2006, while sales of black cars grew to such an extent that it has now nudged blue out of second place. “We appear to be witnessing the rapid beginning of the end for Britain’s love affair with silver cars” said Mike Orford of car company SEAT, who has tracked the trend away from ‘prestige’ silver and towards black.

Orange is the New Blue for GM’s Design Guru

Kate Smith — Tue, 17 Apr 2007 05:52:03 +0000

General Motors loves the color orange. So much so that nearly 75% of its upcoming stable of vehicles will be available in some variation of orange in the next few years.

Chris Webb, General Motor’s Trends and Exterior Color Designer and one of my colleagues at CMG was featured in Brandweek Q+A and talks candidly about the importance of color for new GM vehicles.

Read the Brandweek article…

Familiar Colors in a New Product

Kate Smith — Fri, 30 Mar 2007 04:44:31 +0000

Often the way color is used is inspired by an application or use from an entirely different industry. The watch faces below are a good example.

Employed both in aviation and the submarine world as a visual aid, bright colours ’speak’ to men from these and similar professions in a familiar and what seems to have proven appealing way.

These watches have a photo luminescent dials in blue or orange

Names that Inspire Car Buyers

Kate Smith — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 02:46:57 +0000

As the color of our world grows bolder now splashing onto our MP3’s cell phones and Blackberries will the colors of our automobiles begin to follow?

Already carmakers are coming up with more trendy and enticing color names to attract all, from young to old, from laid back to sophisticate. Depending on the car and the audience colors such as Black Pearl and Cinnamon are popping up all over the automotive industry inspiring consumers to take a more personal interest in the style of coloring their automobile is wearing!

Read the article…