|
White became popular for cars some years ago, before which silver and black were more popular. Currently grey is in, though it often makes the car look more like a military vehicle IMO. As said by others, some cars look good in white, the new VW Polo comes to mind, and some look horrendous, the Range Rover is a perfect example of awfulness though a turd is a turd no matter the colour. It also depends on the shade. I like a nice pure white. VW a pale blue white that looks yuck.
As for resale value, yes colour does have an impact. However, it assumes you can guess how tastes change. I suspect silver and black are fairly safe albeit dull. Green is unpopular, and pink is best avoided.
There's a nice graphic here:
www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-46906254
Edited by Leif on 21/03/2019 at 13:28
|
Personally I think different colours suit different models.
My previous Leon FR looked good in white but think the new Alfa Giulia looks awful in it.
I also think white doesn’t show the dirt as much as you think and certainly hides stone chips and scratches.
|
It’s said, quite rightly, that you can’t polish a turd. However, you can roll it in glitter.
But that’s not the point of my post. My wife’s last 5 cars (including her current model) have been white and I’d have to say that I don’t find it difficult to keep clean. It’s not a colour I’d choose, but I’d agree that some models do look good in it. Her current car, an A3 cabrio, is a case in point.
She insists on white for visibility purposes as much as personal preference. A few cars ago I managed to persuade her to order her new Renault Clio in champagne as the demonstrator she drove was that colour and she quite liked it. However, a week or so after the order was placed the dealer rang and said that the colour had been discontinued and asked if she would like to choose another colour. Without hesitation she said white and was, I suspect, somewhat relieved to be able to continue with her preferred colour.
The white on her Audi is glacier white. Audi owners will know it as a metallic (or something similar) finish. The thing about it is that it is a very brilliant white and in sunlight it is even brighter, quite impressive. It polishes up beautifully.
|
|
Bring back British racing green
|
Bring back British racing green
It's supposedly an 'unlucky' colour - maybe due to cars 'blending into' their surroundings in the countryside and thus are more likely to have an accident? My old Micra was a similar colour (dark metalic green, not quite BRG, but I liked it). The colour doesn't work on all cars though.
|
|
I really like green, the darker the better, not wishy washy light green and definately not pea or lime green.
Nicest colour i've owned was metallic ice blue, unusual for the period it looked just right on my Volvo 144 GLE (big bumper) saloon.
White is alright on some cars, but i haven't yet seen a metallic white that looks right
Richest colour has to be the various shades of maroon, but you seldom see modern cars so painted, never had a black car and don't ever want one.
My car is silver, it's ok but it's best point is how it hides the dirt.
|
|
My latest car is Silver and it was £800 less than the blue one at another dealers, a long way away too.
The Mg zs excite 1.5 manual came from Grimsby, a good bit from Colchester.... the blue (more expensive) one was Gateshead.. same spec, same miles, same reg plate..and £2500 less than any demos near me in Essex.
The previous Venga was red, demo in stock and better than the awful steel blue one sitting next to it. However it's redeeming quality was also the price..
If it is a colour i can tolerate and specs are the same, price will win, after all, they are only "white goods" anyway now.
|
|
I remember browsing a Ford brochure in the 80s and seeing "signal paint" as an option. Red, white or yellow were the exciting choices and IIRC metallic wasn't yet de rigueur.
Red cars used to have a heavy insurance weighting in Spain until quite recently, but the bad boy Seat drivers in banana yellow seem to have taken the lead there. I suspect the collision-provoking aggression/testosterone rush is caused in other drivers, rather than the driver of the "offending" car.
My favourite two company cars were deep metallic blue and my least favourite was gunmetal grey, with white placed ambivalently in the middle. Hard to keep clean but more visible at night. I strongly suspect that darker coloured cars are more visible than lighter coloured ones in the daytime, but with the state of most drivers' eyesight and reaction times it's pretty academic!.
The Battenberg markings of emergency vehicles seem to have cornered the "visibility in all conditions" market, but I can't imagine the fashion/image-conscious public ever paying such a high price for perceived road safety. I did have a laugh when I first saw the first few "Harlequin" VW Polos on the road though.
|
Doubt darker cars are more visible than coloured ones in daylight. White/yellow best for daytime.
I think that was proved statistically in the 1970s. It prompted an outburst of buttercup yellow cars - I had one, a Maxi. Before everyone chortles, it was a good reliable car which went to Switzerland and other continental places. It wasn't long before the value of the stats was forgotten.
Edited by Andrew-T on 24/03/2019 at 09:50
|
|
Don't imagine for one second that the colour of your car makes the slightest difference to its visibility to the average person attending the steering wheel of their vehicle, if it does register they still blank it, my lorry both tanker and tractor unit are probably the brightest colour on the road, yet dozens of car drivers (mainly), especially joining major routes at slip roads, haven't the slightest clue it's there.
|
|
What has been proven, is that people, be they drivers or otherwise, 'notice' things that stand out, i,e, things they are not used to seeing. So with regards to car colours, i really doubt it would make any difference at all, day or night, unless you had something really bright, reflective, or even luminous!.
I remember reading an article on recumbent bicycles a few years ago as i really fancied one (still do, but can't afford a decent one!). Particularly with regards to potential owners being worried about not being seen. Trials on the continent proved beyond doubt, that drivers were much more likely to notice them, even being much lower to the ground, because they look so different compared to a 'normal' bike.
Same reason you are much more likely to notice a classic car, even if you aren't a fan, because it looks 'different' to what your eye is used to seeing on the road.
It prompted an outburst of buttercup yellow cars - I had one, a Maxi. Before everyone chortles, it was a good reliable car which went to Switzerland and other continental places.
Nothing but respect from me Andrew, good cars, unfairly maligned (though i believe the cable operated gearchage was a sore point?). Brilliant use of interior space for its footprint!.
|
It prompted an outburst of buttercup yellow cars - I had one, a Maxi. Before everyone chortles, it was a good reliable car which went to Switzerland and other continental places.
Nothing but respect from me Andrew, good cars, unfairly maligned (though i believe the cable operated gearchage was a sore point?). Brilliant use of interior space for its footprint!.
I had a 1978 Maxi 1750 (Brooklands Green) from 1983 to 85, one of the worst cars I owned and certainly not a patch on the Renault 16 of the same year I had afterwards. Firm bouncy ride, stupid heavy steering, jumped out of 4th gear when you lifted off, low oil pressure on a long run and wings turning to rust at 6 years old. The only good thing about it was I could fit all my student housemates in it for the ride from our student house up to the university!
With regards to Ford signal paint, I had a Capril 2.0S in Signal Orange, certainly couldn't miss it!
|
|
< Nothing but respect from me Andrew, good cars, unfairly maligned (though i believe the cable operated gearchage was a sore point?). Brilliant use of interior space for its footprint!. >
I never had a cable-change version - Maxis started with those, but they were soon replaced by rod operation. Like many 1970s cars from BL, there were plenty of rusty ones and I changed mine after 3 or 4 years. Another Achilles heel was the replaceable filter element on the front of the engine block. Mine was knocked off by a metal pole hidden in long grass. Luckily I looked in the mirror and saw the trail of oil .....
|
Don't imagine for one second that the colour of your car makes the slightest difference to its visibility to the average person attending the steering wheel of their vehicle, if it does register they still blank it, my lorry both tanker and tractor unit are probably the brightest colour on the road, yet dozens of car drivers (mainly), especially joining major routes at slip roads, haven't the slightest clue it's there.
So all that hi-viz is just a waste of time and money? Better tell them too ....
|
|
The "average person" at the wheel these days is ensconced in a soundproofed environment, thanks to the latest technology in glass, metal and rubber, with several watts of music being played out of multiple speakers in true surround something or other.
Combine that with repeated distractions from bleeping and flashing screens on the phone and dashboard, A and B pillars as thick as tree trunks , door waistlines sweeping ever upwards and a firm belief that all the ETC, ABS, AEB, LDW and BLIS will haul a driver out of trouble in the nick of time and it's a wonder that multiple pile-ups are so rare!
Even without all the gizmos, I'm convinced a lot of drivers have such profound tunnel vision that they wouldn't notice a pair of wombats mating on top of the dashboard...
Edited by Bilboman on 25/03/2019 at 01:55
|
Don't imagine for one second that the colour of your car makes the slightest difference to its visibility to the average person attending the steering wheel of their vehicle,.......
Yes it does - there is some research evidence that the darker the car, the more likely it is to be involved in an accident. White and yellow are apparently the 'safest' colours. Not sure whether HGVs were included.......
|
|
Bring back British racing green
It's still here - on my 1980 TR7 DHC.
It's supposedly an 'unlucky' colour - maybe due to cars 'blending into' their surroundings in the countryside and thus are more likely to have an accident?
39yrs on - still lucky........(although back in the 80s I nearly ceased to exist when some heavy grey builder's blocks slid off his truck when he came round a bend I was approaching...)
|
|
|
|
|
