Hello

I notice that there is a large amount of black cars on the road, is me, are does it seem like there are more black cars on the road than any other color, and if so, why?


PS I like red cars my self.

I know this a silly topic, but so what.      

Most popular car colors in the US:
http://www.motorauthority.com/news/1...popular-color-for-new-cars-in-2014

In North America, white took the lead with 22 percent, followed by black (18 percent), gray (16 percent) and silver (15 percent).
White remained the most popular in other regions, including Europe (25 percent), Asia Pacific (31 percent) and South America (32).

Simply a matter of resale value preservation. A neutral color can easily be resold, but if your color is lime green you'll have problems unless you drop the price.

Quoting 747400sp (Thread starter): I know this a silly topic, but so what

There are no silly questions. Just silly answers. For example:

When the brosband and I met, I was driving a silver car and he a blue truck. He had his painted black. We both sold ours about the same time and both have white. Me a sedan and he a truck.

I don't know what it is with him and trucks, but anyway....

I have noticed that, all the time, he complains that his truck and my car are dirty. Before, his stance was "meh... I guess I better wash the truck because I don't have anything better to do..."

I have noticed how more often my car now looks dirty than the last car I had.

Probably nothing to do with your original question. Just something to think about.....

Black/dark colors are popular because they look 'premium.' The best-looking top of the range cars (S-class, 700-series) are usually black, whereas people buying small cars tend to favor lighter colors.

I am not a fan of black cars, and would never buy one. They are harder to see and IMHO need to have their lights on more often than other colours, i.e. lime green or white.

Dark green was popular some years ago, that is almost as bad, in the visibility stakes. I inherited a light gold car. I drive with my lights on when I am out of town in the countryside as it can be difficult to see against the brown land and dry grasses IMHO. My favourite colour car is white, and I had a white car previously.

I think black shows the dust and scratch marks more easily.. There do seem to be more black cars on the road. Maybe it is a long drawn out fad.. maybe. Resale value yes, this could also play a part.

My two cars in my life were metallic navy blue and white.

In terms of upkeep, geez I preferred the blue.

I prefer a white car because of its greater visibilty and it reflects more heat, something that is a consideration here in Western Australia.

The darker cars, especially the greys, tend to blend into the road colour and get hidden in rain yet, merely from personal observation, their drivers appear less likely to use headlamps in conditions of poor visibilty.

I told myself I'd never buy myself a black car ....

.... I'm now on my sixth black car  

Quoting WearyDrover (Reply 7): I prefer a white car because of its greater visibilty and it reflects more heat, something that is a consideration here in Western Australia. The darker cars, especially the greys, tend to blend into the road colour and get hidden in rain yet, merely from personal observation, their drivers appear less likely to use headlamps in conditions of poor visibilty.

Oh yes, I forgot about the heat aspect!   

You can tell a white car that has been in the desert (a while).. it never looks really white ever again LOL.

Yes grey is not too good either. I am one of those people, where if I am in a black car as a passenger, I will say "shouldn't you have your lights on now.."..    They need to be more vigilant.

Quoting VapourTrails (Reply 5): I am not a fan of black cars, and would never buy one. They are harder to see and IMHO need to have their lights on more often than other colours,

Disagree, I think the hardest cars to see are grey or silver, they blend in to the the background color of the road.


I'd never have a black or white car again, they show all the dirt and are very hard to keep clean.


I have a dark blue car now and it looks great no matter how rarely I wash it !

Quoting Max Q (Reply 10): I'd never have a black or white car again, they show all the dirt and are very hard to keep clean.

But they look so good after you've slaved over them washing them and waxing them. Too bad in a few days they'll look dirty again.

Quoting Rugger (Reply 11): But they look so good after you've slaved over them washing them and waxing them

They do, it's just too much work.


Dark blue rules !

Quoting Max Q (Reply 10): Disagree, I think the hardest cars to see are grey or silver, they blend in to the the background color of the road.

Yes. It can depend on what the road sufaces are, without trying to delve into too fine a detail. Bitumen roads versus concrete surfaces.

Around here, the roads are nearly always black. Out on the highways more, they are concrete pavement, much lighter. Don't do a lot of highway driving, or particularly, at low light levels time of day.

I have never had any issues with grey or silver, only the black and dark green. Dark blue has never been an issue.

Henry Ford once said that People could have his cars in any color as long is it was black. The question is whether this was a marketing gag or stream lining of produtcion

White, followed by silver, are the most popular car colours in Australia.
Of all colours, I reckon that orange(?!?!), yellow and weird shades of green are becoming more popular.
Black always has seemed to be one of the most popular car colours, in my opinion. It seems, like red, to be mainly only 'sports' model cars, 4WDs and SUVs etc.
A car dealer once told me that the hardest colour to sell was brown... I don't know how true that was!
As for me, I love grey or silver... but have had a black car and did notice it looked dirtier faster than the preceeding cars.
Cheers,
Bunumuring.

From late fall to mid-spring, if you visit Toronto, just about every car you see is white - seriously, even the tires! From SALT. Then the other half of the year, they evolve to brown - from rust.





LD4

I've had a few black cars, they look fantastic when clean, then 5 mins later they are dirty and my OCD kicks in, now it's colors that hide the dirt better.

I know in terms of resale value, black is typically third, behind white and gray/silver.

Quoting 1337Delta764 (Reply 18): I know in terms of resale value, black is typically third, behind white and gray/silver.

Neutral colors. The exact same car in yellow or any other bright colors will always be a few hundred bucks less, because all other things being equal, some people will be turned off by the color. I know if I found my dream car, but it was yellow or bright green, I would factor in the cost of repainting it.

Quoting Dreadnought (Reply 19): I would factor in the cost of repainting it.

Don't bother repainting, just get a high quality wrap job done on it.

Quoting LAXintl (Reply 1): gray (16 percent) and silver (15 percent).

I would combine silver and gray and make that the most popular color. Definitely true here in France, although white has been gaining since the introduction of nice white paint and its use on premium cars. Before that only work cars/vans/trucks would be white.

Well my parents had a white car when it wasn't so popular, but that was a strategic choice after having suffered a lot driving in Italy with a black car. No A/C in either the black or the white, the latter was much better for those regular trips.

White and Black look real good when clean, the flip side is they show up dirt real quick.
In areas with lost of sun, the dark colour retain the colour much longer than white.
I personally preferred Red, unfortunately, this colour has an un-natural affect on the birds of the air, they never miss and tend to gravitate towards the colour.
All in all, the light colours and black just make you work harder keeping your ride clean.

Honestly it all depends on the car. One color might look bad on a certain car and great on another. A Golf wrapped in Verde Ithaca looks ridiculous. Plus there is historical connotation and tradition to account for as well.

White cars are hit or miss. I don't think it works well on cars with more organic rounded shapes because they come off looking like either an egg or a bathtub. For a more angular car white works very well.

Quoting Skydrol (Reply 16): From late fall to mid-spring, if you visit Toronto, just about every car you see is white - seriously, even the tires! From SALT. Then the other half of the year, they evolve to brown - from rust.

-the same here in Oslo. I'm now on my 2nd black car, and I'm seriously cosidering a BEIGE color.

Scooter01

Quoting Scooter01 (Reply 24): Quoting Skydrol (Reply 16): From late fall to mid-spring, if you visit Toronto, just about every car you see is white - seriously, even the tires! From SALT. Then the other half of the year, they evolve to brown - from rust. -the same here in Oslo. I'm now on my 2nd black car, and I'm seriously cosidering a BEIGE color. Scooter01

The environment is really a consideration isn't it. I went from rust, to dust - when I moved. I prefer the latter personally, less, or no damage. I use the car wash, good as new. If I ever took my car into the desert it wouldn't worry me, but it would be interesting to see the colours there that people gravitate too, other than the ones I have seen which are white, with a hue of orange. Again, rust is the worst offender. Seaside and salt.   

Quoting 747400sp (Thread starter): PS I like red cars my self.

Cops pick on red cars more often than others.

Quoting PanHAM (Reply 14): Henry Ford once said that People could have his cars in any color as long is it was black. The question is whether this was a marketing gag or stream lining of produtcion

That's really true, Ford really said that. The reason behind it was he could push out more completed cars off the assembly line in a day if they were all the same color. Remember back then his main effort was just to get cars out of the factory into the hands of customers as quickly as they demanded them.

Quoting Dreadnought (Reply 19): Neutral colors. The exact same car in yellow or any other bright colors will always be a few hundred bucks less, because all other things being equal, some people will be turned off by the color. I know if I found my dream car, but it was yellow or bright green, I would factor in the cost of repainting it.

Of non-neutral colors, red typically has the best resale value, while green is typically the worst. I'm a bit surprised why green would be worse than pink though.

When I was growing up in Canada in the 1950s/60s, a black car was usually either a police car or a hearse.

I expect one reason neutral colors like white, black and silver have become more popular is because people generally keep their cars much longer than they used to, since today's cars are more reliable and resist corrosion and other problems better. When you traded in your car every 3 or 4 years (often less), you didn't mind more variety in colors since you didn't have the car long enough to get sick of yellow or red or turqoise. Two-tone and even some 3-tone paint jobs were also common then. Very rare now.

In Europe, at least in Switzerland, white has only become popular for cars again in the past couple of years. Until then about the only white vehicles were delivery vans etc. If it's not white now, there's probably an 80% probablity it will be silver or black. Black is worst for showing dirt and dust. White or silver are much better if you don't like washing your car frequently.

[Edited 2015-10-18 16:56:51]

Seems like 90% of the cars I see on the road are either silver/grey, white or black, which I hate - black and silver are really difficult to see (black also gets insanely hot in the summer) and white is really hard to keep clean, low visibility in snow and often looks low-rent. A big problem, though, is that even though manufacturers normally offer a wide range of colors, it is often almost impossible to actually get the car in those colors unless you special-order them - dealers (and even manufacturers) just don't stock them. I had a red car and just ordered this week a new very blue one (a Subaru) - in both cases I had to order them (and will need to wait 4 to 6 weeks for my new Scoobie), but I just don't want to drive around in something that looks like everything else on the road and that I can't easily spot in a parking lot.

Quoting Viscount724 (Reply 29): I expect one reason neutral colors like white, black and silver have become more popular is because people generally keep their cars much longer than they used to, since today's cars are more reliable and resist corrosion and other problems better. When you traded in your car every 3 or 4 years (often less), you didn't mind more variety in colors since you didn't have the car long enough to get sick of yellow or red or turqoise. Two-tone and even some 3-tone paint jobs were also common then. Very rare now.

   That is an interesting point.

I did a quick survey in my head today about the colours of cars of my roads as I was driving along. Results are, predominately white, then black, and then grey (light or dark - pewter colour), and silver. Then the remainder were a mixture of any of the other colours. It is really a neutral base of preference.

I am not sure if it is really demand, or the colour trends are set by the manufacturers? These are largely imported cars.

Similarly if all of these cars are conscious colour choices, people can now also choose their own registration plate colours (and styles) these days (too). I paid extra for my car plates because I didn't want the standard ones to clash with my car, and I didn't really like them.

Go back thirty years, we didn't have the choice, and I don't think people really cared about those things then? Are people more engaged in what they are buying now, and have more eye for detail, are we spoilt for choice? Do people see these neutral shades as going with their other possessions, or not clashing with their other cars or properties?

Why Is Every Car on the Road Black, White, Gray or Silver? Color choices reveal more about you than you'd think, by Robert Klara (Adweek). July 27, 2015.

http://www.adweek.com/news/advertisi...ar-road-black-white-or-gray-166090

Summary from the article:

"Next time you're stuck in traffic, look around: Does it seem like nearly all the cars around you are white, black or some version of silver? If so, don't blame your tired commuter eyes: For the last five years or so, the neutral palette has literally ruled the road.

"A lot of times a consumer may have seen that gray-orange in an advertisement or on a billboard, but by the time they make the expensive purchase they're more conservative," she said. "They think, 'Can I really have that color for five years?'"

The popularity of gray and silver, some have suggested, reflects Americans' love affair with technology (witness our laptops and smart phones). In the luxury segment alone, silver coat goes on 20 percent of the cars purchased, according to PPG.

Harrington also relates that plain-old American impetuousness may have a lot to do with it. Frequently, unusual colors represent a special order that means a customer will have to wait to get the car—and waiting is, as they say, the hardest part. Driving off the lot on the day of purchase means choosing from what's available, and what's usually available are the basic colors.

But now that things are looking up, brighter colors may be on the horizon. Silver and gray's popularity has actually slipped 7 percent over the preceding two years, according to PPG's numbers. And Harrington notes that more "chromatic colors"—reds, blues and greens—are starting to make inroads."

--------

Maybe do another thread in five year's time...  

Should black cars be banned from the road? from The Daily Examiner, Clair Morton | 6th Aug 2015

http://www.dailyexaminer.com.au/news/should-we-ban-black-cars/2730435/

I too remember the day when a black car usually meant a hearse, as a previous poster mentioned.

-----

Summary from the article:

A DEBATE is raging online over whether the colour of a car can be deemed a safety hazard.

APN reporter Kathy Sundstrom sparked the conversation last week when she wrote an opinion piece suggesting black cars should be banned from the road.

To back up her argument, she cited a study by Monash University in 2013 which found black cars were 47% more likely to be involved in crashes.

"I know you might think black's cool. In that case, wear black clothes when you drive," she said.

"But you shouldn't be putting the rest of us at risk because of your choice to drive a dark-coloured car."

In lieu of banning certain colours, she said those driving a black or grey car should have to drive with lights on during the day.

Grafton Motor Group general manager Rob Connell, who has been in the car sales business for 30 years, said the perceived safety of a particular car colour wasn't an issue for most potential buyers.

In most cases, it comes down to aesthetics.

"Older people are the ones that mention it the most; they've been brought up in years when cars weren't that safe and people didn't like dark cars, but with daytime running lights the argument is a bit moot these days," he said.

"In the age group we typically sell to, 35-45, colour is a big thing. They'll buy the colour of a car over safety features, but most new cars around the country are at least five stars now. People buy cars with their sight more than their minds."

Mr Connell said with that in mind, black cars only made up about 1% of their private sales.

The colour black has been well and truly superseded by charcoal greys and dark bronze colours, he said.

"Black had its run. We sell a lot of graphite grey cars now; I own one myself and I've never thought about it.

"Daytime running lights negate the lost in the scenery, lost in the road surface problem. Which cars are more prone to accidents comes down to the driver."


-----

Interesting points. Graphite grey is in!

I like advertising colors, the ones manufacturers use to advertise their vehicles. Our 1997 Grand Caravan was Candy Apple Red (the best color). My 2010 Mazda 3 is Velocity Silver, same as the ads. I love Ford's Liquid Blue color but unfortunately it's not a production color (from the Mustang GT350R and Ford GT introduction earlier this year).

I think there's far too much white, gray, black, and silver on the roads (and yes, I drive a silver car). Why not have some color? That's why I can't stand Honda and Toyota's boring color choices.

I really dislike white and silver/grey cars. Although I will admit that my old Jeep was grey and it looked clean all the time with just a weekly wash. My new Jeep is metallic red and it looks dirty the next day, my Mazda is a blue metallic and it looks dusty all the time.

I like black cars and the dark titanium grey but since I only buy used cars I have to look around a bit to find exactly what I want and usually back a few compromises.

Quoting ACDC8 (Reply 8): I told myself I'd never buy myself a black car .... .... I'm now on my sixth black car

I've uttered the same thing countless times... yet, just yesterday I took delivery of my fifth black car - a 2016 GTI. Couldn't be happier with my choice. Already gotten a few compliments!

Quoting VapourTrails (Reply 32): "A lot of times a consumer may have seen that gray-orange in an advertisement or on a billboard, but by the time they make the expensive purchase they're more conservative," she said. "They think, 'Can I really have that color for five years?'"

Very true. Black, white, grey and silver are almost ubiquitous (I'd add any shade of dark metallic blue to that list) - it wouldn't look out of place, and it wouldn't be dated unlike some colour 'fads' like bright green or orange - in season one year, and out the next.

For example, when the previous generation Mazda2 was released, I really liked the bright green metallic colour which was available on it, but now when I see one on the road, that colour still stands out, but for the wrong reasons. It looks dated.

I've owned 3 blue, 4 black, 2 green, 1 red, 2 silver, 1 gray.

I do like black with a light interior, but in the california sun, a lighter color helps. Currently I have a light silver. It's the lightness of white, with more reflectivity, without actually being white.

White is very popular around here with Armenians and Persians. Lots of white BMW and Lexus around my area.

Last time I bought a car (for the wife) she went for silver, mainly for a change of pace.

My old 02 De Ville is "Sable" - a metallic sand. I went with that so I could go longer between car washes. Good choices as there has been continual construction in the neighborhood - swiping blocks and building McMansions with all the dust covering cars, houses, etc. the last McMansion (directly across the street) finished up about 6 months ago and the old house next to it went down 3 weeks ago. That's going to go on for a few more years as we live in the center of town and small houses like mine (2,300 sq ft) don't last long before the builders grab them. Sable works well for me,

In terms of colors for hot climates, white is the best. Government cars in Australia are white for a reason.

Also, Gulf Oil ran a comparison test in the late 50's. They had 2 Beach Kings and painted the top of one while, leaving the other as it's basic aluminum. After a day int he Houston sun they checked the temps of the 2. The white was 11 degrees cooler.

Quoting bunumuring (Reply 15): Of all colours, I reckon that orange(?!?!), yellow and weird shades of green are becoming more popular.

Compare those colors to the Kingswoods in the early/mid 70s. IIRC there was also a purple in days.

I thought Silver/Aluminium was more popular, since scratches get camouflaged.

Quoting 747400sp (Thread starter): I notice that there is a large amount of black cars on the road, is me, are does it seem like there are more black cars on the road than any other color, and if so, why?

If you chose black, it's much harder to be off style, or unfashionable. With clothing is the same - you can more easily make a faux pas by chosing the wrong colors, e.g. a light blue jacket on a 25 year old man. Or if you wear red trousers as a man, the rest of your clothing really has to match...

I'm a fashion noob, don't worry. If I ever employ people, wearing a bathrobe would be "business casual". It's comfy, after all.

David

My main car is black, which I bought in winter. With the usual benefit of hindsight, a black car with a black leather interior in Portugal in mid summer is somewhat painful. I also have a white Punto, which tbh looks dirty nearly all the time.

My favourite colour of all time is candy - apple red. I have seen it lately on some Renaults (Flame Red I think they call it), and whilst I'm not keen on the car, I love the colour.

People like neutral colors better. That is pretty basic.

Quoting Dreadnought (Reply 2): A neutral color can easily be resold, but if your color is lime green you'll have problems unless you drop the price.

Unless you get someone who really likes the color.

Quoting Max Q (Reply 26): Cops pick on red cars more often than others.

That isn't borne out in statistics.

Quoting Viscount724 (Reply 29): If it's not white now, there's probably an 80% probablity it will be silver or black. Black is worst for showing dirt and dust. White or silver are much better if you don't like washing your car frequently.

White is at least as bad as black for showing dirt. Silver is the best color for looking clean.

Quoting VapourTrails (Reply 32): But now that things are looking up, brighter colors may be on the horizon. Silver and gray's popularity has actually slipped 7 percent over the preceding two years, according to PPG's numbers. And Harrington notes that more "chromatic colors"—reds, blues and greens—are starting to make inroads."

Excerpt from that article. I am starting to notice these chrome coloured cars on the roads, particularly chrome green.. very retro IMHO. At least they are fairly visible.   

Pink isn't so bad either...

Because they are extremely good looking and sexy. I have a black Mercedes and it looks stunning.

FriscoHeavy wrote:

Because they are extremely good looking and sexy. I have a black Mercedes and it looks stunning.

Black is the worst for showing the dirt. It's very hard to keep a black car looking good. White or silver or other light colors are much better if you don't want to wash your car every day.

Viscount724 wrote:

FriscoHeavy wrote:

Because they are extremely good looking and sexy. I have a black Mercedes and it looks stunning.

Black is the worst for showing the dirt. It's very hard to keep a black car looking good. White or silver or other light colors are much better if you don't want to wash your car every day.

I have a black truck, my first black vehicle. I learned very quickly not to worry about dirt and spots.