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More colors to blossom on cars

Paint suppliers long for the time when silver is toppled from the top spot in U.S.

By Tim Moran / Special to The Detroit News

TROY- Are automotive fashionistas finally ready to embrace color?

In a few years, cars and trucks might roll out in such vivid shades as light turquoise, according to paint color forecasters at Troy-based PPG Automotive Coatings, a unit of PPG Industries Inc. in Pittsburgh.

Paint suppliers are eagerly awaiting the day when silver gets toppled from its throne as the favorite vehicle shade in America and most of the rest of the world. And from what paint designers have seen happening in fashion and home furnishings, they believe that day may be coming.

"Color can lift us," said Lorene Boettcher, manager of global design and color marketing at PPG's Troy-based design studio. "We feel there's more optimism about the future."

Boettcher has been on the road with PPG's annual color trends show, which made the rounds last week among auto designers and executives in Detroit, after a similar tour in Europe and before moving on to the West Coast and Asia..

None of the exact colors PPG is showing is likely to end up directly on a car, but the show is meant to give designers a taste of the "palette" of colors the company's specialists see emerging, and also demonstrate paint technology that PPG is ready to bring to the table.

"They're suggesting color spaces that they think we might be interested in," said Margaret Hackstedde, director of color and trim design for DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler Group in Auburn Hills.

William Michael, PPG's director of global color technology, said the shows often earn the supplier a chance to display a new color on a concept vehicle for an auto show.

"Some of our greatest accomplishments are being able to create colors for these new vehicles that eventually will filter down into production," he said.

A concept vehicle often can start a color trend, Boettcher said.

"For instance, candy-apple red began as a concept, and is now mainstream," she said. "You can get these really bright reds today that you couldn't get 10 years ago."

Asian and European markets are quicker to change paint colors, and more daring in the color choices they make, Boettcher said.

In North America, however, where automotive hues tend to be conservative and slow to follow trends, the day of vibrant colors may be quite some time in coming.

For the fourth consecutive year, silver and silver-grey remained the top color choices for cars in North America and everywhere else in the world except Australia, where white still leads, according to PPG's annual survey of color popularity.

The study found that 27 percent of 2004 model year North American cars emerged from the factory dressed in some form of silver/grey paint, with white and red tied for the next popular at 14 percent of vehicles.

Black, blue and "natural" colors, such as gold, followed close behind, adorning 13 percent, 12 percent and 11 percent of cars and trucks in North America.

Silver's dominance was also confirmed by BASF Corp.'s annual color survey data, released in mid-October.

BASF's auto coatings operation is headquartered in Southfield.

Chrysler's Hackstedde predicts silver and neutral colors will remain very popular for the foreseeable future.

The automaker is looking at silvery finishes with a faint tint of color.

"Satin Jade," which adds a faint green tint to silver, and "Butane Blue," a very silvery blue, are available on the Chrysler 300C sedan and Dodge Magnum wagon.

"It's not that people aren't interested in color, but I think they're careful about what they're investing their money in," Hackstedde said.

Wes Brown, a partner in Los Angeles-based Nextrend, a consumer research market trend company, said U.S. car buyers are generally cautious about choosing a standout color that may prove to be unpopular later.

Silver shows off the design of a vehicle, looks expensive, and yet doesn't make a particular car stand out of the pack.

Brown said carmakers face a challenge when it comes to color because they have to lock in vehicle designs and production 24 months or more before a vehicle actually will go on sale.


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Milla...

Hmm interesting artical. I have to admit most cars do look good in silver, its a raw color to me the true color of mashinery although I've never owned a grey or silver car myself. My cars has always been Black or White.

SexySC I have to admit I look very forward to your post very informative stuff.

brendanlim

Man ... so many people hating on silver

I agree with this though. Take a look at Spectra Blue on the GS -- one of the most beautiful colors I've ever seen in my opinion!

talgrl626

i can't wait!!

"Silver shows off the design of a vehicle, looks expensive"
tru tru that

it's ok brendan -- we still love ur car and all the pix u take

mmarshall

Slver may be OK on some really expensive cars like the LS430 and Infiniti Q45 that are designed primarily for luxury rather than sport.....it does have an expensive look on some cars, but it is dull, lifeless, B-O-R-I-N-G and is one of the most difficult colors to match during repainting. I just don't understand its popularity on cheaper and sporty cars.