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Silver's still king of the colors

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Old 12-09-05, 09:10 PM
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nthach
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Default Silver's still king of the colors

It's in a PDF, but a little snippet:
Silver topped all colors among North American vehicles produced in the
2005 model year for the fifth consecutive year, according to the annual
global color popularity survey conducted by the PPG Automotive OEM
Styling Division.

and the PDF: http://www.ppg.com/refinishftpsite/d...rendsNov05.pdf
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Old 12-10-05, 07:04 AM
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mmarshall
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I couldn't download the file and will have to make my comments without it:

Silver, of course...and some light gray colors as well......is popular for several reasons. First, it is associated with an upscale look. Second, it is a metallic color...and the " metallic " look, both outside and inside, seems to be the rage right now. Third, it is a rather low-maintenance color and generally does not show dirt or scratches, although beige is the lowest-maintenance color of all. Fourth, it is a neutral color and tends to go with a number of different interior colors, although most automakers offer only beige, gray, or black interiors. Fifth, it has obvious re-sale value. Sixth, as a subdued color, the theory is that it doesn't attract cops....though I am not convinced that paint color plays that large a role in law enforcement anyway.

( BTW...despite my rather low opinion of the quality of Mercedes products, I have to admit that they probably do silver better than any other automaker ).


But, besides the fact that I myself am not a fan of silvers and light grays ( they are too dull-looking for my tastes ), there are several disadvantages to these colors as well. Silver, for reasons of the extremely small amounts of pigment required in the paint, can be very difficult to match exactly in the body shop if you have to get part of the car repainted. If not done well it tends fo fade and oxidize quickly....though modern clearcoat paint jobs have minimized that tendency. And, silvers and light greys tend to more-or-less blend in with gray asphalt road surfaces and are generally not a high-visibility color for safety.
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