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USB lexus paint on my ISF was a pleasure to clean. it always looked good even when dirty. very happy with lexus paint quality on that car. no swirls were ever visible and very easy to wash and dry.
It is more of a fashion statement than a statement of cost-cutting.
The contrast is a fashion statement. Bare plastic is cost cutting. For instance my LS has a black lower rear valence, but it's gloss painted black. ES is raw plastic.
For color, simply put, I avoid white as it is, well, devoid of color to my eyes. It just doesn't excite me unless there's a right mix of shades, tint, wheels, and other contrasts both in and out of the car.
In short, I typically enjoy vibrant colors despite their higher maintenance. Car has to excite me, period, otherwise it's gone - and color plays a big part. Case in point, my Scuba Blue A4 on winter rims is far more exciting (to me) than this non-metallic white A4 loaner I got the other day (no tints, plain winter rims, etc).
For color, simply put, I avoid white as it is, well, devoid of color to my eyes. It just doesn't excite me unless there's a right mix of shades, tint, wheels, and other contrasts both in and out of the car.
Yes, regular appliance-white can be boring, but the Pearl Oyster White, if done correctly, can be one of the classiest paint jobs in the business.
Are you refering to true plastic as such, or the softer vinyl/rubber compounds used on many bumpers nowadays? The softer, more flexible material is often used so that if the bumper is only lightly tapped and not pushed in too hard, the material will rebound some and minimize the amount of damage done and need for a body shop, though there may be some cosmetic damage and cracking done to the paint.
no, it's hard plastic. it has no place on a luxury car, but there it is. as dseag mentioned above, it's also found on class competitors in the same area.
no, it's hard plastic. it has no place on a luxury car, but there it is. as dseag mentioned above, it's also found on class competitors in the same area.
Yes, regular appliance-white can be boring, but the Pearl Oyster White, if done correctly, can be one of the classiest paint jobs in the business.
i agree with you in that pearl white is one of the classiest colors that one can select on a luxury car; any car, really. there's a world of difference between flat white and pearl/metallic white.
One thing you haven't touched upon is resale value. Bright interesting colors are cute and all, but are much harder to sell and I find typically go for a discount relative to their more muted peers. I owned a red and yellow car before and they simply would not move at similar prices relative to their more common, perhaps dull peers (blacks, silver, white). Also, certain colors age quickly... that solar yellow IS300 (a color combo I also owned) might have looked fresh in 2001, but started to look rather silly in 2011.
A red/yellow Ferrari or Lotus perhaps will retain that vibe for many years to come, and maybe even that orange GS-F, but any bright flashy color IMO really does not belong on a non-high performance vehicle and you'll pay for it down the line when either the dealer or a CL buyer low ***** you for the color. That said, a car can be a very personal and emotional purchase, and resell value is not the be all and end all of vehicle purchase decision making.
One thing you haven't touched upon is resale value. Bright interesting colors are cute and all, but are much harder to sell
Not in my experience. In fact, the 2001 Solar Yellow IS300 I owned was one of the easiest cars I ever had to re-sell. Everybody who looked at it liked it.
Also, certain colors age quickly... that solar yellow IS300 (a color combo I also owned) might have looked fresh in 2001, but started to look rather silly in 2011.
It certainly didn't look silly in 2006, five years later, when I sold it.
In fact, take a look at the Mustard Yellow and Mariner (Electric Blue) that BMW is still selling on the M3. Nothing silly about them.