Inside The Mind Of An Automotive Geek

These past few months, we are bombarded with overwhelming releases about cars going green. This is why enthusiasts think the hottest new cars are green.

But actually, they aren’t. Well, literally speaking. Again, you might say if isn’t green it must be silver. Yes, silver is the longest-running most popular color among cars. The reign is for an unprecedented 7 years!

Unfortunately, its reign has to end. Auto industry’s dominant color in the palette has to change in favor of… white.

"We're not surprised to see a proliferation of white/white pearl," Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute and author of "Color: Messages and Meanings, said in DuPont's entertaining Global Automotive Color Popularity Report. "It follows a global trend... where we're seeing a return to white as a clarifying agent before change, a color of purity and minimalism."

Consumers haven't decided on the Next Big Thing that is. DuPont said its research during the past five decades has shown white usually emerges as a favorite for a few a year or two between significant changes in market trends.

Wired News reports:

White is tops among new-car buyers in North America, Mexico and Japan, and Europeans still love black cars. But from a global perspective, the trend is shifting away from silver toward gray. We're not sure why - aside from the Audi TT, has a car ever looked good in gray?

Silver gained popularity because it represented newness in the late 1990s and came to be associated with safety after the terror attacks of Sept. 11, said Karen Surcina, color marketing manager at DuPont. White, on the other hand, is pleasing to look at and allows consumers to take a breather before moving on to more vibrant colors.

To get a sense of what might be hot, designers - often called "coatings designers" in the paint biz - check out the latest trends in fashion, home decor and furniture design, and they must look several years into the future. The seers at BASF looked into their crystal ball last year to come up with their "Three- to Six-Year Color Trend Forecast."

Car buyers ... will opt for striking, mixed colors that defy the definition of classic colors. New trend-setting colors will no longer fit traditional descriptions like green, blue or gray, requiring instead names that reflect exotic combinations of colors and effects, such as 'petrol-gray' and 'greige,' a combination of gray and beige.

BASF says:

Silver will "evolve in small and subtle tonal steps" toward more colorful shades and be complemented by other metallic colors like gold and platinum. Red will grow more popular, with buyers looking for "purity, depth and sporty effects" but also being drawn to "more fashionable tints in the coral range." Saturated pastels - whatever those are - "will become a staple in the industry," with "fresh-water blue and blue-greens approaching turquoise will keep growing in popularity."

Paint technologies of the future will offer a broader sensual experience than just a visual one. Matte and 'soft touch' effects will provide a tactile experience ...

But of course, expect the classic combinations to remain. Ferrari is gorgeous in red, Lamborghini in orange, and Lotus Elise in yellow.