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  • I see red
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Maybe we can coax Ken out of retirement with mention of Colour Wars...

http://carsguide.news.com.au/story/0,20384...8-21822,00.html

Best selling car colours

18 August 2006

Gavin McGrath

When it comes to new cars, silver is the new white. Australia's biggest carmakers are selling more silver cars than any other colour, including old faithful white, according to a survey of some of the largest brands.

Different shades of silver are the top-selling colour for the five best-selling cars, including Commodore (27 per cent of sales), Falcon (31), Toyota Corolla (33), Camry (27) and Mitsubishi 380 (24).

It is No.1 at Holden, Ford, Mercedes-Benz, Hyundai and Mitsubishi and No.2 at Toyota. When commercial vehicles are taken out of the equation, silver is No.1 at Toyota too.

Ford colour and trim design manager Debbie Pascoe says car colour choices follow the fashion clothing industry.

"It's clothing fashion first, then interior design and last automotive," Pascoe says.

"It's very subliminal. You might see a splash of colour in a tie or shirt. You start getting used to the colour, then start seeing it in interior design.

"It goes into cosmetics, then toys, and people start to ask if there's a guru telling people what to buy."

But there isn't a worldwide colour guru, according to Pascoe. There are, however, organisations devoted to debating which colours are "in" and which are "out".

Pascoe belongs to the Color Marketing Group, which includes people from fashion along with those who specialise in toys, mattresses and even zippers. She says the insights are important.

"If I launch a colour too early, people aren't ready to buy it, and if it's too late you've missed it," Pascoe says. "With cars we work two years in advance. I'm working on 2008 colours now so I'm looking at clothing fashion in 2006."

Pascoe says a car's target audience affects the colour, as does the shape of the car.

"The Territory, for example, has a much larger body mass than the Falcon and the cladding is quite flat, so metallics work much better than flat colours," she says.

"We are also thinking about what person is going to buy that car and what they will like. But even that's a bit complex. People of different types buy the same car, which is why we have 17 colours."

Pascoe says even silver isn't simple. There are a lot more types of silver than most people realise.

"What is critical is the undertone," she says. "Whether it is red or blue.

"Most people wouldn't necessarily see it, but behind the scenes there is a subtlety that will make people either like the colour or not."

Hue's hue of colours

Debbie Pascoe says every colour has a good side and bad side. Here is her form guide.

BRIGHT RED

Upside: exciting, aggressive and stimulating.  :fool:

Downside: people get sick of it quickly. never!

BURGUNDY

Upside: safe and conservative.

Downside: a bit boring and heavy.

BRIGHT BLUE (flat)

Upside: fun and has a bit of larrikin feel to it.

Downside: frivolous. People won't take you seriously.

NAVY BLUE

Upside: nautical, traditional and never out of style.

Downside: it's like it's expected, "we get it already".

BLACK

Upside: sophisticated and sleek. Like the little black dress. Also a bit sinister which can be a good thing.

Downside: a bit sinister which can be a bad thing, not visible, and impractical in terms of keeping it clean.

GUN METAL/DARK SILVER

Upside: the perfect example of a trend. The new black. Black for those who don't want to wash every weekend.  :laughing:  :idunno:

Downside: could be that people will get sick of it because everyone's doing it now.  :fool:  :tease:

SILVER

Upside: technical and modern. Some tech-heads always want a silver car.

Downside: boring, and no wow factor. That's why the undertone is so important, to make up for that.

YELLOW AND ORANGE

Upside: healthy, sunny, happy and exciting.

Downside: those who buy it throw resale values to the wind, as if they're saying "I want McDonald's and I don't care if it makes me fat".

HERO COLOURS (fluorescent greens and yellows, bold purples, electric blues)

Upside and Downside: don't sell many but they bring people into showrooms, and many want those great colours from old cars for their modern ones. Often become iconic.

WHITE

Upside: least expensive to make and to buy. Clean, pure and simple.

Downside: it could look like an executive fleet car.

Herald-Sun

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  • Just because it is, doesn't mean it should be.....
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Well Well Well

Phantom comes under

SUPER HERO COLOURS - bold purples

why does this not surprise me :spoton:

shazzy

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Maybe you should spend more time reading your owners manual, and less time scouring carsguide for whoppee doo articles..... :spoton:

  • Gandalf the Grey, Maiar of Manwë and Varda, Team HgAg/Sneaky
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:spoton: ... colour wars .... COLOUR WARS!!! :greyscare:

:danceforme::msm:

I just :wub: this time of year .... ah, nothing like a spirited debate about why my colour choice is (and always will be) the best. :spoton:

HgAg Rulz!

(Gavin said so!) :wub:

:k24t:

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