When did color fall out of favor?

[Lunajammer]

...but when they do take a risk, and it succeeds, everyone else copies that winning idea, and before you know it, that bold new idea is now the new normal.

(Taurus) ...Then GM and Chrysler scrambled to make their versions of this radical new vision...

I think the pact has been sealed by the time that happens. Before cars are even publicly available, I've often wondered why they all seem to be of the same thought during the national auto shows. Do car makers have conventions to share ideas and solidify the future of the industry before they invest in production? A year after the jelly-bean Taurus, competitors had similar products. They can't whip up new cars from scratch in a year as a response to the success of a competitor. Seems there's got to be something else going on besides just anticipating future trends to account for synchronized sameness.

[Tom Geiger]

Remember how radical the Taurus and Sable looked when they first came out?  They made all those square looking cars that were the norm look like antiques, and people bought them.  

Actually no. The original Taurus and Sable were no sells when they first came out.  Ford did a lot of work discounting them into rental and corporate fleets until people got used to seeing the design.  People are slow to adapt.   Ford learned with that lesson.  When implementing the new  Ford pickups a while back, they built both the old style and new style for six months or more, to make sure the new one would sell.

Blame bland on the Japanese.  That's a society that truly wishes to conform. That's where everyone wants to have a white Camry to be just like everyone else.  Me?  I drive RED.

[SfanGoch]

That's the other thing.  Sure, the carmakers don't like to take risks because they might fail (which is why it's called a risk), but when they do take a risk, and it succeeds, everyone else copies that winning idea, and before you know it, that bold new idea is now the new normal.

Remember how radical the Taurus and Sable looked when they first came out?  They made all those square looking cars that were the norm look like antiques, and people bought them.  Then GM and Chrysler scrambled to make their versions of this radical new vision, and pretty soon the roads are full of these futuristic jellybeans, and people are complaining that all new cars look the same.

So, even if we did do like some people have suggested, and go back to building multicolour pastel rocketships, and I would be okay with this, it wouldn't be long be before we get moans about how everything on the road looks like a multicolour pastel rocketship.

Blame Ford Europe for starting the Blobmobile trend when it introduced the Sierra in 1982. FoMoCo in the U.S. followed suit with the Tempo/Topaz tag team duo for the 1984 model year. GM didn't jump on the bandwagon until 1991, with the redesigned Caprice. I owned a Taurus only because I got it super cheap. Major issue was the rear strut towers rusting out and turning the car into a tail dragger when least expected after hitting a New York pothole.

[horsepower]

I believe the most popular colors for the new Challengers has been black and graphite gray. I also think black and gray are the 2 main interior colors. I do like that they offer the old school vibrant colors as an option, but it is the minority that actually buys them.

it's strange, colors seem to be different trends depending on area you live in, in our area the two most prominent colors are Plum Crazy and Hemi Orange, (could be Torrid Red) but it's bright! And almost every one I've seen has had solid black interior. 

I guess MoPar buyers in our area are more sentimental, or older "kids" at heart that are trying to recover their youth, lucky I guess that unlike the Corvette crowd they still have their original equipment wife on board with them.??

[Merkur XR4Ti]

Actually no. The original Taurus and Sable were no sells when they first came out.  Ford did a lot of work discounting them into rental and corporate fleets until people got used to seeing the design.  People are slow to adapt.   Ford learned with that lesson.  When implementing the new  Ford pickups a while back, they built both the old style and new style for six months or more, to make sure the new one would sell.

Blame bland on the Japanese.  That's a society that truly wishes to conform. That's where everyone wants to have a white Camry to be just like everyone else.  Me?  I drive RED.

I hadn't heard that before; according to wikipedia the Taurus and Sable sold well out of the gate. 200,000 sales in model year 1986. By the time the first-gen Taurus had been replaced, they had sold two million of them.

 

It was the ovoid 3rd-generation where Ford screwed up and made things far too radical, particularly inside.

[SfanGoch]

Japanese car manufacturers also were latecomers to the Blobmobile sweepstakes, starting to round body lines in 1998-99 as did GM. You would think that, with pervasiveness of the egg-like design of most cars in recent years, DIY car coloring kits from PAAS would be available to owners who decided white wasn't cutting it anymore.

Then, there are those who prefer a textured, natural look

[Ace-Garageguy]

Honey, not now. I have to mow the car.

[SfanGoch]

Mobile sustainable and locally sourced organic farming is now available for those ecologically concerned individuals on the go.

[Ace-Garageguy]

And if you put a pair of garden shears and little packets of oil and vinegar in the glovebox, you can take the concept of "urban grazing" to new levels.

Do ya think kale will grow on that thing?

Edited August 18, 2016 by Ace-Garageguy

[SfanGoch]

From what I see in that photo, it's taken root. Could be a canker sore, though

[iamsuperdan]

Interesting relevant side note. Yesterday, FCA announced the new Charger Daytona and Challenger T/A. The launch colours? Orange, yellow, and green. Loud colours. As it should be.

 

[Snake45]

Japanese car manufacturers also were latecomers to the Blobmobile sweepstakes, starting to round body lines in 1998-99 as did GM. You would think that, with pervasiveness of the egg-like design of most cars in recent years, DIY car coloring kits from PAAS would be available to owners who decided white wasn't cutting it anymore.

Then, there are those who prefer a textured, natural look

 

Maybe we'll see a line of Egg-Cars from Hasegawa, to go along with their Egg-Planes.

[Joe Handley]

Japanese car manufacturers also were latecomers to the Blobmobile sweepstakes, starting to round body lines in 1998-99 as did GM. You would think that, with pervasiveness of the egg-like design of most cars in recent years, DIY car coloring kits from PAAS would be available to owners who decided white wasn't cutting it anymore.

Then, there are those who prefer a textured, natural look

Check out www.dipyourcar.com , that will be your Paas Easter Egg Kit for cars and trucks.  Not only can you get a full, color shifting finish for maybe the price of a Maaco paint job, but it can be sprayed over if you decide you want to try something different, or just peel it off like liquid mask if you want to remove it and still have a nice factory paint surface underneith!  It'll even prevent scratched from happening to the OE finish.

[Lunajammer]

Check out www.dipyourcar.com......  Not only can you get a full, color shifting finish for maybe the price of a Maaco paint job, but it can be sprayed over if you decide you want to try something different, or just peel it off like liquid mask if you want to remove it and still have a nice factory paint surface underneith!

I looked into it once. Ultimately still too expensive.

Though they are still perfecting a shiny finish, for now it's going to be dull. Crazyjim will NOT be Plasti Dipping. 

Edited August 19, 2016 by Lunajammer

[Bill Eh?]

Now that is a cool flip-flop effect on that Cruiser.

[Ace-Garageguy]

"My mother-in-law insisted we get a silver car"...       

"All the neighbors really like it"...   

"We went to a show and saw the new Baaamobile concept car"...   

Edited August 19, 2016 by Ace-Garageguy

[SfanGoch]

That's a cool car. You can slide the steering wheel from one side to the other depending on traffic conditions.

[Joe Handley]

 

Now that is a cool flip-flop effect on that Cruiser.

That's probably about $600 for the kit to do a car like that.

[SfanGoch]

And the equivalent amount, in model paint, runs for about $540/gal.

[SSNJim]

I saw a couple of cars over the past week that had that metallic finish you would see on some of the snap kits and other toy cars targeted towards younger kids. They weren't quite as shiny, but quite eye-catching. You certainly won't get lost in the crowd.

After a bit of Googling, I found it is called chrome wrap. Apparently it's a fairly new thing.

[Ace-Garageguy]

That's probably about $600 for the kit to do a car like that.

And the equivalent amount, in model paint, runs for about $540/gal.

And Spaxstix makes a color-flop rattlecan product for models...    

[peteski]

 

 

Then, there are those who prefer a textured, natural look

Wasn't there an old SNL skit (in the '80s) featuring a Chia-car and Clay-car (body work on that one was a breeze)?

[SfanGoch]

There were the Chia Hair commercial from 1990 and the Adobe  Mexican import Clay Car commercial from 1986.

[Agent G]

Even our taxi's are a bit "over the top" here.

G

[Harry P.]

Interesting relevant side note. Yesterday, FCA announced the new Charger Daytona and Challenger T/A. The launch colours? Orange, yellow, and green. Loud colours. As it should be.

I prefer the two in the back of the line...