Why Car Colors Are So Boring

Car colors are boring because most people are pretty boring

When dealerships stop up-charging $1,000+ for the brighter colored versions of the same vehicle. Then ill get a color I want versus white or silver.

Silver, perfect for a get-away car! You just turn the corner, and you're just another car.

Just say "Because it's cheap" already.
Gotta love how when they talk about other colors they go for ridiculous colors, nobody is saying that the manufacturers need to make a whole ton of lime green and neon pink and orange cars, no they could just expand their base colors to blue and red and that already would help, there are so many shades that you can get with blue and red that look great and would make the car colors less boring.

My car is a bright yellow Ford Focus Coupe. This has a few specific advantages:
1) When I walk out to the Costco parking lot, I have very little finding my car.
2) When I am coming up behind someone, I'm much more likely to be seen in their mirror.
3) It is much less likely to be stolen.
4) It's cheerful.

I hear that if you buy a used car, you should buy an orange car. That’s because if the previous owner went through the trouble of getting that color, he must take a lot of care of it.

Some things not mentioned in this video, in no specific order:
1. Cost: White paint seems to be the cheapest to make, which is why it is often the only colour offered without a surcharge.
2. UV stability: Especially red pigments fade with time in ultraviolet light, this especially for cars that are always parked outside. With UV-protecting clear coat that effect can be slowed, but it adds extra cost.
3. Reflectiveness: A car parked in the sun will heat up more the darker the colour is. White and silver are best because they reflect most radiation.
4. Some colours are commonly associated with specific function. For example in Germany, taxis are light ivory, whereas postal cars are yellow. Private car owners might not want their car to be associated with those functions.
5. Then again, a definite plus of rare colours is immediately recognizing your car from afar in a big crowded parking lot.
Personally I really like bright green or dark blue.
As a side note may I add as a railfan that until around 1970 at least in continental Europe steam locomotives were generally black, passenger trains dark green, freight trains brown. Which was for practical reasons: Those paints could be reproduced easily, they were very stable (so didn't require frequent repaints) and didn't show the dirt as easily.
The railways later generally turned towards "friendlier" colours, and in high speed trains it seems like with aircraft that light grey or white dominates ... whereas many have chosen red for locomotives despite the problems with UV stability.
One obvious disadvantage of white by the way: You see dirt very easily. Even silver, due to the way it reflects, tends to hide dirt much better. In winter it is especially bad when you see dirty cars against the white snow, and since there is a lot of dirt in winter, cars are rarely clean around that time.

My last three cars were silver. So when I began shopping for my new car, and salesmen asked what I wanted, my first words were “No Silver!” Also no grey, granite or charcoal. I now drive a brand new 2021 Dodge Challenger. The color: Indigo Blue.

I swear, CNBC has a mini documentary for everything. Love it

I feel like the world would be so much more fun with crazy car colors

A black car - which will always look dirty every time it rains - in a tropical country will be very "hot" and not in a very glamorous way.

For those of us who can remember, the car companies in the 60's and 70's offered a wide array of exterior AND interior colors. Nowadays, of course, you have to take what the car companies want to give you. It's not that boring colors are "popular." It's that, if you want a new car, you're forced to buy a car with a boring color that is even styled, more or less, like every other car. Yes, I'm sure that some colors and styles were always more popular than other colors/styles even way back when, but at least the less popular colors/styles were offered to those people who wanted to express themselves - and there were a huge spectrum of styles and car colors out on the road. The same trend has occurred in the new-home industry. Everything must be bland, and the requirement for blandness is built right into the HOA rules, which were written by the builder. In the Phoenix area, for example, it seems that 99% of all new homes must be one of three shades of brown stucco. Even white seems to be no longer an option. If a consumer wants to buy a brand new home, the consumer MUST buy a plain brown cube that looks, more or less, like the cardboard box that a washer or dryer comes in. In the cases of cars and homes, it is merely a lack of artistic design and an overall contempt for consumers.

I still love the 50 and 60's colors with the chrome.

vinyl wraps: Im gonna end this mans entire career.

I wanted a Green Outback. On the market, the green was considerably more expensive and rarer to find. I still will buy a green Outback despite it being more expensive, just because I want it to stand out more in a parking lot and I think it matches the outdoorsy characteristics of the vehicle. Normal colors were probably a thousand less, but they just look so dull and uninspired that I couldn't stomach it, even though they were cheaper and more readily available.

The robots that paint vehicles have a rigid mindset

'Depressing' is a trem I would also use to describe today's colours.

The fact I see so many white cars (used to be silver back in late 2000nds early 2010s) on the roads. I made sure to get a blue car because it makes me feel happy when I see colour. I can't imagine how boring white is to look at after a while.

The auto industry, trucks & SUVs in particular, really need to provide an "earthy" dark green among their offerings. I had a Jeep in dark green with a saddle brown interior that looked terrific, that, by the way, was a popular, as well as fundamental color, on many pre-2000 English vehicles (Jags specially,) as British Racing Green is their national color !!

When I purchased a car back in 2018 I was determined to buy a red car. I absolutely didn't want white, black, gray or silver. I want a car color that I can find easily in a public parking lot. It took effort, but I got a red Honda Accord Hybrid. In 2019, when my husband's Ford Fusion was totaled, I gave him my red Accord and then embarked to buy a blue Toyota Corolla HB. That was even harder. So much for all the blue Corollas in their sales literature. I wanted the XSE trim and ended up having to drive up to Nashua, NH to get one. I absolutely love my Corolla HB. Recently my son's car was totaled in an accident and he went car shopping. All he could find were black or white cars. He really, really wanted blue. No such luck. He ended up with a white Mazda 3 HB. Maybe if car manufacturers painted more cars red or blue there would be more red or blue cars on the road.

We are officially running out of topics due to the COVID pandemic.

I want an orange car, but it has to be the perfect orange.

In 1973, during the "energy crisis", my dad went car shopping for an "economy" car...smaller, more fuel efficient cars were in big demand and were hard to find at dealerships. He finally found a Ford Pinto at a Ford dealership, but it was pink! At that time, believe it or not, pink was a color that was available on Fords, I remember seeing pink Mustangs. He bought the pink Pinto. When he brought it home, my brother and I were absolutely MORTIFIED by it, we refused to ride in it to or from school. After a few months, my Dad took it to Earl Schieb and got it painted red. My dad was obviously very secure in his heterosexual masculinity, the pink didn't bother him. He had it repainted to make his sons happy. He was a great dad.

It says something about the human psyche that car colors are so boring. Only lately have I come to realize that a vehicle with a unique color is a rare find. Seeing one now makes my day. I wanted to get a Kia Seltos in yellow but they stopped making them for reasons no one can explain since they sold ever single one that was ever made.

The maker of this video is mad that he keeps getting pulled over in his red car.

White also remains cooler in a warm climate

I don't mind paying extra to get the color I really like. If I'm going to buy a car and drive it daily, it's got to be exactly what I want.

I think Mazda has done an amazing job with their car colors. The colors look so rich and luxurious!

I miss that beautiful burnt orange that was popular at one time. Such a warm, deep color.

I watched a 10 minute video on this and still don’t understand why car colours are boring

If your car stands out, you attract attention, and that’s not always a good thing. I’d rather no one notice me than have everyone staring at me.

I’m not convinced; give me an orange Prius now.

It continues to get harder to tell the domestic cars from the foreign cars!

I bought nissan x-trail that is sky-blue. I love to see it every morning between other black, white, grey cars)

I love the tri-color of my Cadillac XTS. Depending on the time of day, whether being by direct sunlight or at night, my car changes from a metallic bronze to a cream colored car.
Som manufacturer's have colors that completely change from purple to aqua, depending if the sun is getting it or not.

When I was in South Korea three years ago, I noticed that all their domestic cars (Hyundais and Kias) were white, silver, grey or black--the "neutral" colors described in the video. Any car that was blue, red, green, etc. was of a make not manufactured in Korea (typically European or American--there were very few Japanese cars).
Years ago I heard a comment that during optimistic times, more cars are sold with bright, lively colors while during depressing times, the subdued colors are more prominent (this was in the US).

That one guy spraying without a mask 😬

My mazdas red paint was 500 bucks extra. I believe the decline of colors is linked to the declining economy.

You can guess when someone texts and drives when they say “stringent” safety regulations instead of “necessary” 😒

Most of the reasons he said could have been said of the '50s,' 60s,' & 70s when cars had bold bright colors. I had a '71 Buick with blue metallic paint that glisten beautifully in the sunlight. I haven't seen anything like that in over 30 years. I think the boring colors of today just reflect the mood of the country.

silver hides scratches well, looks cleaner even when its dirty and has good resale value. It also looks pretty good, but honestly I'm going for blue next. The blue seen with the hyundai accent is BEAUTIFUL

Longest explanation of:
Mom can I have a green car?
We have green cars at home.

This still doesn't explain why people don't/won't buy a car with non-boring colours. It's so hard to find a car since I only buy used...I spend months figuring out which make/model I want and then the hunt is on to find it in a non-boring colour in good condition. Black is cool and always classy but you won't catch me in a white, beige or grey automobile. Standard blue and red are no-nos too...

If you drive in a place with snow or fog you are way more likely to get hit because your car can't be seen. I drove a white taxi for 5 years and got rear-ended 3 times in 5 years all during the winter months. I got my little blue car in 1999 and have never been hit or had any close calls. Been driving since 1982 and have never had an accident except for the 3 in the white taxi.

i like Navy blue. It's one of the few brighting colors that works fine with a car design.

Back in the late 70's this secretary told me that she lived in California and drove a beat up junky car. She would speed on the highway commuting to work and back and never got pulled over. She bought a brand new red Firebird or Trans Am. First day she got a speeding ticket and got more the following weeks. She said that she drove the same speed and believes it was because the car was red. I never forgot her story and every time I rent a car I refuse to take a red car.

When my parents went car shopping they always brought me back a catalog and a color chart from the dealer. There were a lot more colors back then. It seems to me that after 9/11 the number of monochromatic colored cars increased each year. I do not see all that much blue but I am seeing more red cars as of late. Mazda has a beautiful red and an equally beautiful deep blue metallic. Buick though charges extra for every color except basic white.

It isn't just lame colors, it is also crappy body designs that take away from cabin space, but FAIL to provide any advantages (such as massively better fuel efficiency) - Despite what they may claim. - and you can see that by simply looking at the large sticker on the window.
The one I have (and have had for 22 years) is one such example. It is a 1999 Oldsmobile Intrigue GL. The manufacturer wasted time/energy/effort putting vanity mirrors on the visors - Visors which are useless due to the crappy body design that takes away from cabin space (as mentioned). - and making it so there is a loud sound when accelerating (supposedly as a selling point) which is stupid. There is also a "resignator" (which is basically a pre-muffler muffler) that is directly under the middle of the car and doesn't last much longer than 2-3 years before needing replacement.
There are no good body designs with vehicles anymore and the diminishing returns on cabin space and durability make it less appealing every day to want a new vehicle.
Even the EV that are available are a faulty product (mostly due to low profile and where they're putting the battery packs) with the design and lack of cabin space or durability.
Lucient Motors (and Tesla) could pull way ahead of Mercedes and the like if they form a contract with me. - I've an innovation that has, as yet, not been implemented. (I have seen something close though.)

6:57 this guy really knows how to drag out a sentence and say basically nothing

“Car colors are boring” ... refuses to pay extra for any colors other than white grey or black...

They missed one of the biggest reasons. In the 80's and 90's , there were studies out that stated that red cars were #1, for highway patrols to notice for speeding. Black was second. Whites and grays tended to blend in. Especially on the highways of California where they had to actually "clock" you physically . In the 80's , Nevada could sit on the side of the road and use a radar gun. So you allowed a "rabbit" to clear the way , then sped up in their path. But when you passed over to Cali, you had to watch your rearview window, so staying ahead of traffic was a better way to speed. CHP were infamous for using on and off exits to sneak up behind you and "clock" you. Red sports cars were an easy target for them.

It would be nice to see more different car colour options.

My first new car was a purple Saturn. I loved it, so when I wanted to buy my next car I looked again for purple. I had to settle for a black Saturn. My most recent car is tan. I bought it because that's what was available at the time not because I like the color at all. I wish car companies would offer the ability to order a car with any color I want. After all, if I wanted to paint my walls, I could walk into a paint store and have them match any color from any object. Why can't car companies do the same?

They used to be bright. Once I own my car I’ll paint it nice and bright.

I love sunset metallic orange and it is sad how few cars have this color... :(

One of our cars is green. I had no idea that green was now so rare!
One of the main reasons why white is so popular is because lots of companies with service or fleet vehicles prefer white. It's kind of the standard service vehicle color. I own a service vehicle. Yep, it's white.
My favorite car color is yellow. I don't own a yellow car but I admit that yellow cars are head-turners. They aren't very common. That makes them cool.

I once made a case study of these 4 years ago when I asked myself why exactly colors are so dull.

9:36 I feel so bad to see that black guy spraying paint without any form of respirator or face protection. Can you imagine he is doing that for full day and everyday?

Good overview on exterior car colors. How about doing one on interior car colors. It seems that dealer only stock cars with black interiors now a days. You have to special order to get a gray or maybe a brown. I remember when car interiors colors matched the car exterior color. So please do one on this!

My dad had a multichrome convertable car at one point, but silver is much more popular with those. I love the multichrome look, as that specific one looked navy in the dark, but shifted between green, blue, and purple in different lighting. It's nice, but I find them fairly distracting when walking or driving. Then again, I also have ADHD and have a hard time with driving anyway.
Also, about blue, Hybrid Toyota cars have blue around the logo on the front, so that solidifies the tie of blue with more environmentally friendly. And of course Mercedes uses "Bluetec" as their diesel line which was marketed as better on emissions, but that was a bit exaggerated.

🙋🏻‍♀️ part of the 1% green car owner club over here, love my army green 4runner TRD pro 💚🖤

"Car colours are boring"
*Dodge laughing in the background*

this was something i was wondering lately. glad to see this in my recommended. of the rarer colors, i tend to see neon green, vivid yellow and hot orange. violet hues are rare but there is a barbie pink car with eyelashes in the area lol.

My first car was a 1946 DeSoto in light gray which was quite common. In the 1950's and 60's I had white cars with colored accents, my 70 and 80 models had metallic paints that had longevity problems.

We need a car that can change its colour any moment a user wants !

My favorite color is copper. Love copper cars. Bronze is also pretty cool.

Very good report, great work! Thank you :)

My daughter & I like to count all the black SUVs in the school car pool line, one morning it was 23, mostly Land Rovers. I really stand out in my Green Ford Flex (color name is Ginger Ale).

Nothing new here. Donut media already did a piece on this during quarantine

At one time in the history of Cadillac they would offer a “one year only” color for a Cadillacs.

I have owned quite a few vehicles in my my day, but I will say this unequivocally, I will NEVER own a silver car. I might rent one if my choices are limited, but never own. Black is next on my list. Grey I can be OK with....

I always loved a bright robin egg blue or turquoise with a sandy white leather interior. The colors of the beach.

White car for hot climate. Black for Uber drivers. Red for sports cars.

Of course it always has to be a Tesla in the thumbnail 🙄

This 13 minute video over-analyzed everything without touching on the most simple and obvious reason: consumer cost. Cars in the 90's used to be commonly available in 7+ standard, non-premium colors (see '92 Accord for example). Then OEMs saw opportunity to upcharge for metallic colors and added it most color options. Nowadays most cars have between 1 to 3 standard colors: white, black and silver. The other color options are few in availability (because most are unwilling to pay extra for it) and high in sticker price (high margin for OEM). Metallic color is also near impossible to match in body repair work.

Amen! I want yellow and turquoise!

So one thing I didn’t realize when I bought a blue car is that you can see scratches on the paint a lot more than a silver car for instance.

We need more purple cars.

I wonder how much happier everyone trapped driving to and from work every day would feel if they loved their car and the color it was painted.

I'm here from 2023 to say that the days of average new cars costing $35k sound really nice.

1:03
Like, he could've just said "dominant all over the world" rather than naming regions one-by-one.

No matter what color you get, wherever you go in your new car you'll be quickly amazed to see how many others were already on the road.

At my work the parking lot usually has ten vehicles setting in it. Nine out of ten are either white, black, silver or gray, and all have black or dark gray interiors. I drive a gold colored sedan with an ivory interior. Not that I am in love with the color gold but the vehicle does stand out from the others.

Two black SUV's in our drive, both bought new, and the reason is the first a 2017 was the only color in stock at that trim level, the second a 2019 was the bait to get you in, and a bright colored one would have cost a couple thousand more. I wanted blue, green, orange, red or anything other than the shades that look like old black and white photographs. I did a double take looking at one of the car lots as I went past months ago as nearly every car was either black white or some shade of gray/silver in between, looking like a life size black and white photograph with the only color being on the building with its bright red dealer sign. Nothing wrong with boring colors if that is what you like, I do miss the green, orange, blue, and even the root beer brown metallic of the past.

Something being the majority does not always mean it's popular. When you produce the majority of a product in the color, it's the company saying to the consumer. You don't have a choice. I remember when I went to a dealership. Wanted a car in red. The only color they had? Silver, Black, and White. Wasn't a single RED car in the entire southern region.

I want pastel purple. When I get a car I’m gunna get it painted.

The guy’s dog walking around in the background is so cute!

Happy to be the guy who always buys the red and yellow cars.

I love my Blizzard Perl White and how it sparkles just after a car wash. And yes it also keeps the interior much cooler during the summer as I usually like a black/grey interior.

It's cheaper, they avoid this subject at every turn. They swear it's popular. 😅

10:30
What is the name of the background music used?

That was pretty damn good! I was curious about it, thanks.

Thanks CNBC, I love this video series. Short & Descriptive.

When I had the chance to get an Audi RS5 there was a very nice blue I saw but I really wanted to bring more color to the streets and be something you just don't see on the road often so I got it in the Sonoma Green color and now I get compliments all the time!

There’s some new Porsche colors like taupe and charcoal that look really nice as an alternative to the normal black or white.

Feels like a Cheddar video

My Taurus is Ruby Red, I had to pay extra for that color. Ruby Red is similar to a darker candy apple red.

Very interesting! Thank you!

a better questions is "why does anyone ever want a beige car?"

Toyota always highlighted the badge with a blue outline for their hybrids many years ago.
Interesting that blue is now associated with EV's 🕵🏻🤔