Posts Tagged ‘car’

What does the color of your car say about you? Are you conservative, flashy, adventurous, eco-conscious, funny, or thoughtful?

Colors can serve as an expression of who we are, broadcasting aspects of our personality and our sense of style.  Buyers today have access to an endless array of color options from Wooden Nickel (medium dark gray) to Simple Chaos (blue) to Authentic Replica (dark red).  We’ve come a long way since the automobile was first introduced and Henry Ford famously remarked that Model T customers could have their cars painted in, “any color they want, so long as it’s black.”

So what’s up with all the black, white, and silver cars?

I ran across Dupont’s report on the World’s Most Popular Car Colors and was surprised to find that almost half of the world’s driving population gets into a black or silver vehicle every morning.  Another third of the world’s cars are a shade of gray or white.  Only the final 25% are “real” colors.

Even more interesting than the top 10 global results were the regional differences.  Europeans chose black as their top color.  North Americans and the Japanese chose white.  The booming populations of China and India enjoy silver.  What do you think these color choices say about the cultures they spring from?

The regional data also highlighted some other interesting differences.  In China, for instance, silver and black make up almost 60 percent of all new cars.  In North America, the top two colors (white and black) make up less than 35 percent.

Have the Chinese been taking their inspiration from Henry Ford or is there another reason they’re avoiding brighter hues?

The one thing the data consistently shows is that most people don’t stray far from the traditional colors of our automotive forefathers.  I think it’s a shame that when people have options like Light Intensity Orange, Crystal Crème Beige and Serious Fun Green, they more often than not choose Plain Old Gray.

Next time you’re given that choice, I’d encourage you to step out of the box and go for Running Start Yellow!

Remember your last trip to Europe?  If you rented a car, chances are that it was probably smaller, far more fuel-efficient, possibly diesel, and almost certainly NOT for sale here in the States.  What is with that!?

Even if that coveted car was from Ford, GM, Volkswagen or another brand that sells in the US – the likelihood of of being able to buy that car stateside is slim.

I was reminded of this frustrating situation by the introduction of the 2012 Ford Focus Wagon.  Long story short: this new wagon is aesthetically appealing, environmentally friendly and has some great features and options.  But…it will NOT be made available in North America.

Ford cites poor historical sales of wagons as the reason why this Focus variant will avoid our shores but I think that they’re missing a big shift in the way that Americans think about utility.  As with the stock market, past performance is no guarantee of the future and I hope that Ford will reconsider bringing this sleek, utility-laden wagon to the US.  Until then, we’ll have to (ahem) focus our attention on the few wagon choices currently available.

For those of you who are interested in thrifty vehicles with utility, check out these other smart choices at Honk.

Cars, like clothing or speech or attitude, reveal clues about who we are as people or who we aspire to be.  In watching the 2010 Winter Olympics, we’ve noticed that several Olympians drive nice cars.  Make that REALLY nice cars.

Viktor Plushenko picked up a hot Maserati that he reportedly used to chase after his first wife.

Figure-skating champion, Evan Lysacek just announced that he’s going to buy a James Bond-inspired Aston Martin DBS.

As we reported last week, Shaun White shreds in a white Lamborghini Murcielago LP-640 when he’s not on the slopes.

These three athletes all compete in sports that demand power, precision, agility, and a healthy dose of style… so it’s no surprise to us that they’d be attracted to these exotic sports cars.  But that got us wondering:  What other cars are fit for Olympians and which athletes might be driving them?

We’d like to hear what you think – post a picture or a comment of you favorite Olympian and what you think they (should) drive.