How to Choose a New Color for Your Car

June 20, 2020

How to Choose a New Color for Your Car

Next time you're waiting at a red light, look around at the cars next to you. What do you see? A young and sporty career woman in a two-seater? A farmer in a rural pickup truck? An established and successful real estate agent in a sedan? A dad who has a utilitarian SUV for hauling kids and dogs around?Actually, you don't know anything about the people inside the vehicles -- you're making judgments based on the styles of vehicles that you see. And color makes a difference, too.People pick a color to express one of two things, said Jim Parker, head of exterior color and trim for the Chrysler Group, in an interview with Edmunds. "It's either what they feel about themselves or what they think they would like to feel about themselves."It may surprise you to know that color also plays a part in the resale value of your car. Phong Ly, CEO of iSeeCars.com, told U.S. News & World Report that this is due in large part to supply and demand. Black and white vehicles are always safe, but "trend" colors can sell fast on the used market because there are fewer available. On the other hand, if you care about resale value, avoid gold cars -- they depreciate more than any other color in the first three years, partly because there are so many of them out there.

What Car Color Says About You

It's possible you're one of those people for whom the color of your car really isn't important; you're more interested in the deal you can get than what the vehicle looks like on the outside.But if you're like the rest of us, you do put thought into the color of your car. Maybe you love red, but you've heard stories about how red cars get more speeding tickets (by the way, that's not true, according to the National Motorists Association.) Perhaps green is a favorite, but you wonder why you never see many green cars on the road. White cars feel fresh and modern (think about Apple's product line) and they reflect light, so they stay a bit cooler in the parking lot than darker cars. But does that make them a more sensible choice? Or does the elegance of a black car win you over? Should you follow the trendy colors of any given year -- the chroma-orange or the school-bus yellow? Or are you better off staying with a more conservative color, like burgundy or navy blue?It's all a matter of interpretation. Car Connection reporter Richard Read notes that there's an entire industry around creating, choosing and predicting vehicle color. He talked to PPG Industries, a top car paint company, for some insight."Color and styling choices by [automakers] must be responsive to... differences among potential buyers," says PPG's Jane E. Harrington. "They need to consider everyone from technology-focused millennials to family-focused baby boomers, monitoring sales data and style trends to try to predict two or three years in advance of a model year what colors and effects they will offer."Car manufacturers and color experts know that some colors are "power colors" -- pure red or bright yellow, for example. Black signifies sleek luxury, especially in an upscale brand. White has been an industry leader for years, so it's become a "safe" choice. Early Toyota Priuses signaled their eco-friendly hybrid status with a pale metallic mint green called Sea Glass Pearl. And Robert S. Daily, color-marketing manager of DuPont Automotive, has some insight into the rising popularity of silver cars on the Kelley Blue Book site: "Silver and gray reflect our fascination with technology, such as seen in the brushed chrome hues on laptop computer covers and other electronic devices," he said. "Secondly, silver and techno-gray seem to accentuate the angular, 'new-edge design' of the latest luxury sport vehicles."

Options for Protecting Your Car's Paint

Once you've chosen your color and purchased your vehicle, though, are you stuck? What if that chroma-orange doesn't make you as happy in the future as it did the day you bought it? Or what if you want extra protection for the glistening factory-original finish on your Corvette or Mercedes?There are multiple answers, ranging from window tints and self-healing transparent paint-protection films to luxury vehicle wraps, available in a nearly unlimited range of colors and effects. A wrap can change the color of a vehicle entirely or simply preserve the original paint. Or if you've decided you want to stand out in the crowd, you can have your vehicle wrapped in animal prints, artwork, racing designs or any other design you can imagine.If you'd like to know more about self-healing paint protection or luxury vehicle wraps, contact South Florida's car wrap experts. Auto Super Shield specializes in finishing high-end vehicles. Let our in-house design team and installers answer any questions you have, and explore the hundreds of options you have in color and finish. For more information, don't hesitate to call us at 561-295-7625 or email us at info@autosupershield.com.

 

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