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Car Colors Go Retro: Bronze Is the New Black

A new report predicts earth tones such as brown, copper and bronze, along with blue and green, will soon dominate our roads.

By Claire_Martin Jul 27, 2012 11:27AM
Aston Martin Virage photo by Aston MartinWhite, gray and the most ubiquitous car color of all -- silver -- are on their way out, while natural tones such as copper, green and brown will be making their way into automakers' palettes in the next few years, according to a new report by BASF Automotive Coatings.

Designers from around the world contributed to the color forecast, which identified an increasing global emphasis on social responsibility at the root of the trend. "Colors are being developed that evoke [a] sense of purpose," Paul Czornij of BASF was quoted as saying in a press release. 

Green, which has long been neglected by carmakers, will tap into drivers' environmental consciences. "The continued high value assigned to the notion of ecology may now again be signified by the color green," says Mark Gutjahr of BASF Europe. 

This back-to-basics approach should end up having a retro feel. Bronze, copper and other earth tones, for instance, are a blast from the car palettes of the 1960s and '70s.

Yet even though these more exotic colors are expected to make a resurgence, carmakers won't retire neutral tones immediately. Silver, black and white comprise 50 to 80 percent of the current automotive color palette -- a trend that would be difficult to reverse in short order. Instead, those colors are expected to be reduced gradually.

For the most part, the hues will be subtle, but one color that will burst onto the scene in a big way in China is gold. BASF is developing various hues of gold for Chinese drivers intent on using that color as a form of self-expression -- think of it as one giant piece of bling.

[Source: Autoblog]
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136Comments
MR_SKULL
Jul 28, 2012 8:44AM
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This is a discussion forum .............
Please remove these advertisers from Facebook .............
And bar their I.P. address from posting..
dbeeer
Jul 28, 2012 4:12AM
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Why don't all you odd balls  with dating crap get a life, this poll isn't about dating it is about car colors.   Give me a bigger selection of interior and exterior car colors, and don't shove the common colors down my throat.  I WANT CHOICE.
Klaus Vonterinealis
Jul 28, 2012 3:48AM
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What irks me about the cars today are the choices of interior colors, most are black, dark grey, or tan, and that's it. I know it's cost effective to have less choices, but they're bland, bland, bland.

ganjoka
Jul 28, 2012 2:16AM
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Remember the Chrysler colors on the late 60's & early 70's muscle cars:  Plum Crazy, Sub Lime, Top Banana, Moulin Rouge, etc.
ddmm5
Jul 28, 2012 1:49AM
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Love it!  Too long auto industry has gotten away with white, black, silver......cars with no personality and no color!  Driving down the road I can see where you can fall alseep easily......when I grew up we had color in our cars...and personality...LOVE the copper!
Someone
Jul 28, 2012 8:46AM
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Metallic Candy Apple Red... The only cool color...
MR_SKULL
Jul 28, 2012 7:46AM
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advertisements are abuse of this forum ........
please remove these abusers from Facebook
Liseif
Jul 28, 2012 6:04AM
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Back 'in the day', we had cars that had individual style and some pazzazz----  From two blocks away you could recognize Hank in his metallic green GTO, or Mark in his smokin' hot Camaro.  My Granny drove a 50's turquois/white Chevy!!!   Cars now are unimaginative assembly line dots of bordom, both in color and style--they all look alike!   I'd be grateful to see the return of color: hoping that a return to style won't be far behind?
Someone (Bobsmr2)
Jul 28, 2012 7:18AM
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I miss the style excitement and colors of the 50s and 60s. Everything now is so bland, boring and old man four doorish sedans.
SDBruce
Jul 28, 2012 3:23AM
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I kinda miss those 2  tone cars.
70sumthen
Jul 28, 2012 8:55AM
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70's colors were great. I am sick of not having a choice. Black / white and some kind of silver grey is not a choice. Why is it such a big deal to have options in this day and age?
not often
Jul 28, 2012 7:41AM
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WHAT THE HELL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!​!!!!!!! some "woman offering" a dating service on a plainly marked car question??????????. who in the world monitors this site? old colors are cool, as are the current new colors. if you're restoring a car and want to choose a new modern color more power to ya.  of course it doesn't really matter unless you're only here to look for a date!

Get A. Life
Jul 28, 2012 11:16AM
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When they dropped the use of chrome, cars started to look like they all came out of the same mold.
mewp12
Jul 28, 2012 6:30AM
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Well, thank God. Almost all cars are either silver, a shade of grey or white. I counted 12 cars while sitting at a light, 11 were one of those colors. the 12th was beige. NO wonder people have a hard time finding their cars in  parking lots. Not only are they the same color all cars tend to look alike. today.
theoldcop
Jul 28, 2012 8:25AM
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I can remember when you could identify a car's make and year from blocks away.  Now they all look alike (Yech) and the colors are all the same as in black, white, silver and until a couple years ago, champaign, the ugliest color devised by man.  I disagree that the paints are better than days of yore.  Yes the colors faided but a good wasing brought the colors back and they didn't have a clear coat finish to peel off and leave your car looking like it has leprose.  Now they are all aerodynamic and designed in a wind tunnel so all we get is plain vanilla.  A $20,000 Kia looks like and $80,000 Lexus.  Why buy a Lexus when your neighbors won't know the difference?
John (Driver4140)
Jul 28, 2012 8:58AM
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It is about time!  So fed up with black, white, and silver.  Can you say BORNG!
B. Fork
Jul 27, 2012 10:52PM
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Didn't they try that whole 'earthy-tone' motif in the nineties to no avail? I recall Hunter Green on just about every make/model.


Beoweolf
Jul 28, 2012 7:06AM
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Not sure if I agree... It's not that difficult to find an old, "beater" car from the 50's or even the 60's with a decent coat of paint still on it. However, the newer cars - after 8 to 10 years have skin cancer - flakes of clear coat leaving a trail of confetti following them down the highway. Lots of them have no paint left at all... rust on the roof, hood and trunk.

 

The old enamel paints seemed to last forever.

cind colbert
Jul 28, 2012 3:50AM
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I would buy a copper colored car in a heart beat, if nothing else as a salute to the copper colored Camaros and Cuda's of my youth.  I now own a dark blue ink Fusion and a lava red Mustang,  its fun to watch  men in the parking lot drolling over the lava red Mustang.  :O)

 

RICHARD WARREN WELCH
Jul 28, 2012 5:51AM
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The last car my dad ever owned was a brand new pink and white (actually Briar Rose and White) 1956 Plymouth Belvedere. It was a beautiful car and right in style with most other cars of the time period. He worked on the railroad so you know he wasn't a pansy. I still own a 1957 Nash Ambassador that's Lagoon Blue and Glacier Blue. The Lagoon Blue is unlike any blue you've ever seen on any car. It's gorgeous. Personally, I'm sick of earth-tone cars the color of mud. Give me something that you can see.
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