Recently, I spent a day behind the wheel of the new Audi RS 5. I’ll be cutting the video of that First Drive together soon (and you can read my written thoughts on the car over at Jalopnik right now). Audi brought out a Nardo Gray example, which isn’t much of a surprise. What was a surprise, however, was the absolutely gorgeous Sonoma Green version that was also on hand.
Automakers are offering a bit more pop in their colors these days, and this Audi is a great example of that. There wasn’t a version with a dark tan interior, but through Audi’s Exclusive options you could order that up… at a cost I’d not like to know.
Regardless, the Sonoma Green RS 5 is here and it’s lovely. But I want to know if there are other colors out there that have caught your eye as of late. I just drove a Kinetic Blue Colorado ZR2 at which I also enjoyed pointing my eye holes.
What colors on which cars? What are your favorite colors out there on the market? Sound off below.
Hooniverse Asks: What's the best car color?
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62 responses to “Hooniverse Asks: What's the best car color?”
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I’m plum crazy for Mopar FC7.
https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2391/5779371970_b68e7dccef_b.jpg-
The Challenger R/T may be no shrinking violet but Mopar marketers were when they backed away from the color’s original name – Statutory Grape.
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Now I’m not a Mopar Guy but that is the first thing that came to mind.
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Sedate but still one of my all time favorites… https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/5751f245d108b00c98e405416a97f763f8a0a816082111f0127709310936fad6.jpg
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can and will concur
http://www.collectorcarads.com/Picture1/11800×427.jpg -
I think they must have painted every other Chevy this color in 1969 and 1970!
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I think they must have painted every other Chevy this color in 1969 and 1970!
On the other hand, light green metallic is what is purported to be the rarest of 240 colors. I’m selling one just like this to a pal in a few days. -
They must have painted every other Chevy this shade of green in 1969 and 1970!
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We would have… but Dad was a Nassau Blue man.
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I’m selling my light green metallic ’81 Volvo 240 GLT wagon to a friend this weekend, it’s a clone of the one in the pic below, only with more clear coat worn off. It’s a shade that nearly always looks good, even when a little dirty. Rumor is that Volvo only used this color for a year or two. My daily driver for 9 years… letting it go feels kind of like giving a pet away, but I have two other 240s to feed, so I say, on to its next life.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/0cc59747d602d6d6f26a9efab947f252dc9326fb07320721baa76ba409814e4f.jpg -
I’ve always been a fan of Ford’s version, Anti Establish Mint.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/80f48dccb27a186e1accf17c59c449a2809e690bc9a4badc2a4003f0dd5b2d34.jpg-
Was that the same year they had Thanks Vermillion?
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It was. They also had colors called, Hulla Blue, Original Cinnamon, and Freudian Gilt.
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That’s plain brilliant. And incredibly gorgeous.
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I can’t tell if that’s a 396, but my wife’s first car, back in 1971, was a ’67 SS with the 396, same colors.
She liked that car.
Gave something like $600 for it. Everything worked, including the A/C.
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This is a difficult question. I generally prefer earthy tones like green and brown. But on a car, that can be a safety hazard. People in yellow cars have presumably never heard the bang-I-didn’t-see-you-line. My first car was orange and always super easy to find. Also, deep shine is pretty nice…so I go for root beer:
https://i.imgur.com/1BXCqEzl.jpg
I recently had a look at one of few new cars that could fit my needs, the Kia Carens. The customization options are dire. Here are the “colours”, followed by a greyish blue and a greyish brown:
They only offer one type of wheel in 16”, too. One 17” and one 18” – on a van. Meh. -
Ford nailed it on the Bullitt. But I’m a huge fan of green in general…
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/27b1371731e1ebdd61a24c4b0e9fc825d341cb057e72f18d05f3b494aed20111.jpg-
I’m partial to Lime. My ‘05 next to a ‘67 https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/57c2302bf9369770a30bf74a84609b5733bb57c968d33401e7914084b1b9e4db.jpg
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COLOR. Any damn color. Not silver, not beige, not black. COLOR. That said, I have a white car that I would not have picked if given the choice, but with fewer than 600 in any color built 28 years ago, beggars can’t be choosers. If it were 1990 and I had the choice, I would have gone with the bright red that was available. My daily is a dark red metallic, I like it. So if pinned down, I would say red.
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To look at my current fleet, one would assume that I have a preference for black cars. I do like black cars, but my current vehicles are black by coincidence more than intent. All cars look good in black though. Black is a “safe” choice, and for that, I cannot call it my favorite. Almost any other color can look good or bad depending on the car.
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I play GTA V/Online. You can sell stolen cars (although only one every ~50 minutes) so I keep 3-4 of the more expensive ones in my garage. They all wind up being white, grey, or black, with the occasional green, blue and red. Thankfully the rest of my garage is rather colorful.
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This.
Although I’d like to see more color choices for the actual color than red and an either dark or muted blue, like so many colors are.
Full credit to Chrysler for selling orange Pacificas. Orange fucking minivans, in 2018.
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Depends on the type of car, of course, but I have a particular fondness for dark cherry red. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/ee8df06cb597805a6596811705b5e06ab077988dd34ca7a301cddc56406a9200.jpg
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looks like you are in Saint-Laurent or Cote-St-Luc… unless that is just a photo you found online! (I lived in St-L for 27 years)
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This “Terra Cotta” Supra I saw on BringaTrailer a few years back:
https://13252-presscdn-0-94-pagely.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/a-103.jpg
I don’t understand why there are so few interesting colors. Peoples’ obsession with resale value, or that old wives’ tale about red cars being subject to increased police scrutiny, have really dumbed it down for all of us.
I got impatient and went with a Civic that is unhappily the same color as wet concrete pavement.-
As far as contemporary cars go, the Subaru Crosstrek seems to come in some very entertaining colors, but otherwise it ticks very few of my boxes.
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I agree. That fun blue color is not enough to overcome demerits for styling, lack of power and CVT.
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I have a Honda that my son euphemistically calls “silver”. In winter though it gets more…interesting with different shades added everywhere. And after that, a new colour pops up – all by itself! Magic.
https://i.imgur.com/ag77c1ll.jpg -
Dealers want to sell cars and they know that they can sell black / silver / beige to almost anyone but there are only a few buyers for yellow / orange / green, so they play it safe.
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You can’t go wrong with guards red. What I so tired of is GREY or GRAY cars from any manufacturer. Every Ford or Chevy or Chrysler etc has at least 1 grey color, sometimes more in their lines. I work part time in a parking garage close to the airport and you can always tell when the rental people have new cars released. They’re all grey or gray. There’s gray Jeeps, grey Audis, Gray MB, grey vans etc. I’m so tired of grey cars. Maybe I’m alone.
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Not to mention so many of them blend in with the bitumen on two-lane roads, or disappear into the twilight because of course they don’t turn their headlights on… /rant over
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I’m not tired of blue yet.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/05780924a73e3143264ac8800fd36cef71b8742286ee432d0e80dcd1db3d0be0.jpg
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/6289b7e4e92ac15598021e8879fa7c724abe6a941605c3f3d3047b58d2cdfb97.jpg https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/22ed5c17a29349580cbcb967db88d01311528d60588f7b61209caa8ae4e448fd.jpg
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/a04c239d7d244b691a5ef8f23e1cfadfa4a8291a6db238a5dfb8412b5fe4a7cc.jpg-
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/c39780da65e317e133046f2892d48458343212fa70ec27e9c895f52f335306e9.jpg
I would paint all my cars this color if I could.-
Is there any car that doesn’t look good in a bold blue like that?
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I just remembered a time 5-6 years ago when the Dakota needed something in the front suspension fixed and I took it to the local Mopar dealer. I’d been exclusively driving blue Mopars for a couple of years by then.
The Dakota went in on a Monday and they gave me a black Avenger for a loaner, that I daily-ed most of the week and parked in the usual spot where I park at work. Then the Dakota was done* late Wednesday and I picked it up Thursday morning.
Later on Thursday I found something that had been fine when the Dakota went in but was damaged in the course of the repairs, and brought it back to the dealer Thursday night to get that fixed. They took in the Dakota and set me loose in a blue late-model Ram 1500 from the used inventory for overnight; I didn’t think anything of it, drove it to work and parked in my usual place.
That Friday I had at least 3 coworkers ask me if I’d bought myself a newer pickup…-
That also reflects well on you that none of your colleagues thought you had bought an Avenger!
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I’ve always had a bit of a thing for two-tone. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/f11987ffbbb9228df0ee7eaf6dcd0484bcba6e6af667a11edd9eb52627c03765.jpg https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/2d3b6023b6dd45259aac3f87fb5e5cc6f4c754932ced85146d9be053c4260042.jpg https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/0842964bfe02241b4b0c09cbe8b986de3bad69f16204b80ea8abbdbdb156b1c0.jpg
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Me, too. Especially the 1979 Seville Elegante in black and silver. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/6232c028dc8c5ffb24a44e37c1ec9d52cb98dfe127315b099332f4ee0525b54d.jpg
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So elegant, it needed an extra ‘E’.
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YELLOW.
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Not so much a color, more the way it is applied. Two tone cars can enhance the lines and style of the ride.
https://www.goodmanreed.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/005-64.jpg
I painted a 3.8S jag like this with candy apple Prussian Blue instead of Black – the rest was Silver metallic.
https://www.goodmanreed.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/005-64.jpg
The Speedsters had various combos – some garish – but this one works well.-
I’m partial to this one. It came up for sale locally a few years ago and I briefly descended into madness, nearly calling the seller. The color-keyed interior really puts it over the top. Garish, and gorgeous.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/f4d7b174604d6aa027f2b4a6cdf72fb94f57afb34d155c6d2659d38979295fd2.jpg-
That’s interesting. Every Speedster I’ve seen has the bumper overriders inboard of the foglights…. This color combo is worse (IMHO) than the Yellow/green…
http://stude.com/Speed/main/first%209.jpg
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There’s no one color that I prefer for all cars– it’s completely car-specific. Great body lines and smooth panels look excellent in darker tones, when reflection and highlights can accentuate the nicer details. Lighter non-metallics are good for disguising poor bodywork or bad design, unless the gaps are huge, in which case it accentuates them.
That said, I do typically like copper / burnt orange metallics and slate blue metallics. I dislike silver and yellow, and I think red should absolutely be avoided on certain cars. -
Here’s a not-particularly-thrilling color from the 1990s that I always called “Autumn Smogmist”. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/8f4090f5770e04555ed90b52a93b12668dabf5a91b98f00e5752cd21617118eb.jpg
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I have a 1:24 scale Intrepid in Autumn Smogmist (Vapemist, for the reduced size?)
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My dad had that same car. It really was revolutionary for the time. Not shown was the eventual transmission failure
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It really was an amazing machine, and the transmissions would have lasted quite a bit longer if people had changed the oil in them.
Our ’95 3.5L had 126K miles on it before it caught fire, while in storage (not the car’s fault).
They were really picky about both oil (fluid) type and level. About as picky as my wife’s 2002 RX300, which pitches a fit if the level isn’t right on the ‘full’ mark.
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If you are looking for the best colour, of all colours, in absolute terms, uncontested: then you need Midnight Purple.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/4f06f434d566bfa8cea9caa7334926b49369741f9908dbc9ea8e0da906c88dff.jpg
For a less dramatic car but still with beautiful lines, I do quite like Mazda’s Eternal Blue:
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/d0bf4665f220bc75219db515466b6e8a75a57bdf442e5b33b253b8c2a8c9ff66.jpg
I know Soul Red has a lot of fans but I’ve had too many red cars and am tired of red.
Remember when every car was teal? That wasn’t really that bad a time now that I think about it:
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/2aeb3840be301782ab03f9e03642a7548a77c8d4070bb26c3513f18147e397be.jpg
But for some cars, either they’re white, or they’re wrong.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/18bc34f12ef1264fcb62e432e6e4169df5c4f6cdd349f4385880fa40dbf7c808.jpg -
I found this Acura in a color that I’d never seen, but I like it!
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/58a5f795e91221d4645a46bbe51fc23bb6537fea4f20f1adef5da5a4f4c043f8.jpg -
I’m a sucker for bright blues! Unfortunately, this was the ONLY blue Honda has! My DD, in “Vortex Blue Pearl” https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/a33d2647935184cf313a0c96b59410ebaff89ec296cbe44ab527f5d91ce206fe.jpg
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I like my M cars to be E34s in Daytona Violet with the standard silver undertrim. And as a wagon,
https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s–hkKwTIWQ–/c_scale,fl_progressive,q_80,w_800/19dv0el3oow07jpg.jpg
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Electric Blue for the new Hyundai Elantra
The New Mazda Soul red https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/a88387a9134136127ce5f86c6c1bde4855f998cf3d5c3d30b8a821037d667c8e.jpg https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/ba89b6e0e16ae0da43d23ea655516bf79e8855278e04246c171a3c807d79e681.jpg -
This is really quite simple.
Any pearlescent paint is better than any non-pearlescent paint, period. -
The color has to fit the car, some colors look good on one car and crap on another. That said an S-Class Mercedes can’t go wrong in a light metallic shade and the deep metallic reds like Mazda Soul Red or BMW Motorcycle Mystic Red look good on lots of cars. Mazda seems to have a good color department since they have fewer Toyonda non colors and more strong identifiable colors like the French Blue on the original Miata.
I’ve seen a lot of orange lately as well as greens and most of them look good, Green is definitely a good truck color. Black on the other hand is a color I avoid. mostly for practical reasons since it usually looks good on a vehicle. The ultimate was probably the Volvo 740 Turbo which was totally blacked out. -
Lexus Structural blue is pretty cool. The best one I’ve seen in person lately was Chevy’s Ivy Metallic:
http://www.car-revs-daily.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/20170920_183004-800×450.jpg
I’ve actually been thinking we could almost stop complaining about the lack of colours in the car market. Sure, the dominant tones the road are still variations of silver and grey, but colours are available if you really want them.
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