What color would you choose for your vehicle?
Despite dabbling in concours judging in the past, I’m by no means a perfection hound. Rather, I’d consider myself an open-minded enthusiast that’s open to embracing new things. Things like new paint, for example. If an owner wants to change the color of their car, well, it’s their money and their car … right?
More to the point, what if nothing were stopping you from changing your car’s color? What color would it be?
Custom paint jobs will never go out of style, and new technology has made a diverse color palette attainable for the common hobbyist. Paint colors are becoming more and more relevant to automotive enthusiasts looking to stand out as our hobby grows and diversifies. But there’s a whole lot more to this story, because we don’t always get what we need in a traditional spray booth.
Sometimes, vinyl can provide the same quality as a proper re-spray. The depth and clarity of modern vinyl wraps are, quite frankly, shocking to see in person. It can also be much cheaper, especially if you have the time/patience to lay it down yourself.
That said, there can still be downsides to a vinyl wrap, depending on your tastes and local regulations. Some creativity might be too reflective for other motorists, and I admit this technology is more appropriate for a modern classic, a flashy exotic, or a modified specialty vehicle.
That said, vinyl wraps may also serve as a responsible solution for cars that are so old that they no longer have a strong following, too. Think about four-door sedans from the 1940s and 1950s, for example. This Packard likely needs little else but flashy paint and a mild restoration to become a cool weekend cruiser—one that nobody else in town would have. Would I wrap it in a wild shade of vinyl and rock it down the boulevard, ensuring it would never be sold for a price dangerously close to scrap value? You betcha.
So the fact remains, it’s very easy and somewhat affordable to re-finish a vehicle to your wildest dreams. If nothing was stopping you from changing your car’s color, what would you choose?
What has happened to society ? In the 60’s – 80’s we could get colors that looked great . Today most new cars offer only white or black [ not colors – basics ] or 3 shades of grey or silver [ Honda total 5 choices ] . If you are in a witness protection program – buy any new Honda , and go hide park in a Costco parking lot. I’m sick of gray or black interiors – Do you live in an all black house interior ? Manufacturers have cheaped out .
It’s true that the OEMs have “cheaped out” as you say, but when you consider what it costs to produce a new vehicle in today’s world versus what Joe Sixpack can afford to spend, the manufacturers are just about forced to cut where they can so their products will be affordable. Reminds me the days when the larger semi-truck manufacturers just started offering white to everyone. For quite awhile, every fleet truck you saw on the road was white. There are now a few red ones showing, but just the only 18-wheelers you’ll see with much color on them are owner-operators who want to stand out from the herd (kind of true when it comes to chrome accessories as well).
My point of view is that automakers could easily cut costs in areas of “forced options” and put a few more dollars of paint and interior materials in the showrooms. I don’t want heated seatbelts and a big-screen tv built into my instrument panel – so how about offering me a model with just the government-required stuff and give more than three color choices?