But those names aren't simply the whim of a back-office designer. They're engineered to reflect a specific aesthetic and then tailored to a vehicle's exact size, style and segment--even the buyer.
Case in point: Susan Swek, the colors and materials manager at Ford, says the company has sold more Ford F-150 Raptor SVT pickups this year in trendy colors like Molten Orange or Blue Flame than it expected.
"We think people are just tired of the same old mood of what's been going on for the last couple years, so they're going to want to express themselves in a certain way," Swek says.
Post a CommentIn some cases, car color names are often deeply tied to brand heritage--like Maserati's Bianco Eldorado, which was named after a famous racecar from 1958. "Stirling Moss raced in this really incredible white car with the Eldorado Ice Cream company on it, and it's this beautiful eggshell white," says Maserati spokesman Jeff Ehoodin. "That car's now a part of our museum, and we matched the color to it."
Though a Honda representative wouldn't say how much the company spends on researching and developing a new color, Maserati's Ehoodin says the company spends roughly $1 million per color. That includes developing the hue, testing the paint on different surfaces, and adding it into production. But high-end luxury brands and big trucks aren't the only types of vehicles with a story behind every paint job.
Behind the Color Palette
A look at each major automaker's lineup uncovers several off-the-wall and obscure colors that describe each basic color listed in the DuPont ( DD - news - people ) Automotive Continental Chroma Report (red, blue, silver, white, etc.). We consulted representatives from Hyundai, Ford, Mercedes-Benz, Maserati and Honda ( HMC - news - people ), as well as industry expert Mike Caudill, of NADA Guides, to find out more about the origin of the color names--and what impact they have on consumers.
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Some make perfect sense: What Dodge Challenger buyer wouldn't opt for Detonator Yellow, an obvious link to the muscle-car glory days in the 1950s and '60s? Other color names imply a certain 鬡n, such as the Bordeaux Pontevecchio Maserati Quattroporte. Still more, like the Ferrari 612 Scaglietti in Grigio Ingrid, have celebrity ties. The overall idea is to deliver a specific message to the target buyer, deliberately conveyed through the color's name.
And trends are always emerging. Last week, Caudill attended the SEMA car show in Las Vegas--matte black finishes with aggressive rims are currently popular, he says.
The color's popularity shows that simplicity sells. Indeed, silver remains the color of choice for consumers worldwide. According to the DuPont report, silver displaced green as the most-popular car color in 2000; in the U.S., nearly 20% of vehicles are silver, and a quarter of all crossover utility vehicles are as well. In Europe and Japan, the figure is closer to 30% of all vehicles.
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Image: Unusual Car Color Names
