I think the all-blacked-out look is mostly sought after by the younger crowd, or those who believe it makes them look more contemporary. I personally can't stand black wheels on any vehicle, and they look even worse on a black vehicle. It's just too much black. I love black vehicles, but with chrome or polished wheels. Once you start blacking out everything, it's just tacky looking...
Blacked or "night" edition vehicles new fad?
- Thread starter 92saturnsl2
- Start date
I'm just the opposite. When I see a Vette (any Vette) with black wheels I cringe. I say to myself, that would look nice with some chrome, or polished aluminum wheels...
It depends on what and where. An all black car no, but just like dressing for the day, black can easily be matched with other colors and will either make another color pop out more or make the entire object look more sinister.
No chrome or dull grey here; makes things look like grandma's house.
No chrome or dull grey here; makes things look like grandma's house.
Attachments
No . . . no, they don't. They do absolutely nothing for me. Except make me wonder what the owner sees in them.
But that's just my opinion.
OVERKILL
$100 Site Donor 2021
Individual tastes for sure, just like how some men like broomsticks and others prefer an hourglass. Some people enjoy heavy metal, others hate it and like rap or pop.
Not!
What is the average age of the black wheel haters and what is your take on chrome? I'm going Boomers...hahahaaha j/k and all in fun of course. I fought it for a long time but gave in on this car b/c I did the black/white "stormtrooper" look. Could have gotten them on our Atlas but didn't care for the look on a vehicle like that and of that color, silver worked better. Brake dust doesn't show as well on the black wheels which is another bonus.
In terms of vehicle / trim / wheel color, to each his own.
However, from the 60+ age safety perspective (note: I just had a comprehensive eye exam with excellent report this week, and the following eye characteristic was discussed):
Older eyes simply cannot see as well at night, and perfectly black-painted vehicles (incl wheels, trim, windows, taillights, etc) need to understand that they are not easily seen by a significant portion of drivers. This is hazardous when those hard-to-see vehicles also have drivers with poor driving habits - e.g. pulling-out of a cross-street too-close in front of other cars -> don't assume that older people can see you like in daylight so they can slow down.
However, from the 60+ age safety perspective (note: I just had a comprehensive eye exam with excellent report this week, and the following eye characteristic was discussed):
Older eyes simply cannot see as well at night, and perfectly black-painted vehicles (incl wheels, trim, windows, taillights, etc) need to understand that they are not easily seen by a significant portion of drivers. This is hazardous when those hard-to-see vehicles also have drivers with poor driving habits - e.g. pulling-out of a cross-street too-close in front of other cars -> don't assume that older people can see you like in daylight so they can slow down.
To me, I look at these wheels and see them blending together with the tires and the wheel wells. It's so much black I would not even be able to tell what the wheels look like unless I was within 2 feet of them. Now put these same wheels on this car in chrome and watch it pop.
I really like them. Here my 2013 (in 2013) when I feel the blackout started to get more popular. I wish my car still looked like this! haha...
I don't get the "old" references to chrome wheels. To me chrome is timeless and classy. I know a lot of people think the all black look looks sinister, like you said, but to me it looks like a vehicle that would be all chrome, only in black. It's just too much of one color. Vehicles need some contrast on them to make them look good...
When I bought my first vehicle cars with black wheels were the cheaper one while shiny chrome were most expensive. Most black wheels were steel without hubcaps as they were an add on.
For sure, but times clearly change and so do styles. No more white walls either which used to be the higher end tire look. I remember thinking the same when cars first started coming the black wheels....are those steelies?
Chrome accents etc. are definately a thing that the older crowd likes vs. body-colored trim, black/grey wheels, etc. My dad (81) definately loves him some chrome on cars vs. me (47) but I'm not that young - my Atlas has chrome accents and I think it looks nice but plenty of folks younger than me will cover that up and de-chrome it.
I agree with this. On an older car like a C3 vette, Nova, etc then I would agree chrome looks nice.
The sinister look is where it all started. As others have mentioned, the all black look started back in the '80's when the Federal Government started using black Suburbans for Secret Service and such. There is nothing new about the all black look. It's just a repeat of an older fad.
Exactly.
While I am guilty of being the baby boomer generation, I'm not necessarily a big chrome guy. Too much of any color just doesn't look good. Contrast really makes wheels snap. Some of the best looking wheels are the ones with a nice grey in the background, but polished aluminum on the outside surface. Like this. Contrast.
I agree, but to an extent. I think the “stormtrooper” white with black accents look looks amazing, but I also like the chrome grille and bumpers on my truck, they’re a nice contrast to the massive Granite Crystal painted body.
I like the look of black vehicles that other people own, but I'd never pick that colour myself. We have a 1/4 mile gravel driveway so black is waste of time...
When my Dad bought his truck, most of our local RAM dealers had trucks with some sort appearance package, which was a deal killer for my Dad. The 2018/19 black edition looks pretty terrible, and a guy in his 70's showing up at the Lions club with a "Warlock" edition truck wasn't his thing. He was replacing a 2003 F150 and was happy with that level of tech so he got a white SXT crew cab 4x4 with chrome bumpers.
When my Dad bought his truck, most of our local RAM dealers had trucks with some sort appearance package, which was a deal killer for my Dad. The 2018/19 black edition looks pretty terrible, and a guy in his 70's showing up at the Lions club with a "Warlock" edition truck wasn't his thing. He was replacing a 2003 F150 and was happy with that level of tech so he got a white SXT crew cab 4x4 with chrome bumpers.
