New Car Color Options

[Passport1]

New cars have pretty skimpy color palette offerings. Choices generally are basic red, white, black and sometimes blue. Optional colors come with additional costs, $600 and higher. Used to be a new model brochure included a blizzard of standard, no cost extra color swatches.

Why should a prospective buyer pay extra for his/her favorite color? Is it;

1. Non-standard paint costs the car company more?
2. Non-standard paint is more labor intensive to work with?
3. Optional colors can be pearl or metal flake?
4. Optional colors aren't in high demand?
5. Car manufacturers just want to filch more money from buyers willing to pay to stand out?

 

[Danno]

6. All of the above.

 

[wings&wheels]

All the above as noted, but setting up a process to paint a relatively small number of vehicle, or even one for the manufacturers that offer that, can be somewhat disruptive and thus add costs to the mass production process.

 

[daves87rs]

I think some of it is greed (color charge) while others might require special paint (like pearls)

Less colors save money.

I’m not worried about cost- If I’m going to own it for a while, it will be the color I want.

 

[shortyb]

It's more than likely due to material cost and customer demand (hence, will pay more) than anything. At the BMW manufacturing facility up the road, I've toured the paint shop a few times. When they have a vehicle that is speced for an Individual color, the changeover is very quick. Paint is water based, so the air sprayers are purged really fast and the new color is ready in seconds. Was told that it didn't matter if each vehicle was a different color, their system could adapt very quickly. Still, the color palette for vehicles going outside of the US had way more choices than US bound cars did. BMW did used to offer the Individual color program here at one time, but don't know if they still do. I'm sure a customer can get anything they want for the right price. Thats probably because US buyers are generally impatient and will pick a car off the lot before ordering and waiting for something more unique.

 

[CKN]

If you want anything more than a
" greyscale" color ( in most cases) you will now pay for it.
That's just the way it is....

 

[PF52]

New cars have pretty skimpy color palette offerings. Choices generally are basic red, white, black and sometimes blue.

Red is pretty scarce around here, probably because either a) its an extra cost option or b) just not offered. Red paint is more expensive than most other colors, whether you're getting it at a body shop or straight from the manufacturer on a new car.

Black, white, silver, metallic gray and non-metallic gray make up about 95% of the new cars where I live.

 

[64bawagon]

Spec a new GMC HD truck and everything but white is an upcharge plus they moved some color choices to the higher trim levels only. My truck in the pic isnt available in the LT Chevy or SLE GMC in 2025.
Its black, white and 3 shades of gray and bright red for the lower trim. I dont think its changeover thats the issue. I know Flint got a new paint system a few years ago and it will cycle through colors very quickly. I do know they have had supply issues for paint in the last few years. They are banging them out as fast as they can in order to subsidize the EV losses.

 

[Davejam]

I think some of it is greed (color charge) while others might require special paint (like pearls)

Just to be clear Pearl refers to pearlescent pigment which is usually achieved with mica as the primary base material.
It is legitimately more expensive to produce.

 

[Davejam]

To the original point, yes it seems color options have been drastically reduced.
This was a covid/supply chain effect initially but has remained for reasons noted already.
What's more annoying is that lower end cars have practically zero options for interior color/type.

 

[harbor]

Agree on the skimpy, boring colors, but there’s hope. GM has Cacti Green and Nitro Yellow, Toyota has a bright yellow and Mazda has a sand color exterior with terracotta interior.

 

[Ride_Red]

There are also government incentives to produce White / Silver / Gray cars. They heat up less in the sun and require less running of the air conditioner to cool down before people drive them. It's an energy savings incentive.

 

[PF52]

What's more annoying is that lower end cars have practically zero options for interior color/type.

To borrow a phrase from Henry Ford: "You can have any color interior you want, as long as it is black!"

 

[zzyzzx]

Go to YouTube and look for

Why Car Colors Are Boring Now​

and others like it. Cost is one reason.

 

[KrisZ]

It’s mostly because they can charge a premium. Make it an option and people will automatically assume it costs the manufacturer more.

Only an idiot would not charge more for something that the public automatically expects to pay more for and will justify just based on their “feelings”.

 

[wpod]

Some colors of paint cost considerably more that others.

 

[Shel_B]

There are also government incentives to produce White / Silver / Gray cars. They heat up less in the sun and require less running of the air conditioner to cool down before people drive them. It's an energy savings incentive.

That's news to me. Considering all the other govt "incentives" to save fuel and energy, it seems to make some sense. When I was in Tel Aviv some years back, I looked out the window of my friend's apartment, and every car in the lot below, and there were many. was white. White, I believe, is the most often used color for vehicles coming from the factory. There are several reasons for that which go beyond just keeping a car cooler.

Here's an article from the L.A. Times discussing automotive colors:
https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2023-03-07/la-fi-car-paint-trend-nissan-porsche-hyundai

And here's an article that talks about Nissan's new paint that can cool down your car by over 20º F:

Nissan is experimenting with futuristic new paint that can cool down your car by over 20º F

Auto manufacturers are trialing cooling white paint to increase the efficiency of cars amid climate concerns.

fortune.com

Finally, this article from 2011 describes how using "cool" colors could improve fuel economy and reduce emissions:

https://eta.lbl.gov/news/11089/cool-colors-for-cars-could-improve-fuel-economy-reduce-emissions

However, I could not find anything in my search this morning that addresses government incentives to produce White / Silver / Gray cars.

 

[CKN]

Spec a new GMC HD truck and everything but white is an upcharge plus they moved some color choices to the higher trim levels only. My truck in the pic isnt available in the LT Chevy or SLE GMC in 2025.
Its black, white and 3 shades of gray and bright red for the lower trim. I dont think its changeover thats the issue. I know Flint got a new paint system a few years ago and it will cycle through colors very quickly. I do know they have had supply issues for paint in the last few years. They are banging them out as fast as they can in order to subsidize the EV losses.

If you are referring to Ford, it would really help if over the past decade they would make vehicles that didn't need to be recalled multiple times for what are quality control issues when putting them together. Ford is the recall king- that's a fact.

 

[Skippy722]

The “granite crystal metallic” paint on my truck was a $200 option. I really like the color despite being grayscale, B5 Blue and Sinnamon Stick weren’t offered. Would have been willing to pay $1,000 for either of those.

My tool box is also gray…

 

[Pew]

The “granite crystal metallic” paint on my truck was a $200 option. I really like the color despite being grayscale, B5 Blue and Sinnamon Stick weren’t offered. Would have been willing to pay $1,000 for either of those.

My tool box is also gray…View attachment 247618

That's the nicest RAM truck I've ever seen!