Colors of Our Cars

[Cees Klumper]

Just like expecting parents spend a lot of time over coming up with a name for the new baby (check the bookstore, there are more books on baby names than on baby health) the first thing people always ask when you tell them you bought a new car is "oh yeah? What color?" even though color has practically nothing to do with getting from A to B safely and economically. So color is apparently very important. My car was repainted ions ago from dark blue into ... white. All of it except the dashboard, that is. And Peter is right - mine is the only white car in The Netherlands ...

P.s. Welcome Back Richard! The round Italian Job side markers will be in the mail to you this Saturday ...

Cees ("Case") Klumper in Amsterdam
'69 white 280 SL automatic

[J. Huber]

quote:Originally posted by cees klumper

 And Peter is right - mine is the only white car in The Netherlands ...

Cees ("Case") Klumper in Amsterdam
'69 white 280 SL automatic

Well, I guess mine got evicted! (717 papyrus white originally delivered to The Netherlands!)

James
63 230SL

[RCS Coupe]

I may be beating the life out of this car color thing, but just for fun I went digging in my auto literature and pulled out a showroom dealer's color and fabric selection album for the 1958 Oldsmobile. Stop groaning; it is probably typical of the era for GM cars and says a lot about how people bought cars then.

To choose the car color, a 9" long transparent celluloid of the car model you wanted (4-door hardtop, convertible, etc.) was laid over the body color you wanted. 22 looseleaf-bound color plates are in the back of the album with their names (i.e., Rose Mist Metallic; Alabaster White). Additionally, a smaller size set of the same 22 colors is at the top and only covers the roof of the celluloid. Thus a buyer wanting a two-tone car could see what it would look like. There are two pages of factory suggested two-tone color combinations adding to 66 combinations (Only 5 convertible top colors). plus the 22 choices for a monochrome car.

The instructions to the salesforce indicated that any color combination was possible outside of the suggested 88 because the car order form had individual fill-in blanks for body color, roof color, wheels,...! On top of that, you could do accent wheels and covers not matching anything. It's interesting to note that in the factory suggested 88 combinations, the wheels most often matched the roof, like our Pagodas. There is a picture in the album of a white car with a dark gray top and red accent wheels.

There were also five cloth upholstery and 5 leather color choices along with 12 carpet colors. Whew! I can see why most people would opt for one of the factory combinations.

Ray
(268)Green 250 Coupe

[mdsalemi]

quote:Originally posted by RCS Coupe

I may be beating the life out of this car color thing, but just for fun I went digging in my auto literature and pulled out a showroom dealer's color and fabric selection album for the 1958 Oldsmobile. Stop groaning; it is probably typical of the era for GM cars and says a lot about how people bought cars then.

To choose the car color, a 9" long transparent celluloid of the car model you wanted (4-door hardtop, convertible, etc.) was laid over the body color you wanted. 22 looseleaf-bound color plates are in the back of the album with their names (i.e., Rose Mist Metallic; Alabaster White). Additionally, a smaller size set of the same 22 colors is at the top and only covers the roof of the celluloid. Thus a buyer wanting a two-tone car could see what it would look like. There are two pages of factory suggested two-tone color combinations adding to 66 combinations (Only 5 convertible top colors). plus the 22 choices for a monochrome car.

The instructions to the salesforce indicated that any color combination was possible outside of the suggested 88 because the car order form had individual fill-in blanks for body color, roof color, wheels,...! On top of that, you could do accent wheels and covers not matching anything. It's interesting to note that in the factory suggested 88 combinations, the wheels most often matched the roof, like our Pagodas. There is a picture in the album of a white car with a dark gray top and red accent wheels.

There were also five cloth upholstery and 5 leather color choices along with 12 carpet colors. Whew! I can see why most people would opt for one of the factory combinations.

Ray
(268)Green 250 Coupe

Ray,

That, without a doubt, is the coolest story I've heard about car color, and one which clearly shows the dramatic change from then to now!  Two-tone today is kind of joke.  On Ford products (of which I know the most about) it is limited to "cladding" of certain bolt-on pieces like fender flarings, etc.  That usually comes in one contrasting color, or body color.  I saw a Subaru yesterday that had a lower half in some kind of Charcoal cladding, and then the "greenhouse" was all black--leaving the "body color" to what amounts to a band (it was white[:0]) in the middle.

Just the production cost of that color book you have was probably astounding.  Today, you are lucky if you can get a brochure with paint swatches in them!

Michael Salemi
1969 280SL
Signal Red 568G w/Black Leather (Restored)
President, International Stars Section
Mercedes-Benz Club of America

[Raymond]

Monash University found that silver is the most dangerous color in that men driving silver cars were more likely to be involved in accidents.  I think it was Cornell University that found that color choices reflected personality traits.  White were stable, dependable, conservative, Red were either extrovert or compensating, Blue were trustworthy, etc.  I find most of that to be bunk.  There are way too many variables.  The only thing we can all agree on is that the world's favorite color is "Shiny".  

Ray
'68 280SL 4-spd Coupe

[Paddy_Crow]

quote:Originally posted by Raymond

Monash University found that silver is the most dangerous color in that men driving silver cars were more likely to be involved in accidents.  I think it was Cornell University that found that color choices reflected personality traits.  White were stable, dependable, conservative, Red were either extrovert or compensating, Blue were trustworthy, etc.  I find most of that to be bunk.  There are way too many variables.  The only thing we can all agree on is that the world's favorite color is "Shiny".  

Ray
'68 280SL 4-spd Coupe

At various times in my life, I have owned white, silver, red, black, green, orange, yellow, beige, blue, and probably several other colors I'm leaving out. I guess that makes me an emotional chameleon!

Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch...

[rwmastel]

quote:Originally posted by mdsalemi

Originally posted by hauser

While Mike Hughes offers up the PPG "survey", even though *yawn* silver black and white are at the top (what a surprise) that mix of selections is NOT reflective of an MB dealer's lot!  There's no way that an MB dealer lot has 47% of their stock in other colors.

I will have to go check this weekend.  I often see green, blue, beige (sand?), and other colors, but I don't know the percentage of inventory in these more "interesting" colors.

Side note:
When buying my 230SL, I was not concerned with color.  Only originality, condition, and price.
When buying my pre-owned C230 several weeks ago, I was concerned only with no-sunroof (for extra head room) and a sport package (for MBCA driving events).  I didn't even care if I found a sedan or coupe!

So, in those two purchases color played no role in the purchase decision.  When I bought my E420 (Now For Sale!), I had a chance to buy a Turquoise (Not sure if that's right?) 400E and I just couldn't do that.  

Rodd
Powell, Ohio, USA
1966 230SL: arabian gray, natural leather, euro, auto, both tops
1994 E420: pearl black, black leather, auto (FOR SALE)
2006 C230: alabaster white, 6-speed manual, no options

[mdsalemi]

Update on the PPG Survey offered by Mike Hughes: as I've mentioned of course, in this long thread, is the fact that what people end up buying isn't necessarily what they really want.  Availability affects purchase as much as desire.

Now, last week I contacted PPG about their survey and received a response from Mr. Simon Cheung, Market Development Manager for PPG Industries.  Their response was interesting.

"The color popularity information we published was not derived from a survey.  Rather, it is based on vehicles sold."

So, realistically it is not a survey, and it has nothing to do with popularity or anything of the sort: it is simply an historical summary of what the manufacturers chose to build and put on the lots!

Reiterating, true color choice didn't enter into it.

Michael Salemi
1969 280SL
Signal Red 568G w/Black Leather (Restored)
President, International Stars Section
Mercedes-Benz Club of America

[rwmastel]

quote:Originally posted by mdsalemi

Reiterating, true color choice didn't enter into it.

Well, I think in general it must enter into it over the long run.  I don't know lots about new car sales, but I do know that the longer a car sits on the lot, the more it costs the dealership.  If they notice over a long time periord (several months, more than a year?) that a particular color is taking longer to move, they'll order fewer of that color and more of the colors that move faster.

Oh, and I'm not sure it's the manufacturer deciding how many cars to paint which color.  Don't the dealerships order the cars?  If the chioce of inventory is driven by the dealerships, then trends in preferred colors would be reflected in what they want on their lots.

Rodd
Powell, Ohio, USA
1966 230SL: arabian gray, natural leather, euro, auto, both tops
1994 E420: pearl black, black leather, auto (FOR SALE)
2006 C230: alabaster white, 6-speed manual, no options

[Klaus]

Rodd,
over the years, this may have changed, but in the 80s and 90s about let's say half of the cars were ordered by the dealers with a specific color (dealer assigned cars). Only few of which were firm orders by customers, and many of those were European Delivery. However, within these assigned cars you could see regional differences, e.g. lighter colors in the south, darker colors in the north.
The other half of the cars were ordered as stock by the Regional Offices of MBNA and by MBNA in Montvale. These cars were usually ordered in very conservative colors. MBNA assigned them to dealers when they were being shipped or already in VPC stock (Vehicle Preparation Centers in the US)

Klaus
1969 280 SL

[mdsalemi]

I'd like to suggest the existence of "emotional colors" and "unemotional colors".

An emotional color is one that you either absolutely LOVE, or absolutesly DESPISE.  Metallic Lime Green, for example.  My daughter's Music Teacher, just bought a Ford Escape in that color.  She absolutely LOVES it.  Many of her fellow teachers razz her about it all the time and would not be caught dead owning a car in that color.

Our friends white, black and silver are unemotional colors.  Excepting the writer I quoted earlier in this thread who is going to scream if she sees another car in silver, I think any one of us would find one of these colors suitable to us in a new model.  Might not be the first choice, but it would be unoffensive enough and even pleasing enough to live with.  But not necessarily the first choice.

And that is what drives this color palette.  A dealer certainly does not a car that is going to sit on the lot for a while...like a red one, a blue one, etc.  Those might end up being the proverbial tough sell--unless the right person comes along at the right time.  Who can take a chance like that with a $100,000 car in inventory?  Best be safe and order white, black or silver.

It's kind of funny that as paint technology increases, with these multi-color changing paints, all kinds of fancy paint jobs (you should see what my local HUMMER dealer has in stock, just down the street from MB of Novi) that in some circles the colors are not expanding, but contracting to white, black and silver.

Michael Salemi
1969 280SL
Signal Red 568G w/Black Leather (Restored)
President, International Stars Section
Mercedes-Benz Club of America

[hauser]

When buying a used car condition and price are the determining factors for me.  Having just purchased a 2003 Honda Civic for our teenager (could have bought a '95 E class for half the money) color took a back seat.  As luck would have it the darn thing is silver!  The boy wanted a black vehicle but will have to settle for something else.  He's a lot luckier than I was at his age.  My dad made me drive a rust bucket petrol blue '64 Chevy Belair for my Junior and Senior years of high school which by the way no color on earth could have made that car look any better.

1969 280sl 5 spd
Gainesville, Fl.

[Joe]

Personally, I've never seen a pagoda painted a color I didn't like. Certainly, I prefer some colors, like all of us.
I have a hunch that color preferences changed over the years. For example, I think more of the early cars were white and more of the later cars were red. Further, I suspect, from what I have seen and read here for the past several years, that there were more color choices in the 280SLs than in the 230SLs.
Maybe a separate poll for each of the three pagoda models would cast light.
Joe

1965 230SL, white with blue interior
1965 230SL, white with Cognac interior
1965 230SL, white with blue interior, parts car
1967 250SL, red with black interior, needs assembly
1971 280SL, red (Cinnamon) with parchment interior

[Mike Hughes]

quote:Originally posted by mdsalemi

Update on the PPG Survey offered by Mike Hughes: as I've mentioned of course, in this long thread, is the fact that what people end up buying isn't necessarily what they really want.  Availability affects purchase as much as desire.

Now, last week I contacted PPG about their survey and received a response from Mr. Simon Cheung, Market Development Manager for PPG Industries.  Their response was interesting.

"The color popularity information we published was not derived from a survey.  Rather, it is based on vehicles sold."

So, realistically it is not a survey, and it has nothing to do with popularity or anything of the sort: it is simply an historical summary of what the manufacturers chose to build and put on the lots!

As one who works at the retail level in the car business, I can add some clarity to the very valid points that Mike Salemi brings up.

First of all one must be aware that the manufacturers do not build just what suits the suits in the main office.  For the most part the vehicles one sees on any dealer's lot are ordered by that dealer to meet local demand.  Manufacturers can only sell what dealers will buy, and dealers will only buy what they think they can sell.  Since the dealers buy and pay for their inventory, they have a vested interest in trying to predict what will sell quickly and avoid stocking what hangs around waiting for just the right person to come along.  Too many slugs on a dealer's lot sucking up floor plan dollars can drive a dealership into the red in short order.  An inventory manager like myself will use historical sales data to reorder fast moving merchandise and avoid reordering slugs, as well as to plot trends.  This applies not just to colors, but to equipment levels, body styles, 2wd v.s. 4wd, etc.

The PPG report is just one of many tools at our disposal.  It has a track record of being a trustworthy guide for predicting color trends, not just in the automobile industry, but also home furnishings, clothing, and a host of other industries where color can be a thumbs-up or thumbs-down factor.  In the case of the automobile industry it is the data about current model year dealer stock going over the curb which manufacturers report to PPG.  In other words, actual sales to the end-user are what are counted, rather than the sum total of what might have been produced.

New vehicle buyers are VERY picky about getting what they want and passing on what doesn't appleal to them.  The higher the price, the more picky they get!  So the idea of folks just blithely driving off in whatever color vehicle is being pushed the day they dropped in is not realistic for the most part.  To capture these customer's business it is imperative for a dealer to have an availability of high demand merchandise on the lot or loose the business to another shop that does.

It is not surprising then for the Mercedes-Benz dealer across the street to have 23 silver cars, 14 white cars, 15 black cars, 2 red cars, 4 champagne colored cars, and 2 blue cars parked out front when I walked over the other day to pick up a replacement parking lamp lense for my 300D.  That mix probably closely approximates the demand at that store.  The showroom had nothing but black and silver cars on display.

Availability drives sales, which drive future availability.      



- Mike Hughes  -ô¿ô-
  1966 230SL Auto P/S
  Havanna Brown (408)
  Light Beige (181)
  Cream M-B Tex (121)

[mdsalemi]

Great Analysis, Mike--

But let me add the following.

The "Suits" absolutely control things.  My wife (who once wore a suit at that time!) was in the Mix and Rates--Options Analysis department at Ford, and those group of suits set the manufacturing model for the packaging of options, mix of colors, etc. that were manufactured.  Caveat: the suits don't always get it right, even armed with a lot of data.  Show me one manufacturer that doesn't have one leftover model somewhere.  Even Honda is having an end of model year sale--the ads are on television every night now.  Quite ironically the cars in the ads are bright red...

Your most recent analysis didn't cover the emotional/unemotional color thing I raised.  Yes, people want certain colors.  But, for example, let's say you passionately wanted a Signal Red SL   ; you couldn't find it.  It is unlikely you'd walk, in my opinion if you were offered Brilliant Silver; but if the only option is Metallic Green, you may very well pass on it.  That data interpreted incorrectly would mean you bought silver because you wanted it.  That's the PPG model.  As I've mentioned, I've satificed on most colors I've ordered, and we get 2 new cars every year, and have so for the past 10 years.  I can never seem to get the mix of color I want.  So I settle for something OK, but not the first choice.  Am I the ONLY person doing that?  I hardly think so.

BTW, Brilliant Silver and Black (w/o fingerprints that is) look particularly fetching in the highly-specular light of a dealer showroom which at least partially explains your observation!  Blue doesn't look as nice.

You mentioned the PPG study being used for other trends.  Well, from what I read, Blue is the in color for 2008, from Pantone.  But home paint colors, interior furnishings, etc. all have their own "institutes" and trend-reporters.  Don't expect that however to alter the mix of colors available at any car dealer.

The silver/white/black thing in cars avoids entirely the avocado/harvest gold/dark brown phenomenah of kitchens in the late 1960's and early 1970's.  Those were the trendy "had to have" colors in kitchens and appliances during that time.  Shortly they became the "what was I thinking?" colors of the late 1970's and on.  Those who stuck with Stainless Steel or White were never out of favor, but never on the cutting edge...

You are absolutely 100% right about the faster-moving sales colors.  

But I think a true survey of what people bought versus what they wanted would be revealing--and as I pointed out with that article, I'm not the only one who thinks availability has as much to do with sales as desire.

If you are in the retail car business, for the next year after you close each and every sale, (make sure the deal is signed) you should ask your customer if they could have had any color in the world on the car they just bought, what would it have been?  I'd be interested to hear if the car they got is the #1 color choice.

Michael Salemi
1969 280SL
Signal Red 568G w/Black Leather (Restored)
President, International Stars Section
Mercedes-Benz Club of America

[Douglas]

Silver may be the #1 or #2 color for all cars, but let's not forget that it also holds special significance with Mercedes and the "Silver Arrows" that made their appearance in 1934. There's a reason you see so many silver Gullwings today; it's a nod to its racing heritage.

Douglas Kim
New York
USA

[Naj ✝︎]

Here's a parking lot sample for analysis:





naj

68 280SL

[France]

Naj, that was Speyer on the 40th birthday, no?  We were there and missed you!  I put the rally plaque in my rear window...

Trice
1968 280SL US, signal red/bl leather, auto, kinder seat
Sarasota FL; Alsace France; Switzerland
Think of your Pagoda as a woman with a past...

[Naj ✝︎]

quote:Originally posted by France

Naj, that was Speyer on the 40th birthday, no?  We were there and missed you!  I put the rally plaque in my rear window...

Trice
1968 280SL US, signal red/bl leather, auto, kinder seat
Sarasota FL; Alsace France; Switzerland
Think of your Pagoda as a woman with a past...

Yes!!![:p]

naj

68 280SL

[wingding]

Gentleman, Is there anywhere on the internet to actually "VIEW" the different color coordinates Mercedes Benz optioned for their 280SL ?

[DavidBrough]

Yes, look in the technical manual section under data cards & codes and go to paint and upholstery codes.

[Joe]

This site was mentioned somewhere on the Web several years ago (hope it wasn't here!), and I saved it as being interesting.
http://www.insurancewerks.com/news/150327.php
It offers statistics on the percent of cars by color that are involved in insurance claims in a given year. It also lists the same by driver's name.
Joe

[Bob G ✝︎]

While I did not have a say in the choice  of color of the 280SL my dad ordered. 158 white grey with black MBZ Tex and 040 black hard top and soft.

One of the best  colors in my own opinion  was silver metallic the early silver not the Astro silver on the 450SL. If I could go back in time I would of wanted that color with black leather interior and a black hard top.

Bob Geco