Auto Trends Magazine

Car reviews, industry news, & advice.

Archives for November 9, 2010

Is Matte Where It’s At?

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While I only attended two major auto shows this year (the NY Auto Show and SEMA), I’ve noticed a growing trend towards “flat” or matte paint finishes…or vinyl wraps that are meant to look like a matte paint finish. While some might argue this “trend” isn’t really a trend – matte finishes have been popular in the sport compact scene for years – the fact that this type of finish is so easy to impersonate with a vinyl wrap has made it a favorite of vehicle accessorizers.

Glossy Paint Is The World Favorite

According to Jane E. Harrington, PPG manager, color styling, automotive coatings, the color silver has long been a popular color for concept vehicles. Harrington states that this is because silver is the best color for showing off a vehicle’s natural contours, a statement that is also true of most matte finish colors. With a matte or low-gloss finish, the amount of light reflected from a paint job usually isn’t enough to distort the appearance of body panels.

With today’s highly contoured body panels, a less reflective paint job is the best way to show off a vehicle’s shapes and curves…which explains why silver is a popular choice for concepts. Still, even the most “tame” silver paint job found on a new vehicle is still glossy. On most vehicles – except, perhaps, for the Lexus LFA seen below – it would seem that consumers prefer a glossy paint finish. I’m not sure why that’s the preference of the average consumer, but from the finest Benz or Porsche to a work-truck version of the Toyota Tundra, glossy paint is the popular choice.

According to DuPont’s website, nearly 100% of all vehicles manufactured worldwide have a glossy, clearcoat finish. Of course, the argument could be made that glossy paint finishes have only been popular because they’ve been the only option. Very few vehicles made in the last 40 years had a matte paint finish when they left the factory. Ford has offered some matte finish hood stripes on quite a few Mustangs over the last 20 years, but a fairly small strip of vinyl isn’t nearly the same as an entire vehicle. What’s more, Ford offered glossy painted stripes right alongside the matte finish vinyl.

Today it seems that the glossy trend might be reversing. With the advent and popularity of vehicle “wraps,” or printed adhesive-backed vinyl sheet designed to cover an entire vehicle, matte finishes seem to be taking auto shows by storm. Vinyl vehicle wraps have quite a few advantages over custom paint jobs including:

  • They’re cheaper. A vinyl vehicle wrap can cost as little as $2,000, whereas a full custom paint job can cost many times more.
  • Details and complexity are no problems. Even the most gifted vehicle painter may have trouble painting a vehicle with a complicated pattern, whereas the vinyl used to wrap a vehicle is printed by a larger computerized ink-jet printer.
  • They’re temporary. Whether you want to wrap your vehicle in matte-finish blue or you want to turn your vehicle into a rolling billboard, vinyl wraps can be removed when it’s time to sell your vehicle.

Vinyl has a few downsides as well. Unlike custom paint, most vinyl wraps will show bubbles and/or seams on close inspection. Also, depending on your vehicle, your environment, and your typical use, you may find that a vinyl wrap will start to deteriorate after as little as one year. Custom paint jobs, while more expensive, don’t have any of these problems.

Matte Finish Production Car in Our Future?

Based on all of the matte finish vehicles I’ve seen in the last year at car shows and the Lexus LFA (which is arguably not a production vehicle), it seems likely that at least one auto manufacturer will experiment with offering a matte finish on a brand new vehicle in the near future.

Maybe Scion, famous for making one-off special editions of the xB, will venture to produce a new car with a matte finish. If consumers respond positively, matte finish paint jobs could become symbolic of sophisticated and sporty modern styling. Or, perhaps like the tuner craze with carbon fiber body panels, matte paint finish will remain buried in the automotive sub-culture. What do you think – would consumers embrace a vehicle with a matte paint finish?

References

PPG Industries: Silver reaches new height of popularity on vehicles, according to PPG data

Author Information

Jason Lancaster is the editor for ExhaustVideos.com, a website devoted to exhaust sound clip videos and exhaust system information.

Book Review — McQueen’s Machines

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Younger readers probably won’t remember Steve McQueen, the Hollywood actor who died in 1980 from mesothelioma. Avid car enthusiasts know who McQueen is, at least they recognize him as the Lt. Frank Bullitt in the 1968 classic car chase movie, Bullitt.

Steve McQueenThat movie featured what is perhaps the best car chase filmed of all time – pitting a Ford Mustang against a Dodge Charger. Most scenes shot of Lt. Bullitt behind the wheel were of McQueen himself, who was filmed traveling at times at speeds in excess of 110 mph on the streets of San Francisco. Today’s actors would require a stunt double, but not McQueen. Then again, no city would issue the proper permits for such daring driving.

Motorhead McQueen

Much has been written about Steve McQueen since his death, but no article or book has taken readers to the machines he owned himself – cars and motorcycles he drove and owned personally. That changed in 2007 when author Matt Stone’s book, “McQueen’s Machines – The Cars and Bikes of a Hollywood Icon,” was released in hardcover. For 2010 a soft cover edition has been released (Motorbooks | $19.99), a copy which I managed to obtain and review.

Chad McQueen, Steve’s son from his first of three marriages, provided the forward. That’s important because the McQueen family felt one aspect of the actor’s life had remained untold. Stone’s book fills in the gap, offering a personal perspective of the Hollywood superstar to successfully complete the story.

Stone takes the reader back to the early years of McQueen’s acting life when a series of young Hollywood stars arose following World War II. Those actors, including Jimmy Dean, sported the machismo rarely seen today – guys who looked buff and weren’t afraid to play the part too. Car, bikes, pretty girls and outlaws go together and were part of the narration. Even if you forgot the gal or can’t recall the felon, you most certainly recognized the wheels. Whoever said that motorheads are one dimensional?

Digging Deeper

The meat of “McQueens Machines” is found in the first four of five lengthy and picture filled chapters where we get a look into McQueen’s garage, what he drove on screen, his track appearances, followed by his bike adventures. Chapter 5, however, offers a touching look at his legacy, rounding out the persona of Mr. McQueen.

So, what kind of cars did McQueen own, drive and race? If I told you that he owned a 1967 Mini Cooper S, you might be surprised. How does that kind of car fit into character? Quite frankly, it doesn’t or at least in the person of the McQueen you think you knew. The actor loved his fast cars, but he also appreciated the quirky, common cars we drive ourselves.

Fast Paced

Driven/Owned By McQueen

  • 1953 Siata 208S
  • 1958 Porsche Speedster 1600 Super
  • 1957 Jaguar XK-SS
  • 1963 Ferrari 250 Lusso
  • 1967 Mini Cooper S
  • 1969 Porsche 911S
  • 1949 Cadillac Series 62
  • 1968 Ford Mustang GT 390
  • 1971 Husqvarna 400CR
  • 1946 Indian Chief

One of the earliest fast cars associated with McQueen was a 1958 Porsche Speedster 1600 Super roadster, the first new car purchased by McQueen new. At age 28, McQueen was a Hollywood legend in the making, affording whatever car he wanted. The Speedster is important as it was made to attract people to the Porsche brand and it was incredible on the race track. Indeed, the actor customized this roadster himself, removing the bumpers, putting in a racing road screen and adding a roll bar. He then took the car to several Southern California SCCA meets where he showcased both his ride and personal driving skills. Notably, McQueen later sold and then repurchased that car which is now owned by his son, Chad.

Ferrari is as exotic a brand as they come and McQueen was gifted a Ferrari GT Berlinetta Lusso, a Pininfarina designed sportscars featuring a detuned V-12 engine. That car was given to McQueen by his wife, Neile, for his 34th birthday, rated at 250 horsepower and having a top speed of 150 mph. Certainly, McQueen tested those speed limitations and was fond of taking circuitous rides from L.A. To San Francisco, winding through Big Sur, Lake Tahoe, Death Valley and home to L.A. That car, however, burned oil and was rebuilt in 1967 before McQueen decided to move on to a Mini and NART Spyder.

McQueen’s penchant for fast cars is well known, but he also drove sedate Detroit iron including a Hudson Wasp, ’57 Chevy Bel Air convertible and various Chevy, GMC and Ford trucks. On the screen those cars included Porsche and Ferrari race cars in Le Mans and a 1951 Chevrolet convertible used in The Hunter, filmed just three months before his death. McQueen was fond of bikes too, enjoying various Triumph, Husqvarna, BSA and Honda models on film and in his personal journeys.

Killer Cancer

Sadly, it was a disease now loved by lawyers seeking to launch class action suits – mesothelioma – that did McQueen in. A rarity to this day, mesothelioma is a vicious and incurable disease, one that is attributed to asbestos exposure. Before his death the actor noted his exposure to asbestos while serving in the U.S. Marine Corps., receiving a commendation for having saved five Marines in a training accident.

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