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COLORS

Pony Up: Ford Mustang’s Global Appeal Takes Hold

March 17, 2015 by admin Leave a Comment

It has taken more than 50 years for the Ford Mustang to go global and that wait may pay off for the Ford Motor Company and consumers in a big way. Ford reports strong interest in its pony car with consumers signing up for test drives, configuring models online, and learning more about the blue oval brand.

2017 Ford Mustang.
2015 Ford Mustang.

Some 51 years after the first Ford Mustang was introduced, America’s beloved pony car has now taken to the world. Largely available only in parts of North America since its inception, the latest generation Ford Mustang is now sold in more than 100 markets worldwide. Thus, people who may have yearned for this model previously with no real ability to buy one are finding that local Ford dealers are now selling the Mustang.

Ford Mustang: Top Sports Coupe

And that new Mustang is enjoying a stronger following in the United States as well as abroad. Indeed, February US sales for the pony car were up by 32 percent to 8,454 units sold and are up 66.6 percent year to date.

Contrast that with the Chevrolet Camaro and the 11,364 units sold for the first two months and it is clear that Mustang has galloped ahead. Fiat Chrysler, by the way, reported sales for its sport coupe, coming in at 9,847 units for the Dodge Challenger.

Consumer Interest Worldwide

The Ford Motor Company has been carefully monitoring global consumer interest in the Mustang and has discovered several important facts based largely on search queries and other tracking factors.

First, Europe has shown much interest in the Mustang as consumers have configured more than 1.1 million Mustangs online. Of course, that number is not indicative of sales, but it does demonstrate the widespread early interest this iconic sport coupe has engendered in Europeans. Indeed, the Mustang will go on sale in Europe by the middle of this year.

Second, Chinese consumers have shown much interest too. More than 18,000 Chinese consumers have registered for test drives and Ford says more than 5 million people have visited the Mustang’s website. The car has gone on sale in China earlier this year.

Third, two color choices stand out as favorites amongst potential buyers. Red and black are the two top exterior color choices that are being considered by potential buyers in most parts of the world.

Color Coordination and Local Appeal

Speaking of colors, white is the most popular color of choice for all vehicles in the United States, but when it comes to the Mustang, black is favored followed by Magnetic Metallic (silver/gray) and Ruby Red.

In China, 35 percent of Mustang orders are for Ruby Red, followed by Oxford White at 20 percent. Coming in at just under 20 percent and in a close third position is black.

European consumers are chomping at the bit for the Ford Mustang’s arrival with Race Red and Absolute Black essentially knotted at 20 percent each. Local results are a bit different with Deep Impact Blue stirring the hearts of British and Italian consumers alike.

One Ford Strategy

The Ford Mustang represents a reversal of sorts for the company’s One Ford Strategy, but in a positive way. That strategy, enumerated in 2008, had six European Ford models planned for the United States market, effectively uniting the company’s footprint across multiple markets. In this example, the Mustang takes a wholly American product and presents a homegrown product to the world.


See Also — Steadfast Stallion: Ford Mustang GT

Ford Mustang photo courtesy copyright Auto Trends Magazine.

Filed Under: Automotive News Tagged With: CHEVROLET CAMARO, China, COLORS, CONSUMERS, DODGE CHALLENGER, EUROPE, Ford Motor Company, FORD MUSTANG, MARKETS, PONY CAR

White Remains the Top Color Choice For New Cars

October 28, 2013 by admin 1 Comment

The most popular new car color is white according to PPG Industries. PPG is a leading coatings and speciality products company for the auto industry, releasing its latest annual automotive color trend data on Thurs.

Top Global Finishes

That data took a global approach to tracking car finish choices. Globally, white leads with one in four new vehicles adorned accordingly. Silver and black tied for second at 18 percent each followed by gray, red, natural hues, blue and green, the last five retaining the same share of popularity achieved in 2012.

In North America, the numbers came in at 21 percent white, 19 percent black, 17 percent gray and 15 percent silver followed by red, blue, natural hues and green. In South America, silver is the dominate color with one in three new vehicles sporting that finish. White at 29 percent, black at 13 percent and gray at 11 percent followed, with red, natural, blue, green and other colors bringing up the rear.

White remains the most popular color with PPG seeing “growth in the variety whites being offered to consumers,” noted Jane E. Harrington, PPG manager, color styling, automotive OEM (original equipment manufacturer) coatings.

Variations on the White Theme

Variations are also being used with silver, black and gray with manufacturers choosing colors to suit different vehicle types. Said Harrington, “Distinct effects such as micas, glass flakes, fine bright aluminum and hue-shifting pigments help them achieve this.”

Some colors are more popular with certain types of vehicles. Sport models are most likely to feature shades of blue and red, while gold and beige are used most in the minivan segment. Among luxury vehicles, 57 percent were gray with black metallic and white pearl used to create feature effect finishes. SUVs come in a variety of colors with various shades of red, blue, black and gray chosen almost evenly.

White, black, gray, silver, red

“Red” is a favorite sports car color.

 

PPG Colorography

PPG also tracks what colors will be new to the industry in the future. Looking ahead at 2016 and 2017 models, the company sees that color innovation is on the way. The company has done its part to further innovation by introducing more than 60 exterior shades or what its calls its “colorography,” a collection of five palettes:

Hi-Breed emphasizes the new design harmony between man and nature with a palette consisting of neutrals, pastels and bright hues such as Lapis, a brilliant gemstone blue that uses ANDARO® tint dispersions by PPG.

Mosaic is based on the wealth of artisan patterns, shapes and prints, as well as their strong colorations, and it includes colors such as Autumn, a vivid metallic orange with colored aluminum flake that evokes an image of fall foliage.

New Spirit reflects the primitive, natural colors of a desert sunset with shades such as Sunray, an intense yellow tri-coat color with a high-sparkle glass flake.

Magnifigance combines the words magnificent and elegance, and the palette recaptures elaborate styling details and opulent, regal colors for a post-recession world with colors such as Mystic Magenta, a vibrant purple with a unique hue-shift effect.

Theorem is a precise and minimal contemporary palette that uses rich brown, red and deep blue as accents for balanced neutrals such as Crisp Grey, a graphite color with a surprise highlight of green metallic.

Beyond Black

The auto industry has been testing and embracing new color trends as never before. That’s far different from the thinking long attributed to Henry Ford about the Model T where he supposedly said, “You can have any color as long as it’s black.” As many people know the Model T was sold in other colors, a fact that Automotive News has also confirmed.

Further Reading

Is Matte Where It’s At?

Where Can I Find My Car Paint Code?

Hockey Stick Graphics Package Delivers Boss 302 Eye Candy

PPG Says Silvercoat Finishes Stand Out

Filed Under: Automotive News Tagged With: black, COLORS, finishes, gray, NEW CARS, paint, PPG Industries, silver, white

Is Matte Where It’s At?

November 9, 2010 by Jason Lancaster 1 Comment

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.

Filed Under: Automotive News Tagged With: COLORS, custom paint, Jason Lancaster, Lexus, matte finish, TOYOTA TUNDRA, vinyl wraps

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