4 ms·
> In North America cars are generally bought or financed by dealers and sold to customers. Dealers don't want cars to last more than a month or so on their lot
by vinay427 6y ago
> In North America cars are generally bought or financed by dealers and sold to customers. Dealers don't want cars to last more than a month or so on their lot unsold.
I agree that this is common there, although I'm not sure how it actually compares with specific other places (curious for any data here), but I haven't noticed a correlation between this and interesting colors on other continents. If anything, at least in the parts of the US I've lived in, bright car colors are culturally more accepted and seem less ostentatious than in many other countries.
- vladvasiliu 6y agoOver here in Europe, and particularly in Paris, people driving around in ostentatious colored cars are considered to be "that guy". Most such cars are expensive sports cars. Citroën attempted to launch a "premium" brand a few years back, the DS (riding on their classic DS model [0]) and the ads at the time were showcasing the possibility of getting them in very bright colors, sometimes even multiple colors, to make a fashion statement. While the brand was somewhat successful (don't know the actual numbers, but they are fairly common), most of the cars on the road are actually "boring" colors, mostly white, some shade of gray and black. Two years ago I stopped at a car dealership, and they were selling some "almost new" second hand Seats (a subsidiary of Volkswagen). They were basically demo cars, the older model that used to be exposed in the showroom. What I remember as striking is that they had three basically identical cars (same engine, trim, etc). The only difference was the color: one basic white, one metallic red and one metallic black. The red was a somewhat bright red (think Ferrari). It was the cheapest of the three. When I asked why, the guy told me that they wouldn't be as easy to move off the lot when second hand, so people wouldn't want to spend as much on them. Of course, brand new, the red would be as expensive as the black one. The white was in the middle as it was the presumably "cheap" paint (this was an entry level Ibiza). [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citro%C3%ABn_DS https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citro%C3%ABn_DS
- dsego 6y agoI think historically at least, red paint is the quickest to fade and deteriorate in the sun.
- papito 6y agoRed cars would also be stopped by cops more often, because they stand out.
- vladvasiliu 6y agoIs that red in particular or any color that stands out? Say bright yellow or orange.
- yftsui 6y agoRed cars also pays higher premium for insurance
- vladvasiliu 6y agoMy insurance company never asked for my car's color. I don't think that's a common practice over here.
- Godel_unicode 6y agoThis is a particularly pervasive urban myth.
- greedo 6y agoIs that because they stand out, or because people more inclined to break driving laws like red cars?
- papito 6y agoImagine you are a cop enforcing speed limits. Multiple cars pass by, all speeding, one of them is red. Which car will grab your eye's attention first?
- greedo 6y agoStatistically, the one with the black driver. All the cops I've spoken with about this (maybe a dozen) say they don't consciously or subconsciously notice a car's color, but they do notice it's behavior. A speeder will change lanes frequently and abruptly to get around traffic, panic break, and do other stuff that cops easily notice.
- csours 6y agoEurope and Japan are almost all build to order (as I understand it) - no or almost no dealer inventory. I'm not sure about the rest of the world.