4 ms·

I know rationally why a manufacturer would want to limit their color palette. I just wonder why people were more willing to pay for color in, say, the 80s than

by nluken 4y ago

I know rationally why a manufacturer would want to limit their color palette. I just wonder why people were more willing to pay for color in, say, the 80s than they are now. Look at the paint colors available for an early 80's Corolla [1] compared to the same car today [2]. Perhaps I'm overanalyzing but I think it's a symptom of an increasing tendency to emphasize things like insurance premiums and resale value over any kind of humanity or personality. We see the same thing in modern interior design. Just like many of today's cars it's black, white, and grey. If you're lucky, maybe a neutral color or two. Inoffensive, but soulless. [1]: http://importarchive.com/toyota/corolla/1980-1983/paint http://importarchive.com/toyota/corolla/1980-1983/paint [2]: http://importarchive.com/toyota/corolla/2014-2018/paint http://importarchive.com/toyota/corolla/2014-2018/paint

zdragnar 4y ago
As far as interior design goes, I think it's pretty common for realtors to recommend repainting colored walls to a neutral pallet to maintain a broad appeal / let potential buyers more easily imagine their own style in the home. There is a "chic" trend taking this to an extreme, which might just be a reaction to that, I'm not really sure. However, it does help explain why cars come in fewer colors today- dealerships hate having cars sit unsold on their lot, and don't want colors that appeal to a tiny percentage of potential buyers. If manufacturers struggle to push colors onto dealers, then they simply stop making those colors. Speaking of soul... if I was given a choice between the "4C8" variety of orange and cheaper insurance premiums, I'd pick cheaper insurance premiums in a heartbeat. Maybe I'm a souless impersonal robot (I've been accused of being a robot before, not so much the rest), but I really don't feel a need to express myself with the color of my car. The extra color options are very much in the "nice to have" category.

by nluken 4y ago

zdragnar 4y ago

As far as interior design goes, I think it's pretty common for realtors to recommend repainting colored walls to a neutral pallet to maintain a broad appeal / let potential buyers more easily imagine their own style in the home. There is a "chic" trend taking this to an extreme, which might just be a reaction to that, I'm not really sure. However, it does help explain why cars come in fewer colors today- dealerships hate having cars sit unsold on their lot, and don't want colors that appeal to a tiny percentage of potential buyers. If manufacturers struggle to push colors onto dealers, then they simply stop making those colors. Speaking of soul... if I was given a choice between the "4C8" variety of orange and cheaper insurance premiums, I'd pick cheaper insurance premiums in a heartbeat. Maybe I'm a souless impersonal robot (I've been accused of being a robot before, not so much the rest), but I really don't feel a need to express myself with the color of my car. The extra color options are very much in the "nice to have" category.