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This isn't a new thing at all. This is how cars all use to look! This isn't some huge statement on how millennials want to be grownup and childish at the same

This isn't a new thing at all. This is how cars all use to look! This isn't some huge statement on how millennials want to be grownup and childish at the same time, or some other pop-psychology drivel. It's just the normal change of fashion over time. Non-flake paint jobs stand out a lot in a sea of cars with them. In fact, I've already noticed a shift back towards paints with contrasting metal flake now that even the most pedestrian Japanese cars are coming with simple glossy paint. BMW has this new sparkling copper grey that's a cool grey in low light, a warm light grey in direct light, and has reddish specular highlights and it has this very 90s color changing vibe to it. > UPDATE: A few ppl have also mentioned the important role of the “Nardo Grey” paint color from (Porsche-owned) Audi in this timeline — a wet-putty hue that came out in 2013 and became a car-head phenomenon. Grabber Blue came out on the Mustang even earlier and is a throwback to the 70s color of the same name. Voodoo Blue and Army Green on the FJ Cruiser is also a simple glossy color on an even older car. I'd argue this kind of paint was popularized by the retro-modernism of the 00s mixed with the cool grey trend of the 10s.

djur 4y ago
Yeah, my friend's mom drove an old Lark convertible when I was a teen, and it had a cadet green paint job that looked like this. I always thought it looked particularly classy, especially compared to the glittery cherry red Studebaker she'd previously owned. More saturated hues with this finish feel "retro" and less saturated hues make it feel "futuristic". I'm personally a fan, even though I'm really down on the gray neutral trend in design in general.
gambiting 4y ago
>>Grabber Blue came out on the Mustang even earlier and is a throwback to the 70s color of the same name. Voodoo Blue and Army Green on the FJ Cruiser is also a simple glossy color on an even older car. Yeah, but both of these cars only really exist in one small(by size) market - the US. Audi's Nardo Grey was available(and visible) globally.
- mywittyname 4y ago
  The New Beetle came in quite a few retro colors, some of which were non-metallic paint, and a handful are identical to colors offered in the 70s (granted, modern paint methods are different) I decided to go with some examples because I was familiar with them without having to look them up.
WarOnPrivacy 4y ago
> This isn't a new thing at all. This is how cars all use to look! What? Nah uh. There's no way that sickly bright grey is an old color. I've got 3 60s cars here and I've been into old iron all my life. The bright grey thing first showed up here just over a year ago. I commented on it to my kids at the time, soon we saw it everywhere.
- worthless-trash 4y ago
  Your experience may be limited to the tiny corner of the earth you frequent.
  - lelanthran 4y ago
    > Your experience may be limited to the tiny corner of the earth you frequent. Maybe, but I'm almost certainly from a different corner of the earth, and IME old cars never aimed for the wet putty look. I follow car news quite deeply, and have been since the 80s, and other than military vehicles, I have not seen manufacturers paint their cars to look like wet putty until recently. Maybe they were offered but not popular? If you have links to any examples of old cars that look like wet putty, I'd love to see them.
    - worthless-trash 4y ago
      I'm wondering what changed in the world to be popular all of a sudden.
    - worthless-trash 4y ago
      https://collectableclassiccars.com.au/private-sellers/mgc-gt-2 https://collectableclassiccars.com.au/private-sellers/mgc-gt... https://collectableclassiccars.com.au/private-sellers/datsun-stanza https://collectableclassiccars.com.au/private-sellers/datsun... ^ this was definitely more "wet putty" when it was new. https://www.justcars.com.au/cars-for-sale/1968-chevrolet-camaro-rs-coupe/JCW5243749 https://www.justcars.com.au/cars-for-sale/1968-chevrolet-cam... <-- this one probably isnt the original color, but there was a similar colored one that I'd seen. (probably more like https://news.classicindustries.com/hubfs/Classic_Industries/CI-New-Blog-Assets/The%20Parking%20Lot/2020-Q2/68CamaroLS_HoodUp.jpg https://news.classicindustries.com/hubfs/Classic_Industries/... or https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/524bc779e4b0b5e2e07d9f08/1445553366515-6MZ6MVLD92H6LO9DGF1S/1968+Chevrolet+Camaro+454ci+Big+BLock+-+Ol%27+School+Garage+%285%29.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/524bc779e4b0b5... ) > Maybe they were offered but not popular? This is my bet too, not popular at the time. Some of those are in different light and maybe my definition of wet clay are not matching yours.
macropin 4y ago
> This is how cars all use to look! Not exactly the same. Older vehicles used solid pigments without a clear coat.
- grosswait 4y ago
  They achieved gloss without a clear coat. Lots of papita colors can be purchased in one or two stage (base and clear). The average person would not be able to tell the difference
throwawaylinux 4y ago
I don't think they did used to look quite like this. They also didn't have the metallic element so were a more solid color, but they didn't have the same quality -- flat while still being glossy. The last two pictures of the old Porsche and BMW are what old cars looked like, and that's not the same as the "putty" look.
eclipxe 4y ago
Dravit Grey! Love it.

djur 4y ago

Yeah, my friend's mom drove an old Lark convertible when I was a teen, and it had a cadet green paint job that looked like this. I always thought it looked particularly classy, especially compared to the glittery cherry red Studebaker she'd previously owned. More saturated hues with this finish feel "retro" and less saturated hues make it feel "futuristic". I'm personally a fan, even though I'm really down on the gray neutral trend in design in general.

gambiting 4y ago

>>Grabber Blue came out on the Mustang even earlier and is a throwback to the 70s color of the same name. Voodoo Blue and Army Green on the FJ Cruiser is also a simple glossy color on an even older car. Yeah, but both of these cars only really exist in one small(by size) market - the US. Audi's Nardo Grey was available(and visible) globally.

mywittyname 4y ago
The New Beetle came in quite a few retro colors, some of which were non-metallic paint, and a handful are identical to colors offered in the 70s (granted, modern paint methods are different) I decided to go with some examples because I was familiar with them without having to look them up.

WarOnPrivacy 4y ago

> This isn't a new thing at all. This is how cars all use to look! What? Nah uh. There's no way that sickly bright grey is an old color. I've got 3 60s cars here and I've been into old iron all my life. The bright grey thing first showed up here just over a year ago. I commented on it to my kids at the time, soon we saw it everywhere.

worthless-trash 4y ago
Your experience may be limited to the tiny corner of the earth you frequent.
- lelanthran 4y ago
  > Your experience may be limited to the tiny corner of the earth you frequent. Maybe, but I'm almost certainly from a different corner of the earth, and IME old cars never aimed for the wet putty look. I follow car news quite deeply, and have been since the 80s, and other than military vehicles, I have not seen manufacturers paint their cars to look like wet putty until recently. Maybe they were offered but not popular? If you have links to any examples of old cars that look like wet putty, I'd love to see them.
  - worthless-trash 4y ago
    I'm wondering what changed in the world to be popular all of a sudden.
  - worthless-trash 4y ago
    https://collectableclassiccars.com.au/private-sellers/mgc-gt-2 https://collectableclassiccars.com.au/private-sellers/mgc-gt... https://collectableclassiccars.com.au/private-sellers/datsun-stanza https://collectableclassiccars.com.au/private-sellers/datsun... ^ this was definitely more "wet putty" when it was new. https://www.justcars.com.au/cars-for-sale/1968-chevrolet-camaro-rs-coupe/JCW5243749 https://www.justcars.com.au/cars-for-sale/1968-chevrolet-cam... <-- this one probably isnt the original color, but there was a similar colored one that I'd seen. (probably more like https://news.classicindustries.com/hubfs/Classic_Industries/CI-New-Blog-Assets/The%20Parking%20Lot/2020-Q2/68CamaroLS_HoodUp.jpg https://news.classicindustries.com/hubfs/Classic_Industries/... or https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/524bc779e4b0b5e2e07d9f08/1445553366515-6MZ6MVLD92H6LO9DGF1S/1968+Chevrolet+Camaro+454ci+Big+BLock+-+Ol%27+School+Garage+%285%29.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/524bc779e4b0b5... ) > Maybe they were offered but not popular? This is my bet too, not popular at the time. Some of those are in different light and maybe my definition of wet clay are not matching yours.

macropin 4y ago

> This is how cars all use to look! Not exactly the same. Older vehicles used solid pigments without a clear coat.

grosswait 4y ago
They achieved gloss without a clear coat. Lots of papita colors can be purchased in one or two stage (base and clear). The average person would not be able to tell the difference

throwawaylinux 4y ago

I don't think they did used to look quite like this. They also didn't have the metallic element so were a more solid color, but they didn't have the same quality -- flat while still being glossy. The last two pictures of the old Porsche and BMW are what old cars looked like, and that's not the same as the "putty" look.

eclipxe 4y ago

Dravit Grey! Love it.