Fall and The Amazing Technicolor Dream Cars

DETROIT, Oct. 25, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- As summer's green leaves change color and fall to earth, the similarity between the shades autumn's long produced and the rich hues being applied to today's cars and trucks is clear.  But while nature's inspiration of a "Yellow Blaze" Ford Fiesta or "Inferno Orange" Chevy Sonic may seem obvious, applying that inspiration isn't so simple.

Sherrice Gilsbach, associate online editor of shopautoweek.com, spoke with some of the industry's leading designers about what motivates color choices.

"At Ford, a designer's color suggestion is run by marketing, to make sure it's a good fit with ad campaigns," said Gilsbach. "If it's a fit, then it has to be created by paint suppliers, meaning it can take years for a color to make it from nature to the showroom."

Nature is also influencing more than just designer color palates, said Gilsbach. The Chevy Sonic is painted with a new eco-friendly process GM calls "three-wet."  Instead of sending the car through an oven between applications, all three layers are applied one after the next, reducing paint shop size and in turn, its energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.

As earth tones gain in popularity, old standbys like blue and red have taken a slight hit, but are expected to recover.

"Overall, blue and red had a small decline last year, but this is expected to turn around," said Nancy Lockhart, DuPont Performance Coatings color marketing manager. "Blue is a purposeful color and remains a popular choice. It is expected that this space will grow as the small-car market grows."

Gilsbach also found that designers often consult consumers and peers through social media – Facebook, Twitter and the like – to gauge reactions to a variety of products.

Fashion trends also play a role. Car designers look at current clothing colors to confirm that vehicle color forecasts are on target.

At least one manufacturer sees room for blue on the current color wheel.  

"The new Focus comes in a blue-candy-tinted clear-coat that was directly inspired by water because it can be translucent and has a lot of depth of color," said Susan Swek, Ford's group chief designer for color and material design.  "Just like water, when the sun hits this paint color, it gets brighter."

For more information on choosing just the right car in just the right color, visit www.shopautoweek.com

About shopautoweek.com

The shopautoweek.com site delivers an Internet car-shopping experience unlike any other available site. Powered by unbiased insight, opinion and expertise of Autoweek editors, it guides shoppers with a trusted voice married with the latest available data to give consumers both objective and subjective points of view. Launched in September 2011, shopautoweek.com is an authoritative online resource for anyone researching a new vehicle. Consumers will easily find vehicle specifications, features, reviews and pricing information to help guide their vehicle-purchase decision. The shopautoweek.com site is part of the Autoweek Media Group, which includes Autoweek magazine, autoweek.com and Autoweek Productions. Autoweek Media Group is owned by Crain Communications Inc., publisher of leading industry trade publications Advertising Age and Automotive News, among others, and is based in Detroit, Michigan.

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SOURCE shopautoweek.com