PURPLE, PINK, YELLOW, ORANGE, A RAINBOW OF COLORS FOR CARS

During the early Henry Ford assembly-line era, from 1914 to 1925, the Model T could be had in any color, as long as it was black.

By B. Ray Owen

Color today's car buyers "color-conscious."

While car buyers dutifully listen to sales representatives talk about engines, gas mileage, special brakes and other mechanical factors of a new car, they also want to hear about something else -- color options.

Today, auto buyers have their choice of a rainbow of colors -- toreador reds, rosewood pinks, Daytona yellows, deep purples and the latest, "holographic flake," which can look black, purple, green or gold.

Colors have always been a major part of life.

But, like life, colors change.

When Henry Ford introduced the assembly-line concept of building Model T automobiles in 1914, customers had their choice of colors. Black or black.

During the depression era, colors were somber maroons, browns, greens and blues. Then, along came the 1950s.

There was Elvis, petticoats and kidney-shaped tables. During this early era of rock `n' roll, car colors were often light, creamy, with warm tones.

"Light beige" and "sky blue" were in, along with bright two-tones -- Chrysler even offered a three-tone combination of white, gray and pink.

When Elvis bought his mother a new Cadillac following his rise to rock 'n' roll fame in the 1950s, it was a pink convertible.

If a lot of cars seemed gray and bland 40 years ago, it was due to the state of technical development. There was no such thing as "special-effect" paint.

During the 1960s, there were hippies and "flower power," and flamboyant muscle machines, sporting such racy colors as lime rock green, mild miglia red and Daytona yellow.

The 1970s brought orange plastic chairs, bell-bottom trousers and deep purple.

Inevitably, cars followed suit.

A glance at sales statistics reveals that the car world, too, was dominated by vivid colors in the mid-1970s. Suddenly, blue, green and red were being ordered much more frequently than in previous years.

White and black were losing ground.

Orange was suddenly popular with a number of car manufacturers.

Metallic silver had already become commonplace.

Green has always been a difficult color as far as cars are concerned. Five years ago, hardly anyone ordered green. Today, it is in great demand. What is even more surprising, is that in the 1960s and 1970s, black was looked upon as a color of state and mourning. Yet today, black is considered sporty. The public's feelings toward the color of black have simply changed.

Although black was the original color for most cars, the color faded during the late 1960s until it started its comeback during the early 1980s. During the past two years, black has been a big color for new cars.

Today, most men between the ages of 18 and 34 still prefer basic black, while women in the same age bracket prefer blue.

Black today, however, is not just black, said Bob Neff of Ford Groves. "You have a choice -- ebony black, jet black, midnight black, or just plain black black."

Naming colors is another fun thing about colors, said Neff, who talked about popular colors for his products.

"The Special Edition Cobra Mustang is an unusual car," he said. "The color does change, depending on how you look at it."

White is another multi-name color -- castillian white, polar white, white diamond and oxford white.

"Castillian white is a favorite color for Cadillac," said Steve Ballard of Crown Cadillac Olds Nissan. This year, green is suddenly popular for luxury car lines, including Cadillac, Lincoln, and other big-car models.

"White is easy to keep clean, and easy to touch-up in case of chips," said Ballard.

Other new-name colors include desert violet (purple), rosewood pink, and the calypso, a medium to dark green.

Rex Probus of Auffenberg Chrysler-Plymouth-Dodge said that a number of new, bright colors have emerged in the Chrysler line.

"Red and white are the old-time favorites," said Probus, "but some of the favorites this year, especially on the Neon car line and mini-vans have been amethyst (purple), and an eye-catching jade (blue/green) color."

Consumers no longer live in the days when a single color range is the vogue for certain automotive models.

Nowadays, auto designers plan for each model each year. In addition to traditional colors such as brilliant silver, imperial red, polar white, non-metallic black and vivianite green, there was also rich linarite blues, magnificent yellow yellowstone, bright purples, and shocking pinks.

Color creators study magazines, fashion fairs and home exhibitions to emerge with future color trends.

Car colors of 2000 are already being created. Prognostications for the next three to five years say colors for new cars will be gold, light brown, copper and coral.

Like the exterior colors, auto designers devote a great deal of thought to interior design and color, which can affect the entire appearance of an automobile.

Green as a favorite color goes back to 1909 when Brewster Green was so popular that it became the standard color of the Motel T. There was an optional green as well.

What about Henry Ford's slogan, "you can have any color you want -- as long as it's black?

"That's true ... but it came later.

In 1914, Henry Ford revolutionized the automotive world in more ways than one. First, he introduced the idea that had been tried before: mass-production of a complex assembly by bringing the assembly to the work, as opposed to other way around.

Painting, of course, is an important and time-consuming aspect of any auto assembly line. And back in 1914, a newly discovered quick-drying black enamel was the only paint acceptable to this speeded-up production process. So, from 1914 to 1925, the Model T could be had in any color you want, as long as it was black.

The other change at Ford, under Henry's assembly-line regime, was that Ford raised his workers' pay to an unprecedented $5 a day, twice the going rate. This, in turn, gave these workers an opportunity to buy the product of their name.

And, they did, in scads.