(first posted 5/1/2013) Why did folks buy black cars in the pre-air conditioning era? Surely they must have understood the basic physics involved as to how much hotter a black car gets than one in a lighter color. This potential torture chamber reminds me all too much of our black 1962 Fairlane, which in 1965 was finally confiscated by the Iowa Child Protective Services, thus forcing my father to buy a sand-colored ’65 Coronet. Did folks really like torturing themselves that much?
Sure enough; no sign of A/C in here –although this interior does sport a T-handle Husrt shifter for the three-speed manual transmission. There’s no way to know what’s under the hood; it could be anything, from the base 170 cu. in. six right up to the 289 V8.
In 1964, Mercury took the plunge into factory-supported drag racing with the 427-powered A/FX Caliente, which was analogous to the 1964 Fairlane Thunderbolts. Needless to say, they acquitted themselves quite well and, as a kid, certainly raised my awareness of the Caliente–even in white–as a hot car, even if I didn’t know what “caliente” meant.
The Caliente was a new top-level model in the 1964 Comet lineup. Although the name is most often associated with the hardtop coupe or convertible, obviously there also was a sedan. It’s a rather awkward name, given how back then most Americans didn’t have a clue as to its proper pronounciaton.
But then, this is a somewhat awkward car. Despite having the same basic platform and dimensions of the original 1960 Comet, it’s trying hard to look even more like a genuine mid-size car, especially after the failure and rapid disappearance of the truly mid-size Meteor.
Although its wheelbase is a fairly generous 114″, this Comet shares the Falcon’s narrow body. There’s about three inches less shoulder room inside versus the Fairlane/Meteor, so I’m just thankful my father wasn’t enticed by one of these; of course, if he had been, it would have been the base 202 instead of the Caliente.
The grille has a distinct resemblance to that of the ’64 Continental–no harm in that. And black was a popular color for the Contis. Maybe the Continental association was what this Comet tried to cash in on; then again, by that time most Conti’s had air conditioning. There is a price for riding comfortably.
This is a dead ringer for one that belonged to a nurse in Argentia, Nfld. She loaned it to a sailor who went out for a liquid lunch. He wrapped it around a pole. That was 1965 and I guess the car must have been a 64. Lessons learned.
Black cars were certainly hot, but the flip side (at least in the north) was that the car would put some of that solar power to work on sunny days in the cold winters.
A cousin of my mother had one of these, only in beige. I always liked the 64 Comet, particularly these top line Calientes. Now, if only we can find that rare middle-level Comet Capri somewhere.
Given that the CBS show Vegas plays fast and loose with the years of their vehicles, am I the only one who thinks that secretary Yvonne Sanchez should drive a “Caliente”? 😛
There was a Toronado Caliente Model iirc. 1985 It Was Too hot, baby.
I had one except mine wasn’t black but maroon. Triple maroon with leather and moon roof. It was worth every penny.
OK, I’ll bite …. are black cars really hotter in the real world? Yes, I’m an engineer and understand about radiation and emissivity and all that. I’ve also practically burned myself of any dark-colored sheetmetal sitting in the sun, whether red or black or blue. And, I’ve owned three cars that really struggled to keep up with the AC on hot and sunny days, and one was silver, and the others beige and white. But all had (have, actually, as I still own two of them) large and fairly sloped windshields, and huge black dashboards. So regardless of what is picked up by the sun on the roof, and then conducted/convected through headliners, the hot dashboards and steering wheels would radiate tremendously at front seat occupants, and the AC usually had trouble cooling down the vents inside the hot dash, in addition to cooling down the air in the cabin. Just wondering … since I’ve never owned a black car.
You have a good point. I think there was a big to-do on the internet about that a couple of years ago, when there was some rumor that CA was going to ban black and dark colored cars because they used more energy for A/C.
Probably the biggest reason my Xb stays so cool is that its side windows are almost perfectly vertical, and the windshield is unusually steep too.
And possibly every xB that I have seen (along with many cars now) have a pretty heavy factory tint especially on the rear windows. I am sure that helps. Do you have the toaster or the conventional oven? Seems like the 2nd generation has less glass area.
Between careers in the Navy and Teaching I learned air conditioning and still work with it. I would like to take a stab at answering your question. I once installed a unit in my sons home. The next summer he called me back and told me it wasn’t working as well. It was. I finally figured out he had re-roofed his home (darker) and added about a ton of heat load to his home.
Heat load is a combination of things. Insulation slows heat transfer it doesn’t stop it. Dark colors absorb the heat that light colors reflect. All else being equal the dark car is hotter than the light colored car. If you have the “cab forward/ big dash type car, the dash becomes a heat sink and you have to remove that heat with AC.
In a home a light roof, shade trees, good insulation, good attic ventilation, and tinted/properly shuttered windows all work to prevent heat entering your home. You have the option of light colors and tinted windows that work for your car. On the other article on dark cars I put a picture of my truck with it’s summer garb. I drive pretty cool (not cool looking) in the nations air conditioning capital.
It boils down to what you prefer. Avoid letting the heat enter your vehicle or having to pay to remove it. I’ll prevent at the cost of being ugly.
Btw, Paul is right about vertical windshields. On my saturns the dash provided all the heat one would want during the summer. In my cube (vert windshield like Paul’s scion) I do not have that problem.
A very good explanation, thank you for this. I had never thought of this, but I suppose that windshield angle is one of the reasons that cars before the 70s got by better without air conditioning, even in darker colors. The other is one of my touchier topics, which was that older cars had a heater control valve that would shut off water flow into the heater core. When the dash is a heat sink just because of solar energy, it is even worse to heat it up all the faster due to a constant supply of 230 degree coolant being piped through it on a sunny humid 95 degree day.
This comment was labeled Undefined for some reason. This is wstarvingteacher. School buses, for years had a couple faucets installed in the heater lines. When it’s obviously going to be hot for a while, just turn them off. When cool, turn them on. In between, open lines were ok.
I had a school bus with that and IIRC it was my Dad’s 68 chevy I put them on as well. Might do it with my S10 this summer but think window tent would be more important if I didn’t haul around the umbrella over the cab. Am going to do some research on insulative paint as well. Leaning towards a light colored bed liner for the whole thing. Not white but sure not black.
I’m a Comet fan I had a white one.Black cars are a PIA to touch up and will show the slightest imperfection unless the bodywork is arrow straight.They look good though.
90 year old Rache Veitch got over 500,000 miles from her 1964 Caliente.
567,000 miles on it when she finally quit driving at 93 years of age due to macular degeneration..
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/videogallery/69479488/News/Growing-Bolder-Rachel-Veitch-s-Final-Joyride-With-Chariot
I still have no idea how Caliente is pronounced, cal-ee-en-tay? [later] the dictionary confirms and also gives this definition: “sexually excited, horny”
Thanks for this, now I know what a Caliente is.
Rachel’s Comet, as I remember, was tan. She lived in Florida and she had enough sense back in the early ’60s to buy a light colored Mercury, not a black one.
I actually thought it was a pale yellow color, but you may be right.
Hmm Paul, I guess the 61 Starliner with 4-speed also didn’t have A/C? 😉
I kind of like cars like this, awkwardness and all.
Not available with the hi-po 390, as if that would have made a difference!
He finally succumbed to the charms of A/C in about 1978 or 1979, after suffering his 45 minute commute to Johns Hopkins in Baltimore for almost 15 years! Of course, he always ran to being cold.
For what it’s worth, white cars rust faster than any other color. Something about the iron oxide in the paint (I think) that enhances the electrolysis process.
(Have no information on whether black cars are the slowest to disintegrate).
Or is it just that they show rust more readily? IMHO white is the toughest paint, keep it cleaned and waxed and generally it wears like iron. Also, easier to detail. You can get medieval with the polishing compound with no worry of swirl marks.
Dark and black cars require the intermediate step of a de-swirl compound.
Agreed. Which is one of the reasons I gravitate to it. No clear coat, or other fuss. One can always bring it back to look pretty decent, if if it’s been abused.
+3…speaking from an owner who seldom washes and never waxes his cars, white paint seems to hold up the best. My ’89 Camaro had been previously repainted back in the early 90’s but still manages to hold a little shine despite never being waxed.
I wish the red inside retained its original color as well as the outside did!
Isn’t your Xbox hot inside all the time? I have a 2012 Scion XB(AKA the bloated whale) in stingray metallic(sort of a light blue) and that sucker was always hot inside last summer due to the black dash, black door panels, black center console, black steering wheel and black seats.
It got so bad that in the middle of July last summer I took it to the local audio place(Audio Connection for those in Maryland) and got a remote start so I could start the car while still in my house and come out to a cold car. Best $300 I ever spent for a accessory.
No. I only use the A/C when I’m on the freeway, and it’s warmer than usual. of course, Oregon is quite different than Maryland. The air is dry in the summer, and our average highs are around 80-82. In Maryland, it would be a different situation. But I think the steep (vertical) windows help quite a bit.
When it’s 90 and your car’s been sitting in the sun, I don’t think color makes much difference, exterior or interior—it gets hot inside.
My Grandparents first new car was a ’64 Comet Caliente four door sedan in black and my parents first car ever was a 51 Buick Super in black, of course!
Not sure if it was true of the Falcon/Comet, but on ’64-’68 Mustangs, if it had 4 lug wheels, it was a six. 5 lugs meant V-8. Looks like a 5 lug wheel on that Comet.
I seem to recall same as you…..
The Hurst shifter on the 3-speed reminds me of the carpool Falcon I rode in – a maroon on tan 6-cylinder 4-door wagon with the same shifter. I drove it a few times when Torgey, the owner, had a day off, and found the car more difficult to double-clutch into first gear than most other 3-speed cars I’ve driven.
Neat old car. I really liked this generation of Comet. A good childhood friend’s family had one of these for 10 years, quite the unusual feat in Northeast Ohio with all of the iron oxide that used to be in the air from the steel mills. Most cars rusted out in three or so years in that environment. I guess they were lucky.
I too, would go for a 404 or a Capri, but then again, I’m biased that way…
What color and was it around Canfield?
I still have my 1964 comet Caliente.. looks just like the one above…
Better picture. V8 260… 1964 comet Caliente (meaning hot) I love driving this car, can’t go anywhere without someone having a story about a comet or falcon
Please bear in mind those had 1/4 windows and floor vents allowing high pressure air to flow in as soon as you got to speed so it is not THAT bad if you’re on the move. On mine (which is a hardtop) the front vinyl bench has been taken out and replaced by cloth buckets so this summer I expect it to be even better. An aftermarket aircon is a consideration for later but that would depend on what sort of engine I’ll have…
My grandmother bought a new 64 Comet Caliente, and then a couple years later my dad bought a used on. Both with 170 CID and 2-speed auto. For the time they were nice cars. Didn’t do anything particularly well, but looked good. That was back when a Mercury wasn’t just a Ford in drag.
I also discovered valve float in that Comet. It would upshift from low to high at 52 mph. If you held it in low, the valves would float at 55.
Suffice it to say the engine was pretty loose when Dad gave it to a friend as a parts car for his 64 convertible.
I had a ’64 Comet Caliente convertible in the mid-’80 as a run-around fun summer car, 6 cylinder, 2-speed automatic, light yellow, black interior. Until the northeast rust got it, by which time it was pretty well used up.
Never have figured out why the ’63 Meteor wasn’t simply restyled to become the ’64 Comet rather than stick with the narrow Falcon-platform through ’65. As a larger mid-size, it might have been better positioned to compete with the new GM A-Body intermediates. No one took Comet seriously as a compact or ‘luxury’ compact anyway.