Jim Klein brought us a review on a new Jeep Wrangler Unlimited. It was an interesting read because I know someone who owns one. But as I read the review, there was one thing I could not shake – what an unusual color. It reminded me of a seldom-seen choice on a car from long ago. Then I started to think of more of these Paint Pals from other mothers.
Yes, I know it’s no trick to find a silver 2020 Camry and a ’57 Chevy to match it. What is the trick is to see a color on a modern car that is, if not an exact match, something highly reminiscent of something seen on the road long ago. Take this one, for example. Alright, 1961 Studebakers were never common and 1961 Studebakers painted in Autumn Haze were much less so. A non-metallic putty-gray on an early 1960’s American car was an odd thing.
As is a non-metallic putty gray like the 2020 Jeep in Sting Gray. I love the name. And I rather like the color. Will it become the next thing? Or will it sink back into the sea of unloved and unused automotive hues that have periodically hit showrooms.
In the early 60’s turquoise was everywhere. In 1963 the parents of a good friend bought a brand new Chrysler Newport painted Holiday Turquoise. By 1976 when I got to know the family, turquoise had gone as extinct as a dodo bird from new car color selection books.
But it came back for a bit in the 90’s in quite a number of variations. One caught my eye in particular, this one that Chevrolet called Light Teal in 1994 – it was a dead ringer for the paint on my buddy’s Chrysler from years earlier. As a huge fan of the color, I have been chagrined that it has never been a choice any time I have ever gone looking for a new car.
Here is one I hated in 1977 – something made all the worse because I owned one of them. Actually, both my first and third cars were this color that Ford called Lime Gold Metallic on the bazillion of them that they churned out between 1967 and 1969.
It too went completely away. Then I saw a Dodge Ram truck or two in the color. “Oh no”, I thought – “It’s back.” In truth, absense really does make the heart grow fonder because I liked it a lot better in 1996 (when Dodge called it Kiwi Green) then than I did twenty years earlier. This time it did not catch on and went away quickly.
My turquoise fetish got a boost in 1969 when a longtime friend of my mother brought his new Ford Galaxie 500 convertible over to show us. Aside from the wheels (and the hood fit) it was a twin to this car. I loved that vivid paint color (Gulfstream Aqua), even though it was a whisker away from being banished from the option lists, seemingly forever.
General Motors came to my rescue again when they brought out the similar Bright Aqua, as on this 1994 Beretta. I didn’t like the color well enough to have bought a 94 Beretta solely for that reason. Although, as I think about it, would there have been a better reason to buy a 94 Beretta?
This next is a longtime fave. At one point my mother owned a 1977 Chrysler New Yorker Brougham, one that I later got from her. It was painted this one-year-only color called Russet Sunfire Metallic. It wasn’t the burgundy-red that was so popular in the late 70’s, and it wasn’t one of those big-selling golden-browns, either. It was something of a cross between them that was gorgeous with its beige vinyl roof and velour interior.
As seen in this not-very-good picture.
I was thrilled to see that Ford got awfully close in 2016 with this color they called Bronze Fire. Once again, it did not set the sales charts on fire. However, this time it stuck around for 2015-2017 and (at least according to paintref.com) it is back for 2020.
In the 60’s my Aunt Norma and Uncle John drove a 1960 Pontiac Catalina sedan in this color that Pontiac called Sierra Copper. Copper cars had a big but short burst of popularity in the year or two either side of 1960, and I always found this one a particularly fetching shade – like a new penny or a freshly-stripped bit of copper electrical wire.
So how cool was it when Ford introduced this paint color it called Woodrose in 1990-91. Although it hung around for a couple of extra years on Lincolns, it sunk back below the surface about as fast as it did after the Great Copper Burst of 1959. You will have to give me a touch of leeway here, as some of these colors are sensitive to light and may not present that well in photos. But you have to admit that these are fairly close.
I was becoming quite the Mopar fan by 1973, but I never quite understood big luxurious cars like this Chrysler New Yorker being painted in this vibrant True Blue.
It looked so much better on the Honda Fit when we were looking to buy one in 2007. But no tan interior was available with Vivid Blue, so no sale. At least so sayeth Mrs. JPC.
This new BMW in Estoril Blue also looks at home in this color, one that has been a little more common in modern times than many of these others. I should also add that modern paints and clear coats allow for so much more depth and punch than the old single-stage finishes of old. Still, . . . .
When I was a kid my Uncle Bob had a 1964 Ford painted Vintage Burgundy. This 1963 color (Heritage Burgundy) was so much darker and somewhat more purple – I didn’t like it as well. Looking it up, it only made it to the Ford line that year after being exclusively a Lincoln and Thunderbird color in 1961-62.
But it sure looks a lot like some modern finishes, like this new Buick painted in Rich Garnet. I thought about another red or maroon parallel, but there have been a bazillion of those shades offered on almost everything since the mid 70’s.
Dark greens, however, are another matter. Like this 1969 Ford color called Black Jade. Here’s the thing – I like my greens more on the blue end of the spectrum and less on the yellow end. I didn’t really like this color in 1969, but find it quite unique and attractive now.
This 2020 Lexus in Nori Green hits many of the same notes. A little more chrome and a little less black plastic and this would be a stunner.
I think I’ll stop with these ten pairings. I am sure I could think of more if given a chance, but wanted to stay away from the easy combinations that have been more popular over the last thirty years. I am sure I have missed quite a few. Are there any you can add?
PaintRef looks like a site I will spent way too much time at!
The ’76 Dodge Club Cab I spent much of my teen years in was copper-ish, a bit more like a new penny than the ones shown here.
My ’64 Comet, not repainted, can have only be described as “Pink Sand”, but the closest thing to it is “Polar White”.
It can take a lot of hit and miss clicking for samples and googling car/color names. Those approximated colors on the main page for a given brand/year are not all that helpful.
Ah! Given how I’m in protective isolation for another week, I’ll probably try that.
This is my go to paint site:
https://www.autocolorlibrary.com/
Actual paint chip pages from the major suppliers rather than web color representations.
Welp, I have to check that out. I implicity trust anyone with the Studebaker logo.
My first recollection of this type of solid gray finish of the original subjects above coming back in recent times was mid 2010 with the second generation debut of the Scion tC. Slightly lighter, it’s called Cement:
Audi had a “dove grey” a bit before that, but it was very rare. Had some depth to it, not metallic, but nicely glossy. In other words, it didn’t look like primer.
I think I saw it on TTs.
There was also “Aviator Gray” on the older TT around 2000 or so, which was either lighter or darker than the Dove. Both colors are reminiscent of the Jeep color and may have in fact started this more modern trend of these shades.
This color is pretty popular on the recent Tacoma’s.
My 2015 Mini was also a similar color, Moonwalk Grey (non-metallic.) I thought it was really distinctive and paired well with the white roof and black wheels.
Im sick of gray silver black and white. Im looking at you Honda. How about offering all color options for all trims?
I noticed that, when I bought a Fit just before the shutdown the choices with a manual transmission are gray or silver – not in terms of what’s in stock at the dealer but what Honda’s build-and-price will let you spec. Want that nice deep blue, the zany orange, or Milano Red (always a good choice on a Honda)? Only with a CVT.
These things are frustrating. Those kinds of practices are why my 07 Fit Sport is white. My Mrs was set on the tan/black interior instead of the gray/black. You could get her preferred interior with several colors if you wanted a standard Fit, but if you wanted a Sport trim you could only get the car in white.
Great topic and research! I recall a neighbour owned a late 70s Plymouth Horizon in the vivid (and highly memorable) ‘Sunset Orange’. Several years ago, I was reminded of that Horizon when I rented a Dodge Dart in the similar ‘Header Orange’. ‘Sunset Orange’ being perhaps a touch darker. I thought orange suited the Dart better. 🙂
You remind me of another combo – When I was a little kid a guy my dad worked with had a 62 Buick in a light metallic pink I now see was Camelot Rose. He was a big ex-WWII bomber pilot, and the choice seemed odd to young me. Ford brought out the slow-selling Desert Coral on a few models in 1994 and 95. It instantly reminded me of that pink Buick.
Great memory to recall this one! I may have seen ‘Desert Coral’ on a Taurus. Excellent colour for killing resale value.
My Mom had a 1979 Horizon in that color. It was actually called Flame Orange.
http://paintref.com/cgi-bin/brochuredisplay.cgi?year=1979&model=Plymouth&page=1
In 1978, there was a ‘Sunrise Orange’. I said ‘Sunset’, but I meant this colour.
https://paintref.com/cgi-bin/colorcodedisplay.cgi?type=sample&ditzler=3067&syear=1978&smanuf=Plymouth&smodel=&name=plymouthhorizon1978sunriseorange&scomm=Horizon
I have never bought a new car, so I never got to choose the color. It must be a difficult decision. After all, the manufacturer creates and offers say 12 different shades (and, in the Golden Era, so many 2- and 3-tone choices), and all of them are designed to be “beautiful”.
That Studebaker Lark, someone said, “I want solid gray.” Not blue, or green, or light yellow, or even black. Gray. And that person’s happy. Others will say, “Why?”
This film of ’55 Plymouths, I like the part where their “typical” customers select colors. What does this say about people? (1:10-2:20)
Chrysler offered an attractive medium metallic blue around 1991, they called ‘Banzai Blue’ that looks similar to a few metallic blues offered by various manufacturers today. At the time, I thought Chrysler was overexposing this colour. As I remember seeing it on the Shadow/Sundance, Laser/Talon, Daytona, Dakota, and the Ram pickups. I was surprised the Spirit didn’t offer it.
That is a gorgeous Dodge.
Ford currently has a Velocity Blue which seems pretty close to this blue, but it isn’t as close once I found an example of one.
However, Ford will still build a person a new F-150 with a secondary and contrasting color along the bottom, just like what is seen on this Dodge.
Something close in a nedium blue returned to Mopar in 2006, called “Marine Blue.” It was apparently not universal across all lines, though. It appeared on the light trucks where it was moderately successful, and on the PT Cruiser where it was overshadowed by the more flamboyant “Electric Blue.” It was not offered on the LX sedans; their only blue was a dark metallic.
Don’t know about the Sting Gray. As non-descript as the Lark’s Autumn Haze. But beauty has always been in the eye of the beholder. For some reason my uncle thought that the light baby blue on his1958 Caddy Sixty Special was the most fabulous color ever. I do wish there would be more choices though. There were 14 different solid colors offered on the ‘55 Chevy, with a myriad of two-tone combinations.
By the way, the “Giorgio” dealer tag on the featured Lark was a dealer in Dundalk, MD.
We had a gas Olds 98 that looked like the diesel from the Motorweek test which was “Light Jadestone Metallic.” I remember seeing Chrysler 300s in around 2005 with an identical color called “Satin Jade Pearlcoat.” In both cases, it’s a pretty color.
Jim, this is a treat. Your eye for color is exceptional, unlike my near-color blindness, especially for the names. I have zero memory banks associated with car colors. Over the years here it’s been a bit of a revelation how you and some of the others here obviously have a faculty I don’t. And this post is a great exposition of that.
That gray is something of a hot new color, following on the heels of khaki a couple of years ago. Or at least it seems so to me, having sat behind a xxxx at a traffic light just a day or two ago and having that thought.
Great series of comparisons! I love it when old becomes new again – and then inevitably fades away, yet again.
I differ from you on some opinions, however. I think the Lime Gold Metallic is very complimentary on Mustangs, and might even be the quintessential color for the 67-68 Mustangs, as far as I’m concerned (OK, maybe that’s because I’ve never owned one, as you had). But I’ve not been impressed at any similar color on a modern vehicle.
And also, I’m not impressed by the Jeep’s Sting Gray (though I like the Stingray-ish sound of the name). To me, the color is lifeless an annoying, and most of all reminds me of the dull, unwelcoming color that about 50% of large new homes here in Virginia have been painted in recent years – see below for an example. While I can theoretically see the appeal in a Jeep (it is a tough-looking color, after all), I see absolutely no appeal of this color on a house.
This is all right because it’s two-toned gray with white trim. If it were totally gray (and I’ve seen a few of those!) that would be horrid. Maybe you don’t like it because it’s a McMansion!
My own house is gray with ivory trim, accented with dark green and sky blue. Everybody seems to like it. Gray can create some beautiful artistic effects; it depends on how you use it.
True — I could have picked a better example, since like you mention, the two-tone and trim make it look better. The example below is one of an existing brick house that was repainted in a Sting-Gray-type color… I’ve seen a lot of these repaints around here in this color as well. It just doesn’t seem like a welcoming, home-type color… to me, the all-gray exterior is depressing.
Beautiful house (and Chrysler), by the way! The gray looks beautiful there.
Yeah, that’s pretty bad. You wonder why popular taste goes the way it does…
“Let’s plant a big tree right in front of one of the only two windows on the front of the house”…
How did GM marketing let a name like Sting Gray get by them. That is the name for a Corvette exclusive color. No more company paid donuts for them. Boo!
Dang, you’re right! That got me curious about gray Corvettes, so I looked up some old paint colors. Looks to me that the Corvette was first offered in gray in 1970, and the color then was called Laguna Gray — when I think of lagunas, I think of more tropical colors, but I guess that’s beside the point. That was changed to “Steel Cities Gray” the next year (more apropos). Then Charcoal later on. But nothing so neat as Sting Gray… how could they not think of that??
And in a great CC effect, shortly after I read this article this morning — and with these examples fresh in my mind — I saw a Chevy Beretta. First one I’ve seen in a few years. Not aqua, unfortunately, but Raspberry Metallic instead:
My boss has a 2020 f 150 in that same Studebaker gray looks nice a little different than the blacks, silver and white
My daughter has a ford focus painter in that Mustang green and I like it very much.
No mention of that Pontiac green that was on half the G M cars from 1968 to 1970
“No mention of that Pontiac green that was on half the G M cars from 1968 to 1970”
Yes, that Pontiac Verdoro Green that was exclusive to Pontiac in 1968. If some modern car has approximated it I have missed it. Someone ought to try that one.
The tan-gray was a trademark of austere cheapskates, often seen on Mainlines and One Fifties. It was favored because it didn’t show dirt, so it didn’t need to be washed as often as other colors. This Lark fits the pattern.
This is a fun and unexpected idea for a column—lots of fun, and plenty of vaguely-remembered colors of my youth.
I’d love to visit with the auto stylists who pick the colors, deciding what will “look good” (and appeal) a couple years down the road.
A slightly related story–has it been discussed much at CC?—-is the Big Three colors Fender was using on its guitars beginning in the 1950s: https://www.vintageguitar.com/24640/fender-custom-colors-in-the-1960s/
Blue would be my favourite colour on cars I have one in blue and another in roadgrime grey or silver or whatever Citroen chose to call it its great never looks dirty the perfect car colour but I dont really like it, that green on the early Mustang was used on Australian Falcons I had a 71 XY sedan that colour its dreary but thats what colour it was when I bought it,
The russet brown metallic was called Sienna by Chrysler Australia I had a 74 Valiant regal that colour or close to it with bone vinyl top and a few cars before that a Chrysler Centura the same colours, my late brother had a Cordoba same decor in the US.
I believe Ford resurrected Lime Green Metallic fora year or two of the retro-styled Mustang. The Mustang also has offered Grabber Blue, orange, yellow and burgundy on different years.
Lime yellow came back in the 2000’s a few times- I parked my 06 Saab next to an identically colored Kia Soul today in fact.