[Miata] Colors (almost NMC)

[Jamie Sculerati]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Chad J. Douglas" <chad at linuxpupil.com>


>
> This is really simpler than you think:
>
> Back in the "early" days of cars, you could have any color you liked, so
> long as it was black. This was because of black paint was cheaper than 
> white
> at the time. Back then, only black and white were commonly available 
> because
> we did not have the technology to make other colors in automotive grade
> paints.
>
> Then...
>
> After black and white were quite common, one day, RED became available.

April Fool's Day was last weekend.  Automotive coachbuilding grew straight 
out of horse-drawn coachbuilding...and there were certainly many more colors 
available than black and white.  In fact, early Model Ts could be had in 
several colors, including red.  Ford went exclusively to black starting in 
1915 for an even simpler reason:  he was trying to boost production rate, 
and black lacquer dried faster than any other color.

Red has always a problem not because it's particularly hard to make 
(although it and other pigmented paints are more expensive), but because it 
oxidizes quickly -- a problem that plagues red cars to this day.  White has 
a similar problem.

> Ever since then "red" has been a "sport car" color, that is meant to imply
> sportyness.  You don't see too many red Honda Odysseys.

Bollocks...red available on the Odyssey for several years.  Bad enough 
having to keep a red Miata scrubbed and waxed to look good, though...an Ody 
with oxidized red paint would look like a dilapidated barn on wheels. 
There's a good reason silver is the most popular color for minivans:  you 
can get away with doing very little for a long time!  Red seems to be a very 
popular color for pickup trucks, though.

Jamie
'01 Miata (black), '92 Prelude (silver), '02 Odyssey (silver), '63 Suburban 
(primer/white/blue/rust), wife's '06 MINI (bright, shiny, eye-popping red)
Speed Demon Racing
http://luxpermanet.typepad.com/speed_demon_racing/