retro-car-ad-8
1958 Chevrolet Brookwood

American car shoppers are something of a dull lot. We like our cars with four doors, we prefer traditional sedans, and when it comes to color, well, it’s snooze time.

According to DuPont, one of the globe’s leading producers of automotive paints and coatings, the top four colors chosen by American new-car shoppers for their vehicles are variations on black and white. Here’s the 2012 list of most popular car colors, as provided by DuPont:

  1. White
  2. Black
  3. Silver
  4. Gray
  5. Red
  6. Blue
  7. Brown/Beige
  8.  Yellow
  9. Green
  10. 10.  Everything else

So, what gives? I blame our apparent collective penchant for blandness for the sudden reemergence of Michael Bolton (thanks, Honda).

Of the colors that made the list, it is yellow that interests me most. Here’s why: Though Americans do not seem especially fond of the color for things automotive, advertisers have been selling cars to us dressed in sunny hues now for decades.

It’s true. Do a Google search of vintage car ads and you’ll find that about a third of them–especially older ads–feature a yellow vehicle. Strange, no? Now most ads sport red cars, and that makes good sense. Red is sporty, and folks over the years have actually purchased red cars in reasonable numbers. But yellow? Yellow is a fringe color, an “outlier,” as marketing research folks like to say.

Here I have selected ten vintage car and truck ads sporting vehicles in the sunniest of hues. Let us know which is your favorite.

Cyan Madness! Ten Classic Car Ads Featuring Blue Cars

 

Bugatti by Rene Vincent
1930 Bugatti captured by artist Rene Vincent.

Local Color: Unusual Paint Hues at the 2019 Chicago Auto Show

 

1948
1948 “Low Slung” Studebaker.

Where Have All the Colors Gone? A Car Dealer Explains…

 

1951 Hudson Ad
1951 Hudson sedan.

Local Color: Unusual Paint Hues at the 2018 Chicago Auto Show

 

1955 Chevy Ad
1955 Chevrolet Bel Air sedan.

Light, Color, and Luxury: A Look Inside the 2017 BMW M760i (Gallery)

 

1958 DeSotoFiredome
1951 DeSoto Fire Dome Eight.

Local Color: Unusual Paint Hues at the 2017 Chicago Auto Show

 

1960 Volvo PV544
1960 Volvo PV544.

What Was The Volkswagen Golf Harlequin?

 

1971
1971 Ford Pinto Sportabout.

Emerald Madness! 10 Classic Ads Featuring Green Cars

 

1979 Ford F-150
1979 Ford F-150 pickup.

Red Hot! Five Very Red Car Ads

 

1981 Datsun Ad
1981 Datsun 210.

Red Hot! Five Very Red Car Ads

Follow Tom on Twitter

Share this: