![1958 Chevrolet Brookwood retro-car-ad-8](https://blog.consumerguide.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2013/12/retro-car-ad-8.jpg)
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:
- White
- Black
- Silver
- Gray
- Red
- Blue
- Brown/Beige
- Yellow
- Green
- 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](https://blog.consumerguide.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2013/12/Bugatti-by-Rene-Vincent.jpg)
Local Color: Unusual Paint Hues at the 2019 Chicago Auto Show
![1948 Studebaker 1948](https://blog.consumerguide.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2013/12/1948.jpg)
Where Have All the Colors Gone? A Car Dealer Explains…
![1951 Hudson 1951 Hudson Ad](https://blog.consumerguide.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2013/12/vintage-car-ads-1.jpg)
Local Color: Unusual Paint Hues at the 2018 Chicago Auto Show
![1955 Chevrolet Bel Air 1955 Chevy Ad](https://blog.consumerguide.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2013/12/55Chevy-ad-2.jpg)
Light, Color, and Luxury: A Look Inside the 2017 BMW M760i (Gallery)
![1958 DeSotoFire Dome 1958 DeSotoFiredome](https://blog.consumerguide.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2013/12/1958-DeSotoFiredome1-e1386103246721.jpg)
Local Color: Unusual Paint Hues at the 2017 Chicago Auto Show
![1960 Volvo PV544 1960 Volvo PV544](https://blog.consumerguide.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2013/12/1960-Volvo-PV544.png)
What Was The Volkswagen Golf Harlequin?
![1971 Ford Pinto Hatchback 1971](https://blog.consumerguide.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2013/12/1971.jpg)
Emerald Madness! 10 Classic Ads Featuring Green Cars
![1979 Ford F-150 pickup 1979 Ford F-150](https://blog.consumerguide.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2013/12/1979.jpg)
Red Hot! Five Very Red Car Ads
![1981 Datsun 210 1981 Datsun Ad](https://blog.consumerguide.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2013/12/car-photo-1981-datsun-210-ad-advertisement.jpg)