posted in Asklemmy
[US] When's the last time you saw a car other than red, black, blue, gray, or white on the road?
When’s the last time you saw a car other than red, black, blue, gray, or white on the road?
Like, what happened to all the pinks, purples, oranges, yellows, and greens I remember from the 90s?
It’s funny, because I just made a comment about this in another thread.
There the OP was asking if people today are less ‘vibrant’ than they were a few years ago.
Not only are cars getting duller, the streets are losing vibrancy.
The best street performers of the past are now online. You used to happen upon a great comic or musician at random, playing in a park or mall.
Replying to @DagwoodIII@piefed.social
Vibrant pigments usually rely on heavy metals. Lead was common in Red and green paints, arsenic was in greens and chromium was in blue. When they were replaced with organic pigments. They either lost their vibrancy or degraded and faded very quickly.
Also, paint is spread very thinly on cars compared to in the old days. This is partially due to higher quality steel, partially due to more plastic panels and mainly due to weight and cost reduction. This means that doing a cut-and-polish to liven up faded paintwork is liable to expose undercoat.
One economic reason I heard is that bright colors make used cars harder to sell.
It’s better to play it safe with a neutral color than risk being stuck with a bright yellow or pink car no one else thinks is pretty.
Replying to @DagwoodIII@piefed.social
My niece just traded her burgundy Alfa Romeo Giulietta for her brand new Geely EX2.
She did want the dusty pink one (she is a 19 year old girl who works very hard and purchased her cars herself), but decided on the mint green one because it would have better resale value. They also have a tan one, but the boring grey one is the hottest seller!