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America's top 10 car colors

35 messages,  Last post on Dec 06, 2012 at 8:47 AM

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#16 of 35 The days of raven-black cars may be coming to an end by steve_ HOST

Feb 04, 2009 (10:39 pm)

A Change In Paint Might Be The Next Big Thing In the Greening of Cars and Trucks
 

 

#17 of 35 Political Science by lokki

Feb 05, 2009 (7:38 am)

I wonder it there is really going to be any significant impact on AC usage from this political-science decision by the legislature. I'm not a trained scientist but I seriously doubt that it will.
 
I live in Texas, and for the past decade, I've only purchased white cars with natural tan color leather interiors. I started on the same premise as the State of California - that a lighter exterior paint color would mean a cooler car interior. Being a bit of an analytical type, I've been searching for the science to confirm that common-sense assumption for a long time now. I haven't found it.
 
I've found stuff like this, which shows that the difference isn't significant enough to matter - the bottom line seems to be that light colored cars heat up a bit more slowly but after a few hours reach the same temperature as darker colors.
 
http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=105831
 
Interior color seems to be more important but in the end, it comes down to this, which I'm paraphrasing from an Arizonan newspaper columnist -
 
Once it's over 100 in the car, it doesn't really matter if the temperature is 120º or 135º, you're going to turn on the AC.
 
For myself, rather than tinted windows, I use silver colored sun screens in the front and rear windows. These seem to help considerably. How they work, in my hypothesis, is that although the car still gets very hot inside, the black dashboard and the seats don't get heat-soaked from the sun beating on them. (Think about lizards sitting on a hot rock blasted by the desert sun all day vs. a rock that is shielded from the direct sun. Both get hot, but the shielded rock cools faster). Thus, when the hot air is blown out of the interior by the AC, they are not radiating heat for as long and the car cools more quickly. Ultimately though, from my reading, even the sun screens may not be ultimately effective. They slow the process but don't stop it.
 
http://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/askasci/eng99/eng99533.htm
 
Essentially, California is wasting everybody's money.

#18 of 35 Re: Political Science [lokki] by andys120

Feb 05, 2009 (11:34 am)

Replying to: lokki (Feb 05, 2009 7:38 am)
Once it's over 100 in the car, it doesn't really matter if the temperature is 120º or 135º, you're going to turn on the AC.
 
Amen to that. I drive my wife crazy because I'll go out of my way to get a parking spot in the shade (best way to keep your interior cool).
 
BMW has introduced a new material which keeps the leather on convertible seats cooler by screening out UV. Of course every seasoned convertible owner knows it's a good idea to keep a towel or blanket in the trunk for those times when seats are too hot (or wet) to be comfortable.
 
I've had convertibles with black seats (Ouch ) and with white seats. It makes a big difference.

#19 of 35 Re: Political Science [andys120] by fezo

Feb 05, 2009 (12:10 pm)

Replying to: andys120 (Feb 05, 2009 11:34 am)
I've got a convertible with black leather seats right now. Makes one appreciate the towel in the trunk!

#20 of 35 Convertibles with black seats by lokki

Feb 05, 2009 (3:24 pm)

Yeah, I too once owned a convertible with black leather seats. I learned that the reason that convertibles don't have tops is because if they did, you'd bonk your head when you tried to jump up off those hell-hot seats!
 
Seriously, I got in my car once wearing only cutoffs and no shirt and I went about 40 feet straight up. I went out a bought a couple of towels that evening.... when it was safe again to sit down in the car

#21 of 35 I can attest to this by larsb

Feb 05, 2009 (3:29 pm)

Living in Phoenix for 13+ years, allow me to pipe in with some "Heat Expertise"
 
I moved here with a black car. It lasted not even 6 months. Never had another dark car out here since then.
 
The dark color DOES increase (if not the ACTUAL temps inside the car) the FEELING of additional heat. ( What's the opposite of Wind Chill? Heat Index? )

#22 of 35 Re: I can attest to this [larsb] by andys120

Feb 05, 2009 (5:38 pm)

Replying to: larsb (Feb 05, 2009 3:29 pm)
The dark color DOES increase (if not the ACTUAL temps inside the car) the FEELING of additional heat.
 
Oddly, at least half of the BMW at Phoenix dealers I've seen have been dark colors and a sales guy tells me black is the most popular color.

#23 of 35 car color and heat... by andre1969

Feb 05, 2009 (6:20 pm)

This isn't exactly a scientific survey, but I do own two '79 New Yorkers, in colors that are almost opposite ends of the spectrum. Here's a pic of the two beasts...

 
The creme one has a light creme leather interior, while the blue one has a dark blue cloth interior. However, just to be annoying, the blue one does have some vinyl trim in strategically placed so that it's not hard to scorch exposed skin on a hot summer day. Here's a pic of the front seat...

 
Overall, after sitting all day closed up in a hot parking lot at work on a blistering summer day, I'd say the creme one is more bearable. The leather does get hot, but I think the cloth gets hotter...it's just that cloth isn't going to burn you. But let's not talk about that vinyl trim! I also feel more of a blast of heat from the blue one when I open the door. And if the sun's been beating down through the windshield and hitting the steering column directly, the blue one is more likely to burn my fingers when I stick the key in and turn the ignition. I can do it with the creme one, but with the blue one, I'll sometimes use a rag.
 
My '67 Catalina convertible has a black vinyl interior, which you'd think would get hotter than hades. But drop the top, roll down the windows, and get moving, and it's really not that bad.

#24 of 35 Re: I can attest to this [andys120] by larsb

Feb 06, 2009 (8:09 am)

Replying to: andys120 (Feb 05, 2009 5:38 pm)
People who buy Beemers are usually looking for "image" and to "look good" and there is little doubt that a black Beemer looks better than a white one when they are both fully detailed out.
 
Personal story: The one black car I owned was an Infiniti Q45 and when I used two coats of the blue Zymol on it the first afternoon I bought it (used) and took it to the mall that night, a couple of 40-ish ladies were walking by the car just ahead of me when I was coming back to the car and one of them said to the other, "Look how shiny that black car is!" It made all the work worth it right there !!!
 
No doubt in my mind that a well-painted black car all shined up is hard to beat for sheer beauty.

#25 of 35 Re: I can attest to this [larsb] by andys120

Feb 06, 2009 (8:42 am)

Replying to: larsb (Feb 06, 2009 8:09 am)
It's true that black cars look pretty spiffy when they are clean, especially BMWs but in NH,where I live for most of the year they are pretty rare, perhaps due to the difficulty of keeping them clean in wintry conditions.

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