Doesn’t that lovely line of Volvo 140 butts make you want to say “Man, I remember when cars came in so many different colors!”? That’s been my comment on that scene ever since I took the photo earlier this fall. I mean, look at that! Two kinds of blue, two kinds of yellow (is Butterscotch yellow?), and a deep green. Those were the days, eh?
For a variety of reasons which I probably don’t need to go into, I’ve been feeling kind of blah and monochromatic lately. Kind of gray. This current mindset has likewise done no favors to a case of writer’s block that I’ve been experiencing. I’ve taken a lot of photos, and even traveled some, but nothing has really jelled so far as inspiring me to pull together a full article here on CC. That situation of course contributes to a downward spiral since creating articles here is a source of joy for me (otherwise, I wouldn’t do it); and who doesn’t need another hit of joy? Holy cow. I do.
So here’s what I’m going to do. Rather than simply sitting on a bunch of half-baked ideas for CC articles, I’m going to toss them out here – each with a few photos – and see where they go. Stick with me. I hope that there’s enough here that there’s something for everyone. If any of these catch your fancy, you can either write about them yourself (Yes!), or talk about them in the comments and that might inform me as to whether there’s more to say and share. Meanwhile we’ll hop around the rabbit holes, maybe fall into a couple of shallow ones, and who knows, perhaps discover that there’s a theme to this whole mess somewhere.
This is not my photo, but I wish it were.
Gray? Really?
It has become trite to talk about the lack of colors offered to today’s car buyer. There’s truth to that trope. I particularly resonated with RICHP’s rather nuanced article here on CC about describing car color choices via how one takes cream in their coffee. Still, looking at certain color lineups such as that of the current generation of Bronco (above) or those offered recently by Dodge in its Charger/Challenger lines (links to recent colorful additions to CC authors’ driveways), I have to admit that arguably there are even more colors available now than was the case with those Volvos in the opening photo.
Granted, it’s easy to find stunning examples of colors from days gone by, such as this 1927 Stutz Safety that I found in Indianapolis at a museum housed in the original Stutz factory. How cool is that? Apparently not cool enough for me to figure out an article to wrap around the handful of cars I found and photographed at that museum.
But back to the car and its color, I have no proof, but it’s likely that this car has been repainted at some point in the past century. Even if it is its original color, a high end vehicle such as this was likely offered in a unique color selected by the intended owner. The swells motoring in their Stutz Safety probably were surrounded by mostly black cars.
This raises the fact that even when colors are available, buyers may eschew more vibrant choices and stick with safer shades of gray (ranging from white to black) and other neutral colors.
How About Those Broncos?
I recently attended an event that featured a whole garage full of new Broncos, and of the dozen plus vehicles present, all except a handful were black or a shade of gray. It did not look like the rainbow spectrum pictured above.
Wait, a garage full of Broncos? What’s that? Yeah, I actually did that for paid work. One of my educational projects — this one at a community college with a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant for which I am the evaluator — is an automotive technology program. This program has received federal funding to expand its curriculum to incorporate more hybrid and EV technician training.
Work on this project requires me to observe a number of the project’s activities that encompass all manner of automotive tech programming. The Broncos were part of a Ford-sponsored high school activity/program that guides students into what is essentially an apprenticeship where they can become Ford-certified technicians.
The Ford program is just one of many things this two-year college is involved with. It’s the sort of random activity that I encounter throughout my broader work with this NSF project. For the most part, I observe, interview, and hang out with high school and two-year college students in the various courses offered by the college. The NSF-funded project has a particular focus on encouraging more women to enter the automotive technology field and train in EV technologies. To this end, I’m proud to admit that my project is making good headway. There’s a lot to say here, and eventually I’ll figure out more to write about this on CC.
You are likely more interested in this automotive technology project versus those about antibody engineering, solar energy installation design, or the integration of infrared photography into lab technician training. You’ve already heard lots about STEM in agriculture, and I promise you will again.
Big Car and Little Car
One of the advantages of working closely with a local(ish) two year college’s auto tech program is that it provides ample opportunity for me to talk to trained professionals (e.g., certified Toyota technicians) about my own cars. If I get really stuck on some technical issue, I could bring my car to the college to be worked on by students. I haven’t done that yet because they have plenty of cars to work on (so many that they don’t really publicize this “service” to the community) and I haven’t been in desperate enough need to do that. But as you can tell from the above picture – that’s my 18 year old Highlander Hybrid on the right – it may not be that long before desperation strikes.
That photo is from another someday article where I talk about the changing size of cars, illustrated mostly with photos of my cars parked next to other cars. I know, kind of boring. It does make for some interesting photos when I get to park next to some found curbside classic. This 2CV (found at the start of a hiking trail down the road from me) actually looks pretty big for what is nearly a microcar. Maybe the Highlander isn’t as large as I often feel that it is.
On the other hand, my E91 328i looks like a Matchbox toy next to this GMC pickup that parked beside me at long-term airport parking a few weeks ago. Anyway, I have other shots of big cars (vehicles) next to little cars. It’s just something that constantly catches my eye.
One more 2CV shot. That’s an amazing shade of blue, no? I’ve seen others this color, so I’m guessing that some came from the factory that way.
I’m Finally Getting Old Enough to Start Noticing Corvettes
That Citroen blue compares favorably to what I stumbled upon on this 2023 (?) Corvette Stingray.
A little online investigation of the 14 exterior colors Chevrolet offers on the new Stingray shows that this one was rendered in something called “Riptide Blue Metallic”. Their second blue (yeah, they offer two types of blue) is “Rapid Blue”, and that actually seems closer to the 2CV that I found.
Neither of these blues could possibly be mistaken for gray.
Rapid Blue. I didn’t take this photo either. Although for the first time in 40 years I’ve found a Corvette to be desirable. Is this because I’m finally, undeniably, old?
Speaking of Blues
So yeah, I was at the airport recently as I went on my annual “trip to somewhere” with my friends who I’ve known since the days when nearly all of the photos were black and white.
1979 or 1980. Broadway and 116th Street on the Upper West Side.
Well, that’s obviously not true…the part about all of the photos being black and white. It’s just that all of the photos that I took (or were taken with my camera on those rare occasions where I relinquished the instrument) were black and white. That’s because I was a teen-aged iconoclast who saw the world in black and white terms – literally as well as figuratively. I was there to tell you that black and white photography was just better. Period. Plus, it cost a lot more to process color in your own darkroom, and back in those days if I didn’t process it myself, it wasn’t getting processed.
I did play with processing color transparencies (Ektachrome) for a while but found that pretty unsatisfying since viewing your output required a slide show or expensive Cibachrome printing (which I also played with and quickly lost interest). Also remember that this was before Kodak sold off most of their patents and lost control of the color film processing market – ultimately paving the way for gutting the company and laying waste to the city of Rochester, NY (there’s many an article, if not a whole book to be written about that). So while it was possible to process and print some color negative film (C-21 or C-41) in the home darkroom, doing so was fussy and expensive. I stuck with black and white because it I was cheap and I made up reasons to win arguments with “regular people” who would ask “How come you never take pictures in color?”.
I moved on from those youthful arguments, but fortunately managed to keep the same friends. Here are two of the guys who are in that NYC photo above; the third is in many other 50 year old monochrome photos that I treasure. This is from a few weeks ago where we found ourselves on a trip to Memphis, Tennessee. The highlight of that trip was a day spent driving down-river along the Mississippi Blues Trail and eventually to so-called “Ground Zero” for the Delta blues, Clarksdale, Mississippi.
What we were looking at, standing there in the parking lot, is the alleged cross road made famous by the legend of blues musician Robert Johnson.
Nearly 50 years ago, when that NYC black and white photo of the 4 dudes at 116th and Broadway was taken, I was the guy who would have told you that there was simply no music worth listening to that didn’t come pretty much from within a 100 mile radius of that cross road in Clarksdale, Mississippi.
Have I mentioned that I was pretty opinionated back then and saw the world as a consistent set of polar dichotomies?
So, wanting to do this for practically forever, I finally went to the cross road. Itself a powerful metaphor for choosing between one direction or another.
The cross road was probably more impressive when poor Bob was there talking to the Devil. In 2024 it’s an island in the middle of a rotary which strangely has no crosswalks or signal lights allowing pedestrians to actually go stand right there without getting killed in the process…hence our position in the auto shop parking lot starring at it. That’s right, nowadays, the actual cross road of Cross Road Blues is a traffic circle. Yeah, that’s probably a metaphor too.
Which is not to say that one should pass up a visit to Clarksdale if you can make it there. The small city has worked hard to make the most out of its largely accidental heritage. Accidental if you assume that Johnson didn’t actually encounter the Devil in Clarksdale, and that he didn’t sell his soul but rather was simply a talented albeit troubled musician/human being. Nevertheless it all makes for a good story and one can visit the Delta Blues Museum and the many other blues-related locations in the area to learn more about Johnson and his contemporaries.
There is no doubt but that the Delta region birthed an amazing number of legendary blues musicians who are on a direct lineage to pretty much everything that we now call “popular music”. Clarksdale hosts a 3-day blues festival each April, and that’s something I fully intend to do. Someday. So maybe there will be yet another article to write about Clarksdale and the Mississippi Delta (I’ve written one already I believe. Yup.)
But before moving on, can I just say that one of the things I love the most about the Delta is actually the color of the sky and the ground. The tones are muted, sort of like cream in coffee, but the vistas are so vast and flat that splotches of color stand out.
Often as not, those splotches come from residents working with what they have and adding paint. I admire that. It’s a welcome contrast to my home turf of staid New England where one is advised to paint their house white, gray or beige specifically so that it won’t stand out (and thereby become un-sellable someday in the future, according to real estate advisors).
My house is bright blue, somewhere between Rapid and Riptide; because that’s the way I like it.
Oh, and the food of the Delta is great too. Providing that you don’t eat it every day. We stopped at this place in West Helena, Arkansas to pick up a bunch of locally raised (Tunica, Mississippi across the river) catfish to cook up at the rental house. Eating in would have been fine too (albeit with less chance of encountering a green salad).
Ironically, all of this travel was facilitated through use of what has to be one of the dullest vehicles available at the airport rental counter (well, maybe not, there’s a lot of competition for that designation).
This is actually the van rented for LAST year’s trip to Houston…but the one I got this year in Memphis was identical. At least by now I have mastered the dashboard dial to switch gears.
That criticism of the Pacifica/Voyager is another shot across the bow of dullness and lack of color. The Voyager is currently available in white, black, two shades of gray, a third shade of gray that is called “blue”, and red. Red seems to hang on as one of the most frequently offered non-gray colors on vehicles.
There is a touch of color – kind of a tan-bronze shade – on the dashboard.
Of course, if you want serious color on a Chrysler dashboard, you need to go back a ways. And yeah, I’ll admit that probably a lot of my ideas about cars come from spending the first 10 years of my life starring at that 1961 dash on the family wagon.
If This Had Been an Actual Emergency
That photo, by the way (it’s one of the 3 for this article that I didn’t take myself) is part of a long simmering, yet to-date lifeless, article on CONELRAD radios. If you look carefully, you can see the little Civil Defense symbols at 640 and 1240 kHz on the dial.
These also came in colors. There’s a lovely teal out there which I would gladly have had my parents own versus the plain white version that we had.
You can see it better on this Motorola tabletop radio. The twin of this radio sat on the kitchen table (a boomerang-patterned Formica dinette, of course) of my youth. I loved everything about that radio. The alarm switches on the clock face. The little red frequency indicator. How the radio volume slowly increased as the tubes warmed up. How it smelled once the tubes got hot. Yes children, back in the old days our entertainment technology came with unique smells…AND THAT’S THE WAY WE LIKED IT!
Most of all, I was fascinated by the little symbols between 60 and 70, and 100 and 140 that were also on the car radio out in the Plymouth.
I would ask my mom over and over (this was probably when I was about 5) what those symbols were, and she clearly didn’t want to talk about it. She eventually came out with the explanation that they were something that would only be used if “something terrible” happened. I again asked what that was and…silence.
From my adult perspective, I believe that the Cuban Missile Crisis (October, 1963) would have been pretty upsetting if you were just over 21 years old and had a 15-month old child (me) and were 5 months pregnant with another. So I don’t begrudge Mom more than a little trauma and not wanting to talk about nuclear war.
Nevertheless, as a child I used to wish that whatever it was that might happen would happen just so I could hear the radio in action. It wasn’t until I entered elementary school, and learned that “air raid” wasn’t just the siren going off once a week at noon, that I understood that it was just as well that we had never actually been instructed where to tune to stand by for a message from the President of the U.S.. Furthermore, it wasn’t until recently that I learned that CONELRAD was discontinued in 1963 when I was just 2, and so there was actually virtually no chance that we would ever have had to use those symbols to tune to special frequencies. My mom probably didn’t know that. And this is all typical for my parents and their use of outdated technology…a tradition I continue to this day.
Spending time starring at the details of dashboards and the things like radios that comprise dashboards is something I’ve spent more time doing than maybe most people. I love arrays of knobs, switches, and the like. That’s why I loved that 1961 Plymouth dash pictured above. And that’s why a lack of stuff on modern dashes that you can grab onto bothers me.
I do like the addition of color on some of these displays, like on this Kia something (I can’t remember) I rented once, but a digital tachometer that just displays the rpm?
No. I need to see where the current value is in relation to where it was and where it might be. Simply showing where you are is much less useful (when you’re trying to get somewhere) than allowing you to see where you are in relation to where you were and where you’re going. Hence the number of people who get lost and confused using GPS apps on their phones.
The Mighty Wurlitzer
Speaking of dashboards with things to touch, that reminds me (sure, why not?) of keyboards, and the most resplendent keyboard I have encountered recently.
Behold the Mighty Wurlitzer.
Over the past year, I’ve discovered that my town is home to the (relocated) largest theater organ in New England, and the owners have concerts. As part of my expanding tolerance in music (see above…I’ll wait), I’ve come over the years to love the music from these gigantic pieces of entertainment technology. I call the Mighty Wurlitzer technology and not a “musical instrument” because it is part of an entertainment system that existed solely to support another technology (the motion picture). The theater organ is a technical response to technical needs.
I’ve been to two events thus far that feature famous theater organists – yes, that’s a thing – accompanying 100 year old silent movies on this organ. If you’re into such things – and you just might become into such things if you go to one of these concerts – this is truly an amazing and magical event. It’s often said, but you won’t believe it until you’re there, that a silent film played with an authentic soundtrack (i.e. by one of these theater organs played professionally) completely removes the need for dialog and makes the accompaniment fade into the background such that you forget the organist is playing. I can 100% attest to the truth of that statement. It’s like time travel to be able to experience and appreciate films exactly the way viewers did a century ago.
If you happen to live near one of these – there are maybe 400 machines – not all Wurlitzers – left of the over 4000 that once existed – go to a concert that includes a “silent “movie. You’ll be glad you did.
Or if you’re just into mechanical stuff, I’ll note that not many other musical instruments would be attached to a giant turbine with posted specifications.
I have a bunch more photos of various parts of the installation. But I’ve not managed to pull together a full article. Plus, it turns out that the guy who owns this thing (It’s really more of a building than a “thing”.) is also an avid car collector. I’ve met him once – he’s a really personable and down-to-earth guy who often shows an old car or two next to his organ (sorry…) – and I would love to write about the cars and the organ together. Someday…
Maybe that someday will coincide with when I finally write the article about kiddie rides.
A bright yellow horse! A horse of a different color indeed.
Mom!!! Can You Give Me One Of Those Round Flat Things??? I Want to Ride!
If you’re of a certain age, or frequent some of the places where I wind up, you’ll know kiddie rides. These are the things that one drops a coin into a box and then gets jiggled by sitting on something like this horse (above) or perhaps some kind of nondescript motor vehicle.
The regional chain of grocery stores that I pledge my enduring fidelity to (ok, it’s Market Basket…which you don’t get if you’re living outside of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, or Maine. Sorry, your loss.) still places these devices outside of their stores. And as the above photo shows they still get a lot of use.
Yet I must believe that these devices are in the sunset of their time on Earth. If for no other reason than who carries change that can be fed into their coin-operated activation boxes? Maybe this is the ONLY thing that children (those who frequent Market Baskets) will associate with those round metal objects that get dropped into boxes, producing inexplicably thrilling, jiggling, results.
Yes, these rides are the toddler equivalent to Magic Fingers. Yet another lost “technology”, and one that through its association with motels should receive its own CC article.
The kiddie rides article needs more photos of vehicle-based kiddie rides. There used to be “sports cars” and fire engines frequently featured close to the front doors of Woolworths, Kmarts, and other now-defunct enterprises. I need to go find some of those in order to complete that article.
Road trip.
So yeah. Still lots of places to go, and lots of things to see and photograph. And you know, all things considered, while a good black and white photo will always appeal to me, I am also appreciative of the broader pallet provided by the colors I find everywhere.
Same day, different perspective.
Interesting trip, your last photo there looks a lot more fun than the B&W previous one.
Peter Egan once wrote that if the devil showed up at the crossroads now he’d be flattened by a semi truck every 3 seconds.
I wish my Grand Caravan was 2CV blue and my Scion tC was Bronco orange instead of both being boring silver grey.
Thanks Doug. For sure about what would happen to the Devil at that Cross Roads today. The traffic there was nuts, particularly for a small place like Clarksdale.
Although he’d have better choices for barbecue and therapy services than would have been the case in the 1930s (It’s doubtful that abe’s was located right there in 1924).
Glad to see your writers’ block has passed. Wonderfully enjoyable read. My current ride is a 2004 Town Car in Pueblo Gold…. boring but classy. In checking paint codes, I found that Lincoln offered THREE different black selections. Geez
Thanks!
Given the need to sell Town Cars as professional cars, I can see why different shades of black would be appropriate.
For most other cars, just one shade ought to be sufficient, IMO.
Well – I too know the lament about the omnipresent monotony of today’s car colors. Not a fan of black, white and silver paintwork either.
But colored is not necessarily better. It even can be a pain.
Check out this picture of a random parking lot in West Germany in 1976. Which of these cars would you want to have – exactly as it is? I mean, r e a l l y want to have.
Not that many, I suppose …
Perhaps. Although as a fan of both Beetles and green cars, I see a lot to like in that parking lot shot.
Can anyone identify what the green car is on that bottom row toward the left?
Do you mean the little thing between the ochre colored Kadett and the Citroen GS? It’s an Audi 50 (or a 1st generation VW Polo – but the Polo came later, I think). Audi 50 and the first Polo were nearly identical outside.
Yup. Thanks. I thought it looked Golf-ish, but too small. I should have remembered Polo.
Kind a blurry shot. Is the white, square car, with black top, at far right of pic an USA car? Looks like it might/ may be
Sorry for the shot’s bad quality. Not quite sure about that car either. Would classify it as an two door Audi 100 with vinyl roof or – less likely a Peugeot 504 – convertible.
I blame the dealers and leasing for the vast majority of buyers playing it safe. It would be interesting to know over time what percentage of buyers special order their cars. Manufacturers lumped options together to discourage it. I’m amazed that factories assembled cars correctly with minimum computer assistance when every option, including mechanical ones, was a la carte and so many more colors were available, inside and out. You’d think computerized inventories would have facilitated more variety, but we got less.
Only profit matters. And that can be optimized through standardization. No matter how many (or few) computers are involved in the production process.
Yet they didn’t standardize much until recently. Think of the extra trouble of installing A/C on just some cars–different dashes, too–yet now it’s standard.
Ralph L: Not sure I follow on the “blame the dealers and leasing” part. If talking about colors, the color of a vehicle has no bearing on the lease. Heck, it could be pink with yellow seats or gray with black seats. The lease doesn’t ask what color(s) the car is. In fact, I’d say that it’s more safe to lease a “more colorful” car because for resale down the road, the color can and often will make a difference. Point: If you purchased a pink with yellow interior car, at time to trade it wouldn’t be worth nearly as much as a silver with gray interior due to lack of buyers for that pink car. However, if you lease it, that’s the manufacturers problem and not yours as the person leasing.
Hmm. How is that worth defined, and by whom? Why this (not-so-)subtle pressure to conform?
Pink with yellow would be an extreme example, granted, but I see nice colour schemes that seem to be unfortunately quite uncommon. Of course back in the day you’d buy a car with the expectation you’d drive it into the ground, so you could choose whatever colour you wanted. And in my neighbourhood few people bought new anyway.
The Broncos in Jeff’s ‘not my photo’ above caught my eye; there are four colours I would seriously consider. They could almost be from the seventies.
More people aren’t buying cars for the long haul, so dealers want to offer them innocuous colors they can resell more easily, and buyers put up with it because it won’t be their car for long.
I know of a friend’s case in which the leasing company refused to finance a red BMW 5 Series.
Their argument went something like this: “With this color, the prospects of a repurchase are completely uncertain. We therefore cannot make a reasonable residual value calculation.”
Finally, the good man ordered a silver one …
I have long been fascinated by colors on cars, particularly those shades that fail to catch on and go away after the first year. You are not the only one who lacks the time/inspiration to actually write after the idea strikes .
I did once attend the showing of a silent film accompanied by a grand old theater organ in a vintage movie house. The film was The Phantom Of The Opera from 1925, starring Lon Chaney. And to keep to the original theme, there was a brief segment of that movie filmed in a very early version of Technicolor. The effect of the show was truly memorable.
Color used in old films like that is amazing. I’ve seen a few of those, and it’s like the business with a genuine organ soundtrack; it’s like time travel.
We bought a gently-used 2018 RAV4 SE Hybrid last year in a color Toyota called Electric Storm Blue. I see quite a few around town, but it’s uncommon enough that it grabs my eyes.
Our three cars are pretty blah; silver, white and a metallic tan that is very unobtrusive. Add a black motorcycle and our fleet is not very colorful. I do like blue as a color, and like the blues even more. When I drove through parts of Mississippi and Arkansas in 2016 (in the silver Tacoma) I popped into one blues museum, in Tunica MS that looked appealing from the outside but was basically a gift shop. But the blues museum in Helena, AK was excellent. On the same trip, on my way home, we spent a few days in Helena MT which was named by Confederate veterans after their home town in Arkansas. No blues museum in Montana, though.
Yes, we went to the “museum” in Tunica too, but aside from the attractive building it was mostly a gift shop and a very expensive, small, museum. Knowing that we were still going to be going another 30 miles to the museum in Clarksdale, we decided to forego spending money in Tunica. Although we did eat lunch in Tunica and had some of the best barbecue of the trip, which is saying something. Oh, and I also stopped to take the photo of someone’s Buick Envista (a vehicle I’ve never actually seen on the street for some reason) and had the owner dash out of her place of business and start yelling at me. Not something that I generally encounter while photographing cars on the street.
Anyhow, the Tunica museum (“Visitor Center”) is – I’m fairly certain – something that’s financed by the many many casinos that line that part of Highway 61. The museum in Clarksdale (should you get back to that someday) is much more of a community-nonprofit-sort of thing.
I didn’t realize that there was another blues museum in Helena. Next time!
I did wonder though if the Tunica place was actually in an original railroad depot. It certainly looked that way.
Yep, the Tunica “museum” looks the same as in 2016. Heavy patina.
That’s one impressive console! And that info about the blower is a reminder of how much air an organ needs. (Spencer blowers were just about bulletproof, and were available in a wide range of sizes for all types of pipe organs. Alas, the company is out of business.) Organ Stop Pizza in Mesa, AZ has a huge theater organ installation. It’s great fun, and their organists understand all the nuances of theater organ style along with having solid classical organ technique. Whenever the Central AZ American Guild of Organists puts on a regional convention, this is one of the sites. The Fox Theatre here in Tucson has a medium-sized Wurlitzer that is still being installed, although it’s mostly playable.
In a nutshell, classical/church organs have an ideal of one rank (or several in the case of mixtures) of pipes per stop, with a bit of borrowing allowed here and there. Theater organs have instead many stops derived from each rank of pipes, and build their ensembles very differently from how classical organs build theirs. A quite substantial theater organ can be built from only 25 ranks or so; a classical organ of 25 ranks is considered small. My own recently acquired home instrument (a retirement gift to myself!) is a medium-sized digital organ of classical style with about 40 stops. I’m loving playing for my own enjoyment!
Thank you David! I knew that there was someone here on CC who was an organist and could resonate with the Mighty Wurlitzer. 🙂
That blower is huge, and it resides in its own room.
Being a country minister, I often came across some interesting installations to make life easier for organists on the harmoniums once common in older rural churches. Perhaps the most fascinating I encountered was at Russell’s Bridge Presbyterian (since closed), where the nearby small-town hardware store owner had mounted a vacuum cleaner motor in the vestry, with under-floor ductwork taking pressurized air to the organ, and a home-made blowoff valve once optimum pressure was achieved. Unfortunately the motor was noisy, so the organist had to turn it off between hymns. When she flipped the switch, there was a distinct whine like a jet engine spooling up, along with a faint grinding of worn bearings.
We went to a screening of the silent film Nosferatu with a jazz combo providing the musical “script”. Excellent.
Yes, the 2CV is not a microcar by a good margin. It was quite roomy for its time. That’s part of its magic.
That sounds wonderful! Nosferatu is one of my favorite movies. I watch my copy repeatedly just to marvel at the set design. So trippy.
I’d love to see that film with a theater organ accompaniment. Most of what seems to be popular with the crowds that go to silent movie performances around here are comedies and melodramas. Something like Nosferatu or Metropolis would be great to see this way.
Very interesting ramblings. I think you managed to stick your different thoughts together into a coherent story well.
I’m a big fan of colorful cars. At the very least, the exterior should be colorful, if not also the interior. I certainly do my part with my teal-ish classic Mercedes. Incidentally, I added a new saying to my collection of weird things people have shouted at me as I’ve driven past.
Thanks, Gray! Lovely shade on your Mercedes. Is that what they call “Petrol Blue”?
I’m also fascinated by the names manufacturers give to their colors.
Less & less color and physical button to grab . More & more people who had their noses stuck in a screen while they are doing something else like driving or meeting someone. This last action being the most regrettable of all .
“One more 2CV shot. That’s an amazing shade of blue, no? I’ve seen others this color, so I’m guessing that some came from the factory that way.”
Here the different shades of blue you could order for your 2CV at different times:
Bleu Glacier / Bleu Monte Carlo / Bleu Cyclades / Bleu Crystal / Bleu Thasos
Bleu Camargue / Bleu Lagune / Bleu Petrel / Bleu Myosotis / Bleu Azurite
The Duckling in the 7th image might be painted in “Bleu Myosotis”, if I’m not wrong.
By the way: Was the green Stutz a taxi cab ? The “belly band” drawn around the car seems to be an indication of this.
Thanks for that list! So, you got me to look…and I found this video of (supposedly) all of the factory colors for the 2CV over its production run:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcuLN45VGFY&ab_channel=CARCOLORS
There are some fantastic colors there. It’s hard to say if the one I found is Bleu Myosotis (which sounds a bit like a dermatological condition) or perhaps Bleu Tropiques.
The one thing that I can say is that video needs a better soundtrack. I would favor something by Francoise Hardy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCadGsFrj58&ab_channel=Fran%C3%A7oiseHardy-Topic
I don’t think that the Stutz was a taxi, nothing in the description at the Stutz museum or online for that car says that. But I can see the resemblance.
Of course, keeping with the French theme, and adding a direct reference to paint, there’s this.
The list is actually quite a bit longer…
https://technique-mehariclub.com/bibliotheque-technique/nuancier-teintes-2cv/
The popularity of some of these blues varied tremendously. There were a lot of Bleu Célèste later models around, for instance. I’m thinking the one in the post might be a Bleu Lagune.
Incidentally, the myosotis (greek for “mouse’s ear”) is usually known as the forget-me-not in English-speaking countries. And I never thought how disease-like it sounded until Jeff pointed it out right there. 🙂
Your part on the colors (or lack of) on vehicles today hits home with me. I work at a dealership with both Mazda and Volvo. Boy, does Volvo like their 50 shades of gray!! I find Mazda’s color line to be a little better, but quite boring. This would be true for all brands in 2024 for me. But I do agree that there seems to be a good number of choices still, however the dealers and buyers aren’t helping when they mostly accept the bland shades of gray and don’t stock/buy the many other colors offered. It’s even worse for interiors.
What I see as the problem today is we have zero two-tone options any more. If you go back just 30 years ago and open a Cadillac brochure (good luck finding those on new cars), you will see a few more color options in single tone and then a nice variety of two-tone options. Those may have been just the same colors as the single tones, but it gave us options and (IMO) more class. Bring back the two-tones!!
Wow, you raise an interesting point about the two-tones. I’m personally a fan (having owned an electric blue new MINI with a white top). But you’re right about there being few factory color options for that soft of thing. Thing is, I suppose that those that do exist don’t get a lot of sales. There’s one small crossover that I regularly see as a two-tone, but I can’t readily recall which one. It does stand out mostly because there are few of them.
So, given your experience in sales, what do your customers say? Are they looking for colorful cars (but finding mostly grays), or do they seem to prefer the gray/black/white cars?
Jeff: Not sure what actual two-tone vehicles are offered today outside of custom jobs or wraps. I guess some come with either black or white roofs, so does that count? I wouldn’t call an SUV with a color and then the ugly black plastic all over a two-tone. Where I work, the Mazda buyers are just kind of followers and they buy them because it was recommended by Consumer Reports of some “enthusiast” magazine. They aren’t really the kind to want something that really pops. As for Volvo? I think it’s safe to say that they are good with what’s offered as they are not looking for much in the way of standing out from the crowd. But I’m not really in sales any more, so I don’t really speak with them.
However, I think the market for wraps and modified vehicles says a lot. The slight majority of buyers may be ok with one of 15 shades of gray, but there’s still a larger number who want more and will pay to have it done. Both of my older Caddy’s are factory two-tone and it’s what people talk about when looking at them. It’s unique for sure.
Our current fleet consist of our aging beige Thunderbird and two silver minivans. Eventually we’ll probably replace the T-bird with a newer car, but goodness I don’t want three silver cars, and certainly not three silver minivans because that seems downright neurotic. But when we bought both of these vans, we just went for the best buy, regardless of color. So we (of course) ended up with silver both times.
I was talking about that conundrum with one of my daughters recently and she asked if I could actually choose a color, what would it be? After thinking for a while I said blue. Not something startling like those Corvette blues, but more subtle. That way it’s an actual color, but it doesn’t stand out too much (which would be very un-me). Oh, and I’d order a tan interior because I’m tired of gray.
Thanks for the meandering and colorful article here!
Thanks, Eric!
If you wind up with 3 silver vans, you can move to the airport and trade in your living room for a rental counter.
Actually, that Buick Envision I was photographing (and mentioned in comments above) when I got yelled at in Tunica was a nice blue. As a 2023, that color is called “Sapphire”. It seems to have been replaced with a brighter blue called “Calypso” for 2024. That exists along with 2 grays, 2 whites, a red and a purple (“Amethyst”).
The thought of having three silver minivans makes my head hurt. While means that’s probably exactly what’ll happen.
That sapphire Envision is exactly the color I was thinking of. But chances are, when we buy a new car, the cheap-o version we’ll want will only be available in white, silver or black.
Great reading and pictures!
Robert Johnson, yes, that was quite an undertaking to learn more about him, back in the early eighties. Bicycle, transit bus, and a walk through the City of Nijmegen to go to the main library in the center. More info there downstairs, in the cellar, more or less.
That was the gateway to Canned Heat, The Gun Club (Hail! hail! Jeffrey Lee Pierce!), Screamin’ Jay Hawkins, Johnny Winter, Johnny Dowd, TC Matic, Claw Boys Claw, etc.etc.
I guess I don’t like music from the Top 5,000.
Fascinating post, Jeff! Which part of it do I respond to? 🙂
Let’s try something very dear to me: colours.
I remember reading once in the motoring section of the local paper where a writer said rather forcefully that what we think of as the boring colours have better resale value, and that an unusual colour has less value.
To whom? I don’t see it.
(As an aside, why are some folk so preoccupied with resale value? Whatever happened to individuality of expression and personal enjoyment?)
Look among the used cars online. What makes one white hatchback stand out from all the other white hatchbacks? When my son went online to find what was to be my last car, there were screen after screen of white Mazda 3s, silver Mazda 3s, all the boring colours were there in endless supply. Ignore, ignore, ignore. Finally he found a bright blue one, and it was only 8km away.
What are people up to, that they so desperately don’t want to be noticed? I have no such inhibitions, I have nothing to hide, so I was quite happy to drive a bright blue car. At my last funeral before I retired, my Mazda was the brightest car in the car park. I mentioned to the funeral director that I felt my car was a bit out of place, and perhaps I should park somewhere else, but he smiled and linked the bright colour of my car to the bright hope of the afterlife. Interesting.
Likewise my daughter, who is on her second pearl yellow Honda Jazz. But she had a 300km round trip to get her chosen colour. Once again, there were plenty of the boring ‘colours’, and they may have been good cars too, but there was nothing to make them stand out online. It’s easy to find in a car park. The colour always puts a smile on her face when she sees it. And on mine too. You can’t feel blue with a bright yellow car.
Is this in part why we have devolved into such a whiny discontented race, because we are surrounded by so much man-made drab greyness, and colour is almost only to be found in nature?
Peter! There’s so much here that I can connect to.
This was exactly the point I was getting at in the part about my bright blue house. I just cannot allow myself to fall into the trap of giving primacy to “resale value”, as much as it seems to be touted in our culture. What ever is the point of having something significant…something that you have to put substantial effort into purchasing…if you cannot enjoy it because you are preoccupied with passing it on??? This is the antithesis of living in the moment (among other philosophies), and I refuse to live my life this way. Nor do I recommend that anyone live their lives that way. Assuming anyone cares about my recommendations.
Plus, I have no intention of selling my house (or for that matter, my cars) because, well, I have a house…and I really don’t need another one. Not everyone is lucky enough to have a house. I am, and I’m happy holding onto this one.
The whole concept of “resale value” re. cars is just nuts to me. I mean, the thing is worth half of what you paid for it new the second you drive it off the lot. You’re really going to worry about what it’s “worth” 3 or more years later? Good lord. Just enjoy what you have, and let that be. /rant
I’ll just wrap by saying that the only thing that I would wish for my son’s Honda Fit (aka Jazz in non-US parts of the world) is that it be Pearl Yellow versus the black that it is.
Maybe he’ll let me repaint it.
Freshly-washed pearl yellow Jazz.
Anyone ever drive on fo the “Deau Chaveau/2CV”, mobiles? Always wondered what they ride like.
We have a green one here in the “Mclean/Falls Church VA”, area. Been a while since I’ve seen it but it’s been an occasional appearing , attention getter for a # of years.
I used to work for a fellow – this goes back some ways – who collected these (as well as Morgans, kind of an odd combination) – and he regularly drove one from his collection the 15 miles from where he lived to the office. And during the annual company picnic, rides were provided.
I can’t say that I’ve spent a lot of time riding in one, but enough (around the picnic grounds) to know that they rode fine. The oddest part wasn’t how the car itself rode but rather how one needed to sit in what seemed basically like lawn chairs (passenger as well as driver) in his older – 1960s? – examples.
It was fun, but I’m not sure how much I would want to be out in modern traffic in one.
Thank you Jeff, great article ! I’m a fan of both bright colors and small cars. Was able to park my Fiat X1/9 next to the current generation Corvette to contrast size. The Fiat’s custom chrome bumpers were fabricated by the original owner. Many years ago, I owned a pea soup green Fiat 124 sedan. Not bright, but at least green !
I’d love to see a photo of that Pea Soup Green 124! If I recall correctly, Fiats of that age (the 124, 128 and the X1/9’s in the late 1970s) came in a wide range of great colors. Our 128 was a rather sedate maroon. I recall many bright yellow ones, and even some lime-colored ones.
White tail, red tail
Resized
That’s a great pair of size comparison pictures! And I didn’t realize that X1/9s were still branded as Fiats in Canada in the late 1980s; they were sold under the Bertone name in the US by that point.
Staying on the size theme, here’s another size comparison photo I took recently of two Ford pickups – a regular 2006 F-150 and a lifted 2016 F-250:
My X1/9 is indeed a Bertone. The original owner replaced the Bertone emblems with Fiat emblems, except for the stylized “b” on each front fender. He also repainted it in monochrome red, eliminating the standard black accents, as well as commissioning the chrome bumpers. Since above photos were taken, I’ve replaced the too wide 15″ Panasport wheels with period correct 13 Alessio wheels.
Ah – thanks for clarifying. Great-looking car!
I like the little racer (even though it’s red). The Fiat X1/9 is one of the cars that for some reason I’m only learning to appreciate today.
Hopefully yours is well protected against corrosion.
It’s really the “lifting” that makes today’s pickups so huge…it seems to me. Whether they are actually lifted like the F250 in your photo, or just incredibly tall like the GMC in the photo I have in the article, it just seems that the taste is for TALL vehicles. I don’t get it.
Devo tackled this topic in 1980, with their great tune, ‘Freedom of Choice’. Suggesting, people do not want to stand out. They feel more comfortable conforming in society. The fear of being noticed, seeming greater than ever.
I observe it strongly, in outdoor fashions as well. Many Ottawans are wearing black and dark grey coats, and jackets, this time of year. Me, with my bright blue bomber jacket, often get looks.
Wake up, Puppet Boy!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKt0l6x399E&ab_channel=DEVO-Topic
Indeed. I am a huge Devo fan.
Their stand against conformity was central to my attraction to their music.
If the Spud fits, wear it.
General Boy approves!
The music of Mark Mothersbaugh and Jerry Casale, was very influential. ‘Puppet Boy’ may have inspired Bronski Beat’s ‘Hit That Perfect Beat’ from 1985. Has a similar sound, and vibe. lol
Oh Dad…we’re ALL DEVO! 🙂
Jeff, I really enjoyed this. The stream of consciousness flow between ideas made it all seem conversational. Many of your co-contributors have probably been there with the writers block – I know I have. I’ve been in mental places sometimes ranging from dark to simply uninspired, and I know what it feels like to sit down and try to come up with and flesh out an essay topic, something I ordinarily really enjoy doing. Sometimes just doing it, in my case, has been the very thing that has lifted my mood. Funny how that works out, almost paradoxically – but in a good way.
So great to see that vintage picture of you with your friends in NYC, and that you’re all still cool. And I noticed a new Corvette in shiny black only today.
Thanks Joe. I agree that “just doing it” does often help; and I have to say that your ability to produce something weekly is also quite inspirational.
Fantastic article, Jeff, a very enjoyable read. I’m running late tonight, so didn’t read through all the many comments, but I feel very strongly about keeping color in my cars! The 1980 Volvo 240 I had was medium blue, very similar to the 142 in your first photo (the car 2nd farthest from the camera). And I’m keeping it going with my Ruby Flare Pearl 2015 Camry Hybrid, which just passed the 100K mile mark.
You don’t say how many miles are on your 240, but 100K on the Camry is good too. FWIW, my Highlander Hybrid (with the 6 cylinder engine that was the Hybrid engine in 2006) has close to 250K on it and at least mechanically it’s purring along. So hopefully your Camry will do the same!
My Honda Fit is what I call “Settle-For Silver” because I wanted a manual transmission and for the last, 2020 model year they only offered those in silver or gray. You would think the Venn diagram between people wanting color and wanting a stick would overlap enough for red, blue or both to make the cut…
And aren’t those black and gray Broncos there because they didn’t sell? Then again a coworker bought a white one which made up for its blandness with the opportunity to dust off the OJ jokes.
I enjoyed my 1970 Volvo 144S, it was a rather stodgy car so in the end I sold it on .
I love the 2CV ! . great color too .
It’s wonderful you’re still taking trips with your friends of _50_ years .
I understand the attraction to B & W photography, the nuances are so much more .
In 1969 my father was living in Rochester, N.Y (390 Wellington Av.) and it was still an okay place, many white folks were scared but I didn’t have any problems .
My middle sister went to high school there and was the only white girl, after a week or two everyone relaxed and accepted her and she enjoyed it quite a bit .
Being highly opinionated is, I think, a normal part of growing up . I know I was *incredibly* stuck in right and wrong when I was young, now I understand a lot more and try to help our foster boys grow and learn .
I have a wide taste in music but The Blues is a uniquely American music and I love it, the older stuff I grew up listening to on 78 RPM “race records” .
Early Jazz too, before it became accepted for several guys to play different tunes at the same time .
Here in La La Land, home to fruits, nuts and flakes, we have a passable variety of colors but in the end, the manufacturers don’t make cars, they make _money_ so what sells determines the available colors ~ witness every 6 ~ 7 years you’ll see a lot of copper colored cars, then they fade away and no more for another 6 ~ 7 years .
Looking forward to the kiddie ride article .
THANK YOU for taking us along ! =8-) .
-Nate
Thanks Nate!
The 19th Ward (Rochester). I know your Dad’s old neighborhood. My son lived there for the last 2 years of his undergraduate experience at UofR. It’s still a beautiful area, although still considered a troubled area of the city.
There’s so much history in Rochester.
Here is a thoughtful ramble through time and colors, and vibrancy and State lines and the great melting pot, and moods and life and catfish and landscapes and old acquaintances, penultimately concluded by a darkened and looming and angry Capitol that looks drained of its laws.
In my mood, I view the last photo, of a different perspective, in soft light and hope, only with reluctant and doubt-filled belief.
But what an excellent piece, Jeff Sun, for someone who says they were blocked!
Thanks, Justy. I prefer the last photo as well.
Color has been an important element of my career for 40+ years as an interior designer & design educator. Part of my graduate studies was on color perception and I have both published on the subject and lectured in many countries.
When it comes to automotive colors I have my own personal opinions. People like what they are familiar with and I think the “blandish” started in the 1980s when most of what I remember is mouse gray fabric interiors with muted paint colors. Color options became fewer & fewer because dealers stocked their lots with neutrals, easier to sell, thus generations of people only became familiar with bland. Cars sold so the industry thought this was what people wanted. I am not sure people preferred gray / sliver cars but that’s what you got when buying off the lot. Also, lets not stand out too much from the crowd. I am now happy to see more imports offering vibrant colors and domestics have picked up on that trend.
As for me I have a few personal issues with my own auto colors. Red is my favorite color but have always been hesitant to own a red car. In the 1950s and early 60s Dad would not buy a red car because he said reds faded to quickly. I know that is not the case now but the memory sticks with me. Also I was (and still to some degree) a strawberry blond and a red car just doesn’t compliment my natural sunshine. My first car, parents 4-year old 1963 T-Bird, was a beautiful metallic Heritage Burgundy that had red highlights. But over the years almost every body panel was dinged requiring paint touch up and every panel faded at a different rate. As a teenager I compounded, waxed, polished but could never get the paint looking right. Paints are much better now but the memory lasts. That’s also the reason that T-Bird was my last dark colored car. Dark painted cars every spec of dust shows so dark colors are maintenance intensive if you want your car to look clean. That is why I started buying white cars with my new 1976 Eldo conv. White can still look clean and pristine even with a little dust. Plus a non-metallic is easy to touch up and lets face it you are going to get chips. Hopefully I will never buy another new car, or repaint my current classic. If so, I think I would have the car wrapped in the clear film and be done with it..
All good points. Your initial point that people buy what’s offered, and since that sells, manufacturers will simply assume that people like what’s offered and will continue to produce more of it is well taken. It’s a downward spiral, and a race to the bottom which sadly characterizes so much of consumer culture.
You also make a good point about white being easier to take care of than dark colors. To wit, I have a white car and two dark-colored cars. The white one can be filthy dirty and have dings, paint flaws, etc. and indeed it looks better than the dark ones on any given day. That doesn’t make me want to give up colors, but I can see how light colors and white can win the day.