Blue in the queue to be 2017’s hottest car color
The hottest car color for 2017 is on a glide path to be a kind of blue, according to one paint company. The number of blue vehicles made in 2016 increased 3 percent in luxury, midsize and compact cars, says PPG, a multibillion-dollar multinational paint company based in Pittsburgh.
PPG expects the number of blue vehicles to increase and take a chip out of white, the standard-bearer that accounts for 25 percent of vehicles made in North America. Black and silver are second at 19 percent, with our favorite being Vesuvio Gray on the Alfa Romeo Giulia, while blue was just 10 percent but coming on strong. Why the increase in blue? “Blue is a very versatile color for the automotive market, because subtle shifts in hue, chroma and flake appearance of a blue coating can do a lot to enhance a vehicle’s style or distinguish a brand,” Jane Harrington, PPG manager, said in a statement.
That helps explain all the metallics. Here’s a few of our favorite names, if not colors, from 2016. The names automakers use to describe their vehicles’ coats may be more colorful than the colors.
Ford lit up the Detroit auto show in 2014 when it reintroduced the GT supercar in what we at the time called Oval Blue. In the 2016 Ford Focus it was Kona Blue, which is a rich blue not to be confused with the brighter Lightning Blue Metallic on the 2017 Ford Escape.
Infiniti’s Hermosa Blue might mean beautiful in Spanish but to us it was reminiscent of that dark blue on one side of the sky when the other side is lit by sunrise.
Long Beach Blue Metallic looked better on the BMW M2 sports coupe than the dark but reflective Mediterranean Blue on the 340i, but everything on the M2 looked good.
Buick’s blue on the new Cascada convertible was as uninspired as its name, Deep Sky Metallic.
Mazda had a softer, almost greenish blue in Eternal Blue Mica on the 2017 Mazda3.
Our favorite was the Graphite Blue Metallic on the 2017 Porsche 911 Carrera 4S. Everyone who commented on the car commented on its color. It was a kind of sky gray meets powder blue that might be the birth of the cool blue.