Chick’s Corner: Unnecessarily Analyzing Top Colors Of New Trucks

Picking the right color for that new truck you want – it’s fun, right? But it’s also strangely tied to the overall value, too. Which can turn what should be fun into a stressful dilemma. Most people have to go with what they’re given on the lot, and much of the time, these are safe colors – black, white, gray, and silver. For 2017, this trend is still going on strong, as evidenced by a recent graph from Performance Truck Products.

At the back of our minds, we know that one day, we’ll have to sell the darn thing. And people place a premium on color, with the majority preferring the blandest color available – white. This year, it accounted for 30 percent of truck paint jobs. The follow-ups were silver or gray (25 percent) and black (23 percent). Red was the only other color to comprise a double-digit chunk, at 12 percent.

White leads the pack for 2017, with 30 percent of all trucks listed on Cars.com. Silver/gray and black are the next two, at 25 percent and 23 percent, respectively.

Several reasons exist for the blanca preference. Primarily, it’s better at reflecting sunlight compared with other hues, especially black (which actually absorbs sunlight, making the interior hotter). Also, it’s easier to maintain, since white does not betray water spots, swirls, and scratches as easily as its darker relatives.

Though it relates more to cars, this Axalta graphic speaks to the larger trend of automobiles overall. Namely, that Americans’ preference for lighter-colored cars has been around since 1998.

With the aid of another graphic from Axalta, we can see that over time, white has become the predominate color choice. This one covers cars, so it’s not exactly apples to apples, but it can still give us an insight into how color choice changed. It appears that from 1994 and on, it went from green to white to silver, and then finally and firmly to white, from 2006 to 2013.

Is white the color we want representing the modern motor vehicle, be it car or truck? I’ve always thought it should be blue, the most sublime and grand of colors, the one that took humanity ages to replicate. Drop down below and leave a comment on your favorite vehicle color, and why it’s your favorite.

Silver, red, white, blue – which color is right for you?

About the author

David Chick

David Chick comes to us ready for adventure. With passions that span clean and fast Corvettes all the way to down and dirty off-road vehicles (just ask him about his dream Jurassic Park Explorer), David's eclectic tastes lend well to his multiple automotive writing passions.
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