This whole white car thing ...

[billhammond]

... has gotten totally out of hand. Sedans, SUVs, pickups -- more and more of them are being bought in shades of white. Why this is, I do not know, but it seems particularly unwise here in the Snow Belt, where in many situations white vehicles are virtually invisible. (Remember back when we had radio antennas on our fenders? Union 76 stations used to give away orange foam balls to stick on the end of them to maybe make other drivers aware of your presence amid snowdrifts.)

Here's the thing: To my eye, very few cars look good in white. The color tends to wash out the lines of the design, resulting in what looks to me like a four-wheeled refrigerator.

On more than one occasion recently, I've pulled up to a four-way stop and realized that my car was the only Vehicle of Color there.

This has to stop. Please help. Go out today and buy a black car, or a red one, or a blue one, hell, even yellow is tolerable, I guess. (I draw the line at orange, though.)

One white car I loved, though: our 1960 Thunderbird, which the Old Man traded in right before I got my license, for a slab-sided '65 Mercury Monterey whose sole virtue was its huge, flat backseat.

[Marshall]

White is cooler in sunnier climes.

Nothing hotter than a black car on a hot sunny dummer day.

[billhammond]

Apr 15, 2023 11:20:54 GMT -5 Marshall said:

White is cooler in sunnier climes.

Nothing hotter than a black car on a hot sunny summer day.

Which has always been the case, unless you are saying the heightened popularity of white is due to global warming.

[Russell Letson]

We prefer silver--reflects the sun and hides the dirt.

[drlj]

My car is amethyst. It shows up nicely in the snow. It disappears when there is purple rain.

[Village Idiot]

I live on gravel. White hides the dirt, as Russel says. That's the difference between my Acadia and my Jeep.

[John B]

Apr 15, 2023 10:57:48 GMT -5 billhammond said:

a slab-sided '65 Mercury Monterey whose sole virtue was its huge, flat backseat.

Umm, did you forget the power rear window?!?

[billhammond]

Not so equipped. Had kinda a fastback roofline.

[Marshall]

Apr 15, 2023 11:24:42 GMT -5 billhammond said:

Apr 15, 2023 11:20:54 GMT -5 Marshall said:

White is cooler in sunnier climes.

Nothing hotter than a black car on a hot sunny summer day.

Which has always been the case, unless you are saying the heightened popularity of white is due to global warming.

Popularity, schmopularity.

I only know what works for me. Black cars are too HOT for me. My Civic is silver. Even my motorcycle is silver. I did a little test one day out on a summer excursion to a biker bar in summer. There was a white Harley parked in the sun next to a black one. I touched the tanks. The black one burned to the touch. The white one was much less hot to the touch.

Fashion is as fashion does. Trends come and go. I think white ones look cleaner and more pristine in the showroom.

[Dub]

Bill’s, and perhaps others’, ongoing car fetish reminded me of the Fisher Body Craftsman’s Guild. I think it ended in 1968 so most of you probably never heard of it.

I was in high school, so probably 1957 or ’8, when we were required to attend a boys-only (naturally) all-school assembly which was a presentation by the Fisher Body Craftsman’s Guild on automobile design. They had films showing design contests, gave us a glimpse into the direction auto design was going, and gave is printed design paper, with the critical points indicated, on which to draw and submit our designs. The whole thing could lead to national competition and college scholarships.

Thinking back on those days, I’ve always wondered if the main idea was to get all the boys excited about the appearance of cars and turn us into avid, obedient future consumers.

Were any other ’Holers involved with this?


www.fisherguild.com/

[brucemacneill]

Sadly, I'm with Todd on this. In my experience with white and black cars living in a rural area, white cars can be really dusty but look clean whereas black cars can be clean and still look like a pile of dirt. White cars are also much better in the heat than black cars. My Subaru is some kind of white and looks great even covered in dust from the neighboring farm but The Miata I had was black and always looked dirty. Mary's Buick is gold colored usually although it changes color depending on the lights but it still stays looking pretty clean even when dirty. When we moved here in 2007 most people had black F150s but lately I see more white ones.

[jdd2]

Apr 15, 2023 11:20:54 GMT -5 Marshall said:

White is cooler in sunnier climes.

Nothing hotter than a black car on a hot sunny dummer day.

Sounds like something "John B " should be testing--doing temperature readings on.

[Cosmic Wonder]

White cars Mo bettah.

Mike

[billhammond]

Apr 15, 2023 14:18:53 GMT -5 Dub said:

Bill’s, and perhaps others’, ongoing car fetish reminded me of the Fisher Body Craftsman’s Guild. I think it ended in 1968 so most of you probably never heard of it.

I was in high school, so probably 1957 or ’8, when we were required to attend a boys-only (naturally) all-school assembly which was a presentation by the Fisher Body Craftsman’s Guild on automobile design. They had films showing design contests, gave us a glimpse into the direction auto design was going, and gave us printed design paper, with the critical points indicated, on which to draw and submit our designs. The whole thing could lead to national competition and college scholarships.

Dub's design submission was super-futuristic:

[jdd2]

I wonder how much or how many of the HS design submissions made their way into actual Fisher designs.

Tho a contest, it could have also been a group brainstorming op, a way to sense trends and popularity--and anything original that might pop up.

[John B]

Apr 15, 2023 13:04:47 GMT -5 billhammond said:

Not so equipped. Had kinda a fastback roofline.

Ahh. I was thinking of the '64.

[Village Idiot]

Apr 15, 2023 15:02:18 GMT -5 Cosmic Wonder said:

White cars Mo bettah.

Mike

Unless it's a Model T.

[billhammond]

Don't be hard on yourself, JB. From Wiki:

In automotive design terminology, the name breezeway has been used to describe the sometimes reverse-slanted, power-operated retractable rear window ("backlite") which, when opened even slightly, provided through ventilation. Typical models with this feature are the 1957-1958 Mercury Turnpike Cruisers and some 1963–1968 full-size Mercurys, including some Park Lanes, Montclairs, and Montereys.

[millring]

I went from wanting a white van because I had to unload pots from it during summer art fairs to wanting a white minivan because Dar does dog events and has to keep the dog in the van for extended periods of time. The fact that it looks cleaner for longer is just a bonus.

[drlj]

When I had my Mustang back in 1969, it was white with black interior. It looked pretty sharp as I recall.