Originally posted by OrchidJulie Because all the manufacturers are painting their new cars in some shade of non-metallic gray. Some lighter, some darker, some almost beige-ish, but all of them are doing it.
'Twas ever thus.
In 2015, Porsche introduced the optional color Chalk (a non-metallic, light gray) for the 2016 911 and a couple of other models. A few years later, I noticed other manufacturers venturing into the world of non-metallic gray and offering various shades. No surprise, and I find these new colors refreshing. In fact, I put my money where my mouth is by buying my 2021 911 Carrera in Chalk a couple of years ago.
Auto colors (and other features) come in waves. I remember (and often owned) cars with "earth tones" like burnt orange, bronze, and various shades of green and brown back in the late '60s, the '70s and early '80s.
Over the last several years, the dominant colors have been white, silver metallic, medium-to-dark gray metallic and black, with white and black occasionally produced as metallics (like my wife's BMW X3). I think we're now breaking away from the "big four" and venturing into new territory. I notice Porsche is offering a bigger variety of colors with more nonmetallic than metallic. Another anecdotal example is my green (definitely metallic) 2022 Bimmer - the first green car I've owned since I drove a Mach 1 back in 1969.
The times they are achangin'.
Jer