News Published on : 25-Apr-2022 17:07:13

Car colour names are becoming so ridiculous that brits can t tell the difference between their Norfolk Mustards and their Elephant Breaths. And even as BMW unveiled its colour changing concept at CES in Las Vegas consumers still can t distinguish between a car colour and a decorative paint. A survey by Leasing.com research found that the descriptions provided by automotive manufacturers have become so ethereal as to become baffling. Almost two thirds (61%) think Norfolk Mustard is a wall paint when in fact it s a colour developed by Lotus for its sports cars. More than half (54%) believe the same for Mystic Olive Green one of Hyundai s palettes. Other examples include BMW s Thunder Night (67% guessed incorrectly that it was a wall paint) and Lexus Truffle Mica also saw 46% baffled and bemused. BMW recently announced its new concept car the iX Flow which has the ability to literally change colours. The E ink technology is specially designed within a body wrap of the car allowing for seamless colour changes. Katherine Templar Lewis Creative Neurologists says that however fancy some of the colours become everyday drivers choose vehicle colours based on how they as individuals want to be perceived by society: Inside our homes we have more freedom to express who we really are. With a huge number of shades to choose between fun names are a means to distinguish and bring the colour to life. Cars are something we want to reflect an air of seriousness as we need them to reflect our more professional side. The survey looked at 19 colours from both car and the domestic paint companies to understand why automotive brands are choosing such fanciful names when data from the Department of Transport shows the most popular car colour is black (six million vehicles are black according to all registrations in 2020).