Farewell to Radiant Red!

Axalta’s launch of its North American Automotive Color of the Year 2015 kicked-off at the SEMA tradeshow in Las Vegas, Nevada in November, 2014.  Axalta executives, TV host and champion crew chief, Ray Evernham and four-time NASCAR® Cup Series champion Jeff Gordon unveiled the No. 24 Axalta Chevrolet SS Radiant Red paint scheme, painted by Mobsteel’s Ron Coan, in front of a large crowd of car enthusiasts.  That weekend Gordon debuted the paint scheme on the track at a race at Phoenix International Raceway.  

The color’s inspiration came from an increase in popularity of red vehicles on the roads, according to Axalta’s Global Automotive Color Popularity Report.  Axalta’s chromatic Radiant Red was created using Cromax® Mosaic™ low VOC solvent-borne paint and Axalta’s high chroma Vermeera™ technology.  Several experts from various industries commented on how Red shades are prevalent in a variety of areas and industries.  Peyton Kelly, Senior Manager of Product Development, Jewelry at QVC spoke about how “new mines are now producing the true radiant red gemstones that many of us associate with fine rubies.”  Ron Coan from Mobsteel said, “Radiant Red is so inspiring that I would love to spray one of my favorite cars in this color – a 1950 Mercury Coupe.”  Award-winning author Kimberly Lovato discussed growing up as a redhead in southern California and now embraces the color red in her attire to show off her red hair every chance she gets.  Keith Nagara, Director, Transportation Design Program at Lawrence Technological University commented, “the color red evokes fond memories of the importance of color to vehicles.”

Radiant Red made a brilliant journey in 2015.  The Mid-America Trucking Show in Louisville, Kentucky showcased several reds with high chroma appeal.  The Eyes on Design car show at the Edsel & Eleanor Ford home featured various shades of red from the 1900’s to today.  The Woodward Dream cruise in Michigan was flooded with classic and new cars that featured red hues.  From one car show to another, each red car was radiant in its own way.

Radiant Red will continue to inspire automotive color design and our love for color.  Stay tuned for the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan when we announce Axalta’s North American Color of the Year 2016.

Axalta’s Top 10 “Radiant Red” Songs and the Cars that Suit Them

By Nancy Lockhart, Axalta Color Marketing Manager

Axalta Coating Systems’ team members put together a top 10 list of songs with “Red” in the title as part of a year-long celebration of our inaugural North American Automotive Color of the Year.

Radiant Red debuted on four-time NASCAR_® Cup Series champion Jeff Gordon’s No. 24 Axalta Chevrolet SS at the 2014 SEMA show in Las Vegas.  The campaign has resonated around the world with color enthusiasts who were thrilled to see Axalta’s first-ever Automotive Color of the Year.

Nothing complements a top 10-song list like a smoking hot car.  Cars and cruisin’ to music simply go together.  If you were going for a spin while listening to these “radiant red” songs, what kind of car would you choose to roll to? 

Take a look at our list and let us know what you think on Twitter @Axalta.  Agree?  Disagree?  Did we miss something?  This is not scientific, but it sure has us reminiscing.

First, check out or sing-a-long to Axalta’s Top 10 “Radiant Red” songs.   

1.       Little Red Corvette – Prince (1982)

2.       Red – Taylor Swift (2012)

3.       Snoopy vs. the Red Baron – The Royal Guardsmen (1966)

4.       Red, Red Wine – Neil Diamond / UB-40 (1966)

5.       Lady in Red -- Chris De Burgh (1986)

6.       Red Barchetta – Rush (1981)

7.       Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer – Gene Autry (1949)

8.       99 Red Balloons – Nena (1983)

9.       Red Dirt Road – Brooks and Dunn (2003)

10.     Red Solo Cup – Toby Keith (2011)

Now, here are the vehicles that go best with each song, along with some comments from Axalta team members.

 1.  Little Red Corvette – Lisa Miree-Luke, Head of Axalta Corporate Affairs - North America: “Well, this one seems easy, but which of the iconic Corvettes would it be? I think the winner is the gorgeous split-window ’63. Like the song says, baby, you’re much too fast.”

 2.  Red – Sabrina Morris, Axalta Product Specialist: “Taylor mentions a Maserati in the song, but since Taylor seems to be trying to get over someone in the song, let’s go to her country roots and get something fun like a brand new 2016 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon!” 

 3.  Snoopy vs. the Red Baron – David Fischer, Axalta Vice President of Market Strategy and Growth: “This song is from 1966, and my kids loved it growing up. So let’s pick a modern family car for today’s family:  the always-safe, all-new Volvo XC90.”

 4.  Red, Red Wine – Eric Degenfelder, Axalta Vice President for Global Product Management:  “Uber. Whatever your favorite cab company is…just don’t drink and drive.”

 5.  Lady in Red – Michael Koerner, Axalta Research Fellow: “Since singer-songwriter De Burgh is British and Irish, let’s pair this song with two cars: from Britain, a Mini Cooper and from Ireland, the very rare Shamrock.”

 6.  Red Barchetta – Dan Benton, Axalta Color Marketing Manager: “First off, Rush rocks! Secondly, you have to pair the awesome Barchetta with this song. If you have not seen one, they were originally  Italian style  open, two-seater sports cars built for racing. We can all imagine the thrill of driving a hot red convertible down a country road on a beautiful summer day – wind in your hair, the blur of the landscape–the thrill of it all.  Just thinking about it - accelerates the heart rate!”

 7.  Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer – John Wray, Axalta Marketing Manager: “We really need a car from a holiday movie, so how about Clark Griswold’s wagon from Christmas Vacation? Love that movie!”

 8.  99 Red Balloons – Matthew Boland, Axalta Product Director: “This was a hit for the German band Nena. So I will pick a quintessential German car—Golf GTI.”

 9.  Red Dirt Road – David Powell, Axalta Global Business Director: “This feels like a pick-up truck song to me.  How about one that packs a punch and turns mountains into molehills?  Let’s go with the Chevy Silverado 3500HD.”

10. Red Solo Cup – Maria Murtha, Axalta Color Marketing Manager, Commercial Vehicles: “There are few marketing relationships stronger than the one between Ford and country singer-songwriter Toby Keith, so it only make sense to go with a Ford F-150 truck for this one.”