As Axalta continues its year-long celebration of Gallant
Gray – the 2017 Automotive Color of the Year – we thought it would be
interesting to look back on the recent history of gray and a popular list of 50
shades of automotive grays.
Since 1953, Axalta has been the leading company to publish
data on auto color trends and popularity in our annual Color Popularity Reports
-- that’s more than 60 years’ worth of reports.
In our first edition, green ranked number one, blue was two
and gray was third (all North America data in 1953). In 2016, the tables turned
quite a bit. White was the worldwide number one for the sixth consecutive year.
Black was second, while silver and gray tied for third. Silver, overtaken by
white as world number one in 2011, continues to slide globally.
“The more things change, the more they stay the same,” said Dan
Benton, Axalta Color Marketing Manager. “That’s one of reasons that led us to
Gallant Gray.”
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| Gray has always been a winning color |
Benton acknowledges that silver and gray can be close. While
Gallant Gray is a luxurious color enhanced with blue and silver flakes that
provide a unique sparkle effect and dark undertones for a rich finish,
conventional wisdom seems to call silver “shiny” and gray “dull.” Between 2000
and 2012, “silver/gray” was the most popular color in Europe just as it was in
the Asia-Pacific region from 1973-1978.
We went back about 30 years and found 50 different grays
from automakers. Notice how some are even named “silver” but their color formulations
put them squarely in the gray family.
And yes, I am using the correct spelling gray from our
offices just outside Detroit. Technically, both are acceptable … and I’d
probably use “grey” if my office was in Europe or Australia.
The list is sorted by year first used, for no particular
reason.
Have a favorite name? Did we miss one you love? Let us know
in the comments section.
|
Company
|
Color Name
|
First Year Used
|
|
FORD
|
SILVER
|
1988
|
|
FORD
|
SILVER FROST
|
1994
|
|
BMW
|
TITANIUM SILVER
|
1997
|
|
GENERAL MOTORS CORP
|
PEWTER
|
1998
|
|
TOYOTA
|
SILVER
|
1998
|
|
FORD
|
DARK SHADOW GREY
|
2000
|
|
TOYOTA
|
SILVER SKY
|
2001
|
|
TOYOTA
|
PHANTOM GREY
|
2001
|
|
VOLKSWAGEN
|
PLATINUM GREY
|
2002
|
|
FORD
|
SILVER BIRCH
|
2002
|
|
GENERAL MOTORS CORP
|
LIGHT TARNISHED SILVER
|
2003
|
|
TOYOTA
|
SILVER
|
2003
|
|
GENERAL MOTORS CORP
|
DARK SPIRAL GRAY
|
2003
|
|
GENERAL MOTORS CORP
|
STEALTH GREY
|
2004
|
|
CHRYSLER
|
TUNGSTEN
|
2004
|
|
NISSAN
|
RADIANT SILVER
|
2004
|
|
MERCEDES
|
IRIDIUM SILVER
|
2004
|
|
GENERAL MOTORS CORP
|
GREYSTONE
|
2005
|
|
INFINITI
|
SILVER
|
2005
|
|
TOYOTA
|
MAGNETIC GREY
|
2006
|
|
TOYOTA
|
SLATE
|
2006
|
|
NISSAN
|
PRECISION GREY
|
2006
|
|
CHRYSLER
|
SILVER STEEL
|
2006
|
|
NISSAN
|
DARK SLATE
|
2007
|
|
NISSAN
|
PLATINUM GRAPHITE
|
2007
|
|
HONDA
|
POLISHED METAL
|
2008
|
|
GENERAL MOTORS CORP
|
CARBON FLASH
|
2008
|
|
HONDA
|
URBAN TITANIUM
|
2008
|
|
SUBARU
|
DARK GRAY
|
2008
|
|
SUBARU
|
STEEL SILVER
|
2008
|
|
GENERAL MOTORS CORP
|
SILVER ICE
|
2009
|
|
FORD
|
STERLING GREY
|
2009
|
|
GENERAL MOTORS CORP
|
CYBER GREY
|
2009
|
|
NISSAN
|
GUNMETAL GREY
|
2009
|
|
MAZDA
|
LIQUID SILVER
|
2009
|
|
HYUNDAI
|
SILVER
|
2009
|
|
NISSAN
|
SAHARA STONE SILVER
|
2009
|
|
GENERAL MOTORS CORP
|
MAGNA STEEL
|
2010
|
|
GENERAL MOTORS CORP
|
DARK LABYRINTH GRAY
|
2010
|
|
HYUNDAI
|
HARBOR GRAY
|
2010
|
|
NISSAN
|
GRAPHITE BLUE
|
2010
|
|
TOYOTA
|
WINTER GRAY
|
2010
|
|
CHRYSLER
|
DARK CHARCOAL
|
2010
|
|
GENERAL MOTORS CORP
|
SHEER SILVER
|
2010
|
|
ACURA
|
GRAPHITE LUSTER
|
2011
|
|
HYUNDAI
|
TITANIUM GRAY
|
2011
|
|
TOYOTA
|
DARK STEEL
|
2012
|
|
HYUNDAI
|
IRONMAN SILVER
|
2012
|
|
HYUNDAI
|
INDIGO NIGHT
|
2012
|
|
GENERAL MOTORS CORP
|
IRIDIUM
|
2013
|
