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Australia Isn’t A Pink Car Nation – It’s A Black And White Issue
They used to say that a good horse is never a bad colour. The same probably also applies to cars – or does it? While a car’s colour doesn’t really affect its performance or handling, colour certainly has a psychological effect on the buyer and the beholder, and it can also affect safety. It might even affect the price of the car, in the case of second-hand vehicles, especially. And if you’re buying a new car, you tend to get a choice of colour, so it pays to be informed!
White: This is one of the most common car colours on the road, and with good reason. Roads tend to be black, so a white car stands out more and can be seen easily. It can even be seen during difficult light conditions, such as dusk (not so good in fog or in a blizzard, though). From a safety perspective, white makes sense, which is why most car makes and models include a white version. However, white 4x4s that are going to be used off road are less popular, as white shows every bit of dirt. White also makes a good “canvas” for company logos, so it is also a good choice for commercial fleets. If you’re buying a car with practicality uppermost in your mind or safety uppermost, then white makes a good choice. However, because it’s common, white can be seen as a little bland and boring.
Black: This is a prestige colour, being the colour of business suits, briefcases and New Zealand rugby teams (shoot me later). It’s dark, sleek and mysterious, like sunglasses or black panthers. From an image perspective, black is sexy and savvy, and it can be seen as either tough or smooth, masculine or feminine. It’s also very traditional – we all remember Ford’s famous line about “any colour as long as it’s black.” From a safety perspective, though, black isn’t so hot, as it makes the car harder to see in poor lighting conditions. Black also makes a reasonable canvas for company logos, especially if your logo involves white, yellow and red, or other colours that stand out against a dark background for impact.
Red: Another popular colour that has plenty of appeal. Psychologists tell us that red is stimulating and alerting, which is why the half-joking myth that red cars go faster has sprung up. It’s also a cheerful, friendly colour that seems to attract children, making this a good colour for a family car – if you can tolerate endless repetitions of “Toot-toot, chugga, chugga, Big Red Car…” From a safety perspective, red doesn’t stand out much from the background in dull light, but is one of the “attention – look at me” colours during daylight. It’s less practical as a background for a company logo, unless your logo is black and white.
Dark red deserves a mention here. This colour tends to be found on 4x4s, especially those of the late 1990s and early 2000s. It’s a better background colour for logos but has less stand-out impact.
Reds also seem to be a bit more vulnerable to fading in sunlight. This may be something to do with infra-red light. Is anyone able to shed some light on this mystery?
Green: This colour is associated with the environment, so you would think that it would be the top choice for hybrids and bio-fuel vehicles. Oddly enough, it isn’t particularly. Greens come in two types: bright apple and lime tones, which tend to be associated with small, fun hatchbacks; and dark greens along the lines of British Racing Green, which is more sophisticated and is often found on Jaguars. Both colours make reasonable canvasses for company logos – blues, reds, yellows and whites stand out quite nicely against both types. From a safety perspective, the bright greens tend to be quite eye-catching in daylight, mostly because it’s not a common colour.
The darker greens (often combined with minty tones) and the olive greens are often found on 4x4s, harking back to the military background of vehicles like the Jeep. However, don’t let a salesman fool you into thinking that a green 4×4 will camouflage you better, allowing you to get closer to wildlife for a better shot (either with a camera or with a rifle): the noise and smell will have given you away long before that. However, darker green combines quite honourably with the dirt of off-roading without looking sleazy.
Yellow: This is another bold colour that ranks second to white for ability to be seen. The fluorescent yellows possibly stand out even more in daylight. Yellow seems to have some of the cheerfulness of red but is more of an extrovert. As a canvas for company logos, it’s not so hot, unless your logo is in red or black. Black, red and yellow is a high-impact combo that is used in nature as a warning. It’s also a patriotic colour, especially combined with green.
Yellow can also include the back-to-nature sandy beige tones of late 1970s vehicles (good canvasses for logos) and the champagne-gold tones of early- to mid-1990s models (sophisticated and subtle, tending to fade to greyish as they age; also good backgrounds).
Blue: Blue is proven to be a calming, soothing colour – unless you happen to see a blue light flashing behind you alongside a red one, which could mean you’ve been clocked speeding and are going to be hit in the wallet. From a safety perspective, blues are neither here nor there, but blue-greys are dodgy. Navy blues are sophisticated, but are more subtle than black. Cobalt, peacock and butcher’s blue are modern and trendy (at least at the time of writing). Pale blue is friendlier. All of the blues combine reasonably well with other colours as a logo canvas, though whether you prefer the darker tones or the lighter ones depends on what colours are involved in your logo.
Grey: Grey is subtle and mysterious, but in a less in-your-face way than black. It’s a natural colour, being the tones of rock, cloud and smoke, giving the colour an eco-friendly overtone. It handles the dirt well on 4x4s but looks equally stylish on an executive saloon trimmed with chrome. Grey makes a first-class background for logos, as both black and white show up well against it. Grey, however, absolutely sucks from a safety perspective, as it’s harder to see against a grey background no matter what time of day. Grey is damn near invisible in dusk, which is why wolves and cats are that colour. If you choose a grey car (I had one once, but before you ask, it didn’t get written off in a crash at evening), be one of the first to put your lights on as evening draws on.
Brown: This colour is less common these days, so it’s unlikely to be seen on new cars. Think of old Fords and Holdens. It’s a warm, eco-friendly colour that doesn’t show the dirt much. it may be due for a comeback, unless it is frowned upon from a safety perspective, as it’s not a high-impact colour.
Purple: Another rarely seen colour, but one that has more sophistication than brown. Purple tends to be associated with creativity and quirkiness (towards the violet and lavender end of purple) or with royalty (towards the dark eggplant tones). Purple cars tend to be noticed, but this is because they are rarer. Another colour that could well be fashionable in the future.
Orange: Bold, warm and stimulating, orange tends to be a love-it-or-hate-it colour. It’s even more stimulating and energetic than red, which may be why it’s one of the colour choices for the latest selection of HSVs. From a safety perspective, a bright orange is up there behind white and yellow for visibility. However, it’s not a good canvas for company logos, as nothing much seems to stand out on it except for black. It’s something of a retro colour, as it was popular during the 1970s (and that’s an understatement!).
Pink: This colour is considered to be sweet, soft and feminine, which is why it isn’t a very popular car colour. While most women are happy enough to drive around in a red, grey, white or any other colour of vehicle, most men would rather be seen dead than driving a pink car. Even if you’re a woman, pink cars can tend to be a bit too Barbie-doll. When it comes to cars, pink possibly stinks – to the extent that a (male) friend of mine was able to buy a second-hand magenta van super-cheap: no other commercial contractors would touch the thing. But the van fitted all his gear and the more muted magenta carried his (white and yellow) logo reasonably well – and it certainly stood out from the ranks of white vans other contractors drove. Bright pinks tend to be rather visible – probably on a level with yellow from a safety perspective – and it is a rather fun colour. While this won’t be the most common colour in the world, it has potential as vehicle manufacturers tend to target women buyers more. Expect to see this on VW Beetles, small hatchbacks, convertibles and, of course, Cadillacs.
Are Electric Cars Good for the Environment?
As a reasonable human being I do believe in the need to conserve our natural resources – especially Australia, as we actually still have some. I am sure the movie, “The Day the War Started” has a lot to be said for the world’s need to change its ways. Who wouldn’t want to invade our great land for its resources (something to think about when the new Military budget is handed out!)?
But the electric car is not the way. The cost of the infrastructure alone in a country this small in population and massive in size is overwhelming. Even if it was cost effective, the current range of an electric car is about 200 klms, if driven carefully, so it really does not stack up.
What many people forget is the electricity used to move these ‘green’ vehicles burns more fossil fuels at the power plant than a vehicle moving on petrol and diesel. This seems to be a knee jerk reaction to address complaints from the masses. Unfortunately it has worked to some degree and we are seeing a push from Manufacturers towards electric cars, like the Mitsubishi iMiev, due here soon. Did anyone mention the environmental impact of the disposal of the battery, or the massive distances by fossil fuelled transport to actually put all the components of an electric car together? It really is folly if you think the current electric cars have a positive environmental effect. Maybe they are quiet and have zero emissions when being driven, but the total lifespan impact is enormous.
We need to find an energy source that is renewable or replaceable that does not kill the Ozone layer. Some say, not an easy task. The best answer right now would appear to be to use H2O or at least the Hydrogen component of water, something the German manufacturers are spending billions on. Or Google the’ Honda FCX Clarity’…surely a better option!
As a conspiracy theory lover, I am sure there has been many great advances over the decades to have this right now, but the power and money behind the oil industry have been able to buy it up and ‘shelve’ it every time, until now.
So the reality is right now, buy what you want considering the engine size and its registered emission levels and drive moderately. If you want some speed try for a small 4-cylunder turbo-charged car with a great exhaust system. The key here is really to do the best with what you have and don’t be swayed by the so called ‘environment friendly’ electric car.
Sweet-sounding sub-30 contenders
What new car sounds the best for under 30k? I know most people like the roominess of a car’s cabin, the funky stereo, the leather seats or maybe the way the car drives. But which of the readers, like me, enjoy the sound of a rorty engine? There are lots of neat things that make up a good drive, but one of the features that sits at the top of the list for some has to be the sound of a sweet engine responding to the right foot. I can just imagine two boys in the playground at school arguing over whose car sounds the best!
Mulling this one over took a bit of time, but there were a few cars that came to mind.
Mazda know how to make a drive fun, and with their latest Mazda 3 SP25 sedan, there are few cars that can match the car for pure driving pleasure – and still have price tag of under $30,000. Effortless performance from the 122 kW, 2.5-litre engine makes this car move very quickly when required. The rorty engine note is a pleasure.
Honda makes some of the finest and most reliable engines. The Honda Civic VTi is very well priced, roomy and exceptionally reliable. The other nice thing about the VTi engine is that it has a nice tone when pushed hard.
Make sure that you have a drive in the Fiat Ritmo 1.4T. This is a fireball capable of 110 kW from a very sprightly 1.4-litre engine. Great fun to drive, the little hatch looks hot, goes hard and has superb handling to match. Not only is it well equipped, but also the car’s price is under the 30k mark – and when linked to a slick six-speed manual, the engine sounds like a baby Ferrari.
An in-line, four-cylinder, 2.0-litre engine sits under the hood of the Chunky Dodge Caliber SXT. The engine note has a pleasant rasp, while the under 30k price tag buys you plenty of luxury features, space and some nice roadholding to match.
This leaves me with two other contenders for the best sounding new car for under $30,000. These two marques have been battling it out on the rally circuits for a long time now. Perhaps it’s the racing prowess that has filtered down through these particular cars, but whatever it is, they both sound very good under a hard throttle. The Mitsubishi Colt Ralliart has a super quick turbo-charged 1.5-litre engine under the hood. What you have the power to do is embarrass bigger engines, on a regular basis, at the traffic lights. Stylish and sporty, the Colt Ralliart also has a comfortable driving position.
You might have already guessed, but the other car that has an engine that sounds very good is the safe and practical Subaru Impreza. Few cars can hold the key of Gee-wow like a flat-four engine, and what the Subaru Impreza R, RX and RV do have is a burbling flat-four at the right price.
Have I missed any sweet sounding sub-30k contenders out? Inform me if I have.
The Road to Nowhere, Somewhere or Anywhere.
A road trip in and around Australia is an excellent way to go about meeting new people, making new friends and tasting some of the best food (and beer) the country has to offer. Australia has many wonderful sights to see and experience. Wildlife is abundant in many places, and it is quite a rush to experience a croc, koala, wombat or wallaby – not to mention all the seabirds – first hand. Did you know that Australia has its own camel? Where do you reckon are some of the best places to take a road trip in Australia? You may have lived in Australia for quite some time and know where the special drives are. How about hearing about your favourite tour – and adding a few tips for those who might like to retrace your steps. Some of the best road trips need an overnight stay or a couple of nights away, so these are ideal for a short holiday. Longer trips are the special ones that require you to fill up the car with all the luggage in preparation for taking a week or two off work.
I reckon Canberra is a nice area to take some time out. From Sydney, you can travel southwest on the Hume Highway to Goulburn – the largest city on the Southern Tablelands. Also known as the ‘City of Roses’, Goulburn has a number of interesting attractions, which include a number of special cafes. From Goulburn, you can take the Federal Highway (Route 23), which passes Lake George before bringing you to the heart of Canberra, the national capital. There’s heaps to do, with over thirty national institutions, parks, bushland, some great restaurants and a thriving arts scene. Canberra offers fantastic activities and sights to see and experience for all the family. This would make a nice run in a Peugeot 407 or maybe a Mercedes Benz CLS-Class, where you can sit back in some premium comfort and allow the engine to purr along while you take in the sights and experience the people.
If you like to rough it a bit, then maybe a Northern Territory Outback adventure trip in a Mercedes GL-Class or Nissan Safari 3.0 TDi would tickle your fancy. The 2700 km trip from Augusta to Darwin is a sensational journey through the heartbeat of Australia. Be sure to go as part of a team, as it’s always wise to put safety first.
And don’t forget what would have to be one of the classic Aussie road trips: the Nullabor. This isn’t the prettiest drive or the most challenging from a motoring perspective, but it is still a classic, even though it’s a dead straight road with few features. That’s the whole point – getting through the trip is an achievement in itself. Some people give themselves an added challenge: trying to do the Nullabor on as few gallons of petrol as possible by using “hypermiling” techniques. Not a bad thing to try in a smaller economy vehicle.
So, handing over to you lot then. Suggest a fair dinkum Aussie journey, tell us what the good bits are, propose what safety awareness might need to be taken note of and recommend the vehicle for the trip you have in mind.
Level 2, 9 Help Street