ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, January 3, 1997 TAG: 9701030066
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: A-6 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: DETROIT
SOURCE: GRETA GUEST ASSOCIATED PRESS
VEHICLES JOIN other retro fashions in sporting ``natural'' colors.
Camouflage hasn't caught on yet, but for the first time in 20 years earth tones such as light brown and green were the most popular colors for new autos in North America.
Light brown topped the color chart for luxury cars last year, while dark green was the choice for full-size and sport/compact cars, according to an annual survey released Thursday by DuPont Automotive, a major supplier of automotive paint.
``Reminiscent of the '70s interest in earth tones, we're seeing a trend toward natural tones,'' said Bob Daily, DuPont's color styling and marketing manager.
``We see more consumers showing interest in shades of golds, light browns and copper as well as the special-effect finishes that will link nature and technology themes.''
Greens emerged again as popular colors in 1990 and have gained ever since. Dark green covered 21.2 percent of sport and compact cars, 18.8 percent of full-size and midsize cars, 20.7 percent of trucks and vans and 11.8 percent of luxury cars.
Other survey findings include:
* Black stayed among the top three colors in three categories.
* Light brown gained popularity in the full/intermediate and sport/compact categories.
* Bright and medium red dropped across all categories, although dark red increased in the luxury, full-size and midsize and truck and van categories.
* White withstood the test of time as a consistent top-three finisher over the past 15 years in each vehicle category, according to the survey. In 1996, metallic white jumped significantly in the luxury category.
* Blues are making a small comeback and darker shades have outperformed light blues and teals.
LENGTH: Short : 46 lines ILLUSTRATION: GRAPHIC: Chart by AP.by CNB