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Why are Transit colors so lame

18K views 34 replies 20 participants last post by  Damaskinos_of_Athens 
#1 ·
Mercedes and Toyota have targeted younger (or hipper?) buyers with more trendy flat colors yet Ford trucks and Transits stick with plain old metallics. Is this your grandfather’s silver Crown Vic.
Or maybe oxford white is the pinnacle of color in that it is all colors and it doesn’t get better than than?
Either way I think it’s a valid question in a world awash in silver metallics.
-pg
 
#2 ·
Answer: Because the colors they use are the ones that sell to the most people.

Also, white is the preferred color for nearly all commercial fleet vehicles. The Transit is a light duty commercial vehicle first, and with a few gewgaws bolted on becomes a residential passenger vehicle.
 
#5 ·
Answer: Because the colors they use are the ones that sell to the most people
-or is it that most people just buy what is on the dealer's lot, which happens to be white? :D

I'd be interested to see data on a dealer that stocks identical vans in multiple colors over a period of time, of course that would be a costly research proposal.

Years ago, we wanted a Suburban with a bench seat and the salesman said, our customers don't buy them with bench seats. How could they if there were never any on the lot?

Another dealer got our money soon after :nerd:
 
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#6 ·
I think next time around I might try to find 5 other people who like the same custom color and do a fleet order of 6 vans.
Years ago, my dealer was able to pull some strings and have my Bronco built while they were painting fleet vehicles with the "unavailable" color I wanted. :D
 
#7 · (Edited)
That mirror looks ugly on the pickup. Must have designed it after drinking perhaps during drinking.

My van is white and I wash it a lot. White shows the dirt.

I've always known it as the 2 colors that sell is white and red. But no one ever asked me.
 
#9 ·
different colors look cool, but white is truly the only "cool" color. I can't imagine how hot a dark colored van would be in a warm sunny climate. I only wanted white and luckily there were lots to choose from.

Black is my favourite vehicle color. I even bought a black vehicle once. Never again, it only looks great when its washed every day and was way too hot on summer days.
 
#10 ·
There was a short period of time when conservative color Toyota offered PURPLE for Tacomas. They couldn't sell them, and had to discount them deeply just to get them off the lots.
 
#16 ·
Ford had that same issue in the early nineties with a red/purple metallic. I remember a salesman telling me that they had a fully loaded one that had been sitting on the lot for 11 months that they couldn't get rid of, until one day a guy came in shopping for an F150 and when asked what color he liked, he said he didn't care since he was color blind. "Have we got a deal for you!"
 
#12 ·
Personally, I like something that isn't an eyesore in natural surroundings. The medium gray color offered on the Sprinters and Transits are ideal because it looks "normal" in forests, deserts, beaches, etc. I had painted my 63 Corvair convertible this color about 10 years ago, and people jokingly called it "gloss primer" because that was the shade. Now that color is "cool".

Lighter colors don't show scratches or dirt as much as darker colors. Anyone who's owned a black vehicle can confirm this. Same goes for dark green, dark blue, dark brown; any dark color. I wash my van about every 3-4 months, so I say "no thanks" to dark colors.
 
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#14 ·
If it's that important, you can always pop $5k for a new paint job in whatever color you want. I hear it's a great way to pick up chicks, in a van, because it has a cool paint color.
 
#15 · (Edited)
It is, however, interesting to look for differences in Transit vans colors between US and Europe. In Europe we have ten colors, you have nine. We have untill three blue colors (Blazer Blue, Stratosphere and Deep Impact Blue), you have only one (Blue Jeans). But we haven't any green...:(We have only one white , you have two different. Three colors are exactly the same - Race Red, Shadow Black and Magnetic...
 

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#18 ·
Anybody understand why most paint colors are metallic? Even “black” has metal flake in it. Does it help with UV resistance or something?

Anytime I see a car with a solid color anymore I think it looks so much better than the ubiquitous metallics. The sand and grayish blue paint that Toyota is putting on the TRD Pro trucks really looks sweet.
 
#21 ·
I've scratched my head about this for years, as well. I think metallics look cheap for the most part because every cheap car has it. Solid colors are making a comeback, but seemingly only on "fancier" cars (the retro 60's/70's looking hot rods, for one). I think there are a few cars that have satin finish paint as an option now, too.
 
#20 ·


If this is diffused silver, this looks ok to me.

What might make sense is for Ford to offer some unique colors for custom single orders rather than send out purple vans to the dealers.

I imagine the majority? of new transits end up as fleet vehicles but the whole van culture is taking off it seems and maybe, just maybe there is more market there than Ford thinks.
 
#22 ·
Metallic paints last longer than non-metallic, are more UV resistant and are better at hiding light scratches and imperfections.

I agree though, that there are some pretty nice non metallic colors out there. That Sand color Toyota has would look great on a Transit with black grill and no chrome trim.

Sprinter has several colors that are base price colors, then a selection of non-metallics at a higher price, then another selection of metallics at an even higher price. In total they offer 22 different colors.

I would have gladly paid $1000 more to get a color I really wanted versus choosing one by process of elimination.
 
#27 ·
I don't see the outside of mine as much as the inside. I like the gray interior.

What's that? I'm supposed to care what OTHER people think of how the outside looks?! That sounds hard, I think I won't try.
 
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#29 · (Edited)
lame ford colors

I had to order my van special order because 98% of all dealers across the nation only order in white?

They say most people buy only white work vans.
I'm glad I ordered my van just how I wanted it and it didn't cost any more than a van off the lot. White!
Stone grey metallic
2019 transit 350 3.5 lt 148 wb
It only cost $150 to order a different color than stock colors.
 

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#31 ·
It only cost $150 to order a different color than stock colors.
Unsure how to interpret that correctly. Are saying colors other than the array of colors identified as Transit colors can be special ordered?

A little known fact I didn't become aware of until years later was that a Pontiac GTO (and probably any GM car) could be ordered in any color that any other GM vehicle came in. It added $50 to the cost. I learned this when I came across a '67 GTO in a color that came on a Cadillac at the time and talked to the original owner.
 
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#32 ·
I live in a town where Sprinters outnumber Transits 4 to 1. The Sprinters come in a wide range of colors that I enjoy and envy.

My Gem Green Transit looks black and boring most of the time, and it proudly displays freshly acquired dirt spots moments after I have washed it.

The Ford color selection reminds me of a badly muted bass boat nightmare. It's no wonder most people drive a ******.

The Sprinter colors look hip and sophisticated, like they are dolled up for a meatball night soirée at Ikea. I get jealous every time one floats by on those big black 31" all terrain tires and taunts me with their lovely shades and hues.
 
#34 ·
Black, white and red are the three non-metallic colors included in the base price of the Transit at any trim level. $150 more gets you one of the metallic colors. Other Ford colors are also available, but the last I heard it was special order, minimum 6 units, and fleet buyers only.
 
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