[t_hah]

I live in Arizona, and it is wel known that we have plenty of Sun here all year around.

My current car (VW Jetta) is white.
I am planning on getting a new car (Audi A4), and trying to decide which color to go with. I love black, I think it look really good with the new car, but I am afraid that it might make the car too hot inside.

I asked some people, and they had mixed ideas about it. Some said that it all depends on the interior...if the interior of the car is light, then I am fine...but if the interior is dark, then it will get hot.
Some other people say that it is all about the car's exterior color...and that I should not get a black car.

Does anyone here own a black car? How is it in the summer? Maybe someone from AZ here, who own a black car?
Do shaded windows help the situation?

Thank you,


t

[Timo]

black car in AZ:

[scottiB]

Try silver. Audis look great in silver. A friend of mine lives around Tempe (a transplant from Ohio). She moved there with a black car, and she sold it after her first summer because of the heat.

[wdlove]

I would vote no on a black car in AZ! My only experience is with black Cadillacs while working at Funeral Homes, the A/C is a requirement. Black really show the dirt, had to dust the Cadi's daily!

I would vote for a light color of your choice!

[Brien]

Either white or beige... my truck is beige, never shows the dirt, and stays cool in summer.

[chris v]

Go to a parking lot in the sun, and stand between a white car and a dark car, and put one hand on each. You'll see why I stick with white as long as I live in the south.

CV

[dampeoples]

white vehicles, or at least some lighter shade. try pink

[Brien]

Originally posted by dampeoples:
white vehicles, or at least some lighter shade. try pink

haha, no.

White is the way to go.

[andi*pandi]

not sure about exterior color... but yes to the tinted windows. friend who lived in az swore by them.

[Brien]

Dont get leather interior... trust me.

[villalobos]

Originally posted by andi*pandi:
not sure about exterior color... but yes to the tinted windows. friend who lived in az swore by them.

the color of the exterior really does not have any influence on the temperature inside. Tinted windows will help a lot more. And yeah, no leather.....

villa

[wdlove]

Originally posted by dampeoples:
white vehicles, or at least some lighter shade. try pink

Might give the wrong signal. Made me think of the Cosmetics empire and their pink Cadillacs as a reward for high sales!

[t_hah]

Well, I am still convinced either way...
Some people say that window shading is a must, and that exterior color is not that matters the most for interior temperature. Then some people say that since it is black it will be naturally more hot...

I really like the Black one...here an image of it...


of course the dolphin gray is kind of cool too:


here are two more nice colors combos:


and


I am not a big fan of a white A4, and silver is just not going to do it for me in an A4...if it was an A8, I would probably pick Silver though.


Any feedback from you guys would be helpful. You already helped me a lot. Thanks again...keep the ideas coming.


t

[Aku]

I think the black one looks better, but I live in AZ too. Don't forget we get a lot of dust storms. I have a white jeep and it still looks cleanish with sedona mud on it. You never have to wash a white car.

How often do you wash your car?
Do you have a garage?
How long do you plan to keep it? (The sun will fade the paint after a several years)
Would you rather drive down Mill Ave in a white Audi or a black one?

If you can keep it clean, go with the black. It's not really that hot here and I doubt you'll be getting into much mud. Do you really want to get a color you'd end up unhappy with just for a bit of convenience?

To sum: Sporty cars/fun color
Fun cars: white
Everything else: doesn't matter, you're probably too old to appreciate it

[nforcer]

I'm tired, and feeling kinda cynical tonight. In fact, I have no idea why I'm still up typing a forum reply, but here goes my answer:

I've always wanted to take a car in its plain metal state, and do some kind of super chrome job on it so the whole body of the car would be one super shiny, reflective mirror-like surface. Then I would bling down the skreets in style, blinding everyone in my path. No need for colors, or even rims then... da shizzle... whatever that means.

----

Getting more serious, I look at the psychological and practical reasons for getting a car of a certain color. Below are some things I've considered for the main colors of a car you can get.

White:
-Practical: Harder to notice in fog and snow situations.
-Psychological: It seems every old person on the road wants to have a car that matches the color of their hair. Meaning: 90% of the time when I see a white car, there is an older person driving it. And usually very slowly.

Blue:
-Practical: Well, I guess it can sorta blend around an ocean/water environment nearby. Don't want to get hit by those whales!
-Psychological: I really like the color blue, so I have nothing really witty or otherwise thoughtful to say about it. It's just a good choice

Green:
-Practical: Seems to be pretty neutral. Blends in around lots of plants/trees, but still fairly noticeable. Color of the car I currently drive.
-Psychological: I thought green was supposed to symbolize envy or some crap like that. Anyway, if you still want to get a leet blinding effect like what I was ranting about above, if you went with a nice nasty shade of green like Key Lime, you'll have a mobile retina burning machine. Optometrists will love the extra business!

Red:
-Practical: The color that is supposed to catch the eye, although it has never really caught mine. If you drive faster than most, people have said that you will likely get more tickets in a red car. I've never driven a red car, so I don't know.
-Psychological: Red cars seem a little cliche and worn out. I Don't know how many movies I've seen where the nicest/leetest/most expensive car in the movie is red. Therefore, I would only buy a red car if it were a piece of crap like a Civic, just to spite Hollywood for this crappy rule of moviemaking. (And now I've just pissed off a lot of Civic owners).

Black/Gray:
-Practical: Harder to notice at night. "That's what lights are for, idiot". Well, still. Plus I almost was hit by a gray SUV I didn't see one time because it blended in with the pavement pretty well. That was during the daytime, on a fairly clear day, too.
-Psychological: I'll let the black/gray car owners address this one. Nothing else immediately pops into my mind. Maybe it's just a boring choice. I don't know.

-----

So there you have it. My crappily written, grammatically jacked up, guide to choosing the right color for your car. I'm going to bed now.

[Peter]

Originally posted by nforcer:

Green:
-Practical: Seems to be pretty neutral. Blends in around lots of plants/trees, but still fairly noticeable. Color of the car I currently drive.
-Psychological: I thought green was supposed to symbolize envy or some crap like that. Anyway, if you still want to get a leet blinding effect like what I was ranting about above, if you went with a nice nasty shade of green like Key Lime, you'll have a mobile retina burning machine. Optometrists will love the extra business!

Dont get green, green cars dont sell very well

[Vanquish]

Get a silver one with beige leather interior, the A/C is standard equipment so heat won't be taht big of a problem.

[daimoni]

.

[dampeoples]

Ok, titty pink with tinted windows?

[I'mDaMac]

I used to own a black car and I can say that nothing looks/shines better than a well-waxed black car. It did get hot in the summer but if you have A/C it shouldn't be too much of a problem; a light interior would help also.

Those A4's have that matt black rocker panel on the bottom. I never really cared for that two-tone look so I'd definitely get black so that it looked integrated.

[Cipher13]

When it comes to cars, its black or nothing. For me.

[Face Ache]

Silver.

[Ken Masters]

hehehehe

I ate a boiled EGG.

[euphras]

Quote:"Silver."

Agreed, get silver metallic, stays cool and looks good even after ten years (red gets matte very quickly).

Pat

[Commodus]

Agh, anything but silver - EVERYONE gets silver, precisely because it's such a neutral-yet-attractive colour. You can't really be distinct when you get what everyone else has.

I second nforcer's opinions. Blue, at least the right shade of blue, is a very nice colour to choose for most cars. It's lively without causing permanent eye damage.

Speaking of which, one thing I've been sorely tempted to do is to get a car with one of those eye-searing colours, just to stick it to The Man (tm). Ideally, that car would be a neon-green Lamborghini Murcielago, but something tells me that a more realistic expectation is a "cyber green" New Beetle or one of the orange-metallic Nissans (like a 350Z or Murano).

[sworthy]

another vote for silver, my silver suv doesn't show anything, it looks clean even though I haven't washed it in a while.

Just please don't get white - that's all I ask.

Originally posted by nforcer:
I'm tired, and feeling kinda cynical tonight. In fact, I have no idea why I'm still up typing a forum reply, but here goes my answer:

I've always wanted to take a car in its plain metal state, and do some kind of super chrome job on it so the whole body of the car would be one super shiny, reflective mirror-like surface. Then I would bling down the skreets in style, blinding everyone in my path. No need for colors, or even rims then... da shizzle... whatever that means.

LOL! On a rainy day, your car will be invisible. Silver cars are almost that bad now. People will be cutting you off everywhere you go.

[MikeM33]

Anything but red. There's a certain amount of irony in that, the color red happens to be my favorite color, but I think it looks awful on an automobile for some reason.

If you weren't in such a hot climate I would definitely vote for black. I think black cars look the best. As Timo said though, probably not a good idea in such an area of the country. You don't want to be instantly vaporized when you get into the car after it's been baking out in the southwestern sun for a whole day.

I really dis-like white on a car also, but not as much as red.

MikeM

[t_hah]

Originally posted by I'mDaMac:
I used to own a black car and I can say that nothing looks/shines better than a well-waxed black car. It did get hot in the summer but if you have A/C it shouldn't be too much of a problem; a light interior would help also.

Those A4's have that matt black rocker panel on the bottom. I never really cared for that two-tone look so I'd definitely get black so that it looked integrated.

That is exactly what I think too. Those black "plastic" lowers do not look very good with lighter colors. I guess that is why I really like the black A4, it hides those lowers.

After doing some research it seems many people are doing custom paints on those lowers to match the rest of the car. In Europe the painted lowers are an option, but in the US it is not available yet.

Here is a link to a photo album explaining what is going on, and it shows the differences very well:http://home.mfischer.com:8080/gallery/album22

I guess with painted lowers,silver color looks really nice too:




...but it seems that painting lowers is not always a good idea. Some companies do better, and others do a not soo good job. The pain can chip, or wrinkle after a while.

t

Edit: oops...I guess the images cannot be linked from that site...sorry..

[Spliffdaddy]

Silver fades rather quickly because of pigment 'issues'. Look around you..lots of dull looking silver cars.

Red is great for resale value.

Black looks the best (when it's clean).

White is bland and commercial-looking. The color of choice for government vehicles. It never costs extra to get the white car.