Why do people buy white cars/SUVs?

[Anonymous]

I went into my last car purchase fully intending to buy a shiny red car. Turned out the precise model/trim I wanted was only available in white, so white is what I have. I do find other white cars more visible in low light, so I'm happy about that, but sometimes I dream about having it painted some fabulous color. Maybe when it's older.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s the hot mom car color.

HAHAHAHHAHAHAHA

My 90 year old dad drives a white SUV !

[Anonymous]

Better visibility and it doesn't get as hot when parked in the sun.

[Anonymous]

Doesn't get as hot. Most people in the south prefer white cars. Not only are they more visible, but they don't get as hot. One time I came out of the grocery store and had to figure out which one of the 4 white hondas parked in a row was mine.

I have a white car because I moved here from NC.

Probably won't buy another one, since they get so dirty here. I have noted everyone here has a silver or gray car, so I guess they don't show dirt?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Probably won't buy another one, since they get so dirty here. I have noted everyone here has a silver or gray car, so I guess they don't show dirt?

Yeah, those colors dont' show dirt unless it's really bad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s the hot mom car color.

You keep telling yourself that honey.

I have a friend who fancies herself a hot mom and the day she bought a white Suburban was like the pinnacle of her hot mom achievement. She was over the moon.

What does having a white SUV have to do with being a "hot mom"? What even is a hot mom? Like actually attractive or just works out a lot and wears leggings? What are the other markers of a hot mom?

I feel like I've stumbled into a weird subculture here and I need more information. If you'd asked me yesterday what kind of car a hot mom would drive, I would have assumed something small and sporty. Not a white Suburban. That's like the blandest car I could possibly think of.

Oh it’s a lifestyle honey. This is exurban hot mom, not real rich DC hot mom. Exurban hot mom is either a SAHM or has some sort of admin job (not a career striver, not the breadwinner), DH owns his own blue collar company, she drinks white claw all day with the other hot moms while the kids play, wears cold shoulder tops when she has girls nights, tan and mostly in good shape but a little soft (all that mommy juice!) kids play every sport and it’s a reflection on her (definitely owns a t-shirt that says Connor’s mommy! in team colors) and she drives a white Suburban!

I'm going to be honest -- the woman you describe does not sound hot in literally any way. She drives a big boring car, wears ugly clothes, seems to have a drinking problem, and has completely lost her identity to her children. What is hot about that?

Sorry Connor's mommy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s the hot mom car color.

You keep telling yourself that honey.

I have a friend who fancies herself a hot mom and the day she bought a white Suburban was like the pinnacle of her hot mom achievement. She was over the moon.

What does having a white SUV have to do with being a "hot mom"? What even is a hot mom? Like actually attractive or just works out a lot and wears leggings? What are the other markers of a hot mom?

I feel like I've stumbled into a weird subculture here and I need more information. If you'd asked me yesterday what kind of car a hot mom would drive, I would have assumed something small and sporty. Not a white Suburban. That's like the blandest car I could possibly think of.

Oh it’s a lifestyle honey. This is exurban hot mom, not real rich DC hot mom. Exurban hot mom is either a SAHM or has some sort of admin job (not a career striver, not the breadwinner), DH owns his own blue collar company, she drinks white claw all day with the other hot moms while the kids play, wears cold shoulder tops when she has girls nights, tan and mostly in good shape but a little soft (all that mommy juice!) kids play every sport and it’s a reflection on her (definitely owns a t-shirt that says Connor’s mommy! in team colors) and she drives a white Suburban!

I'm going to be honest -- the woman you describe does not sound hot in literally any way. She drives a big boring car, wears ugly clothes, seems to have a drinking problem, and has completely lost her identity to her children. What is hot about that?

Sorry Connor's mommy.

I didn’t say I thought she was hot, I said she thought she was hot.

[Anonymous]

I was looking for white in my vintage car because it was the car that was in my book as a kid. The color is also great because I don’t have a/c and the car color is cool to the touch during the summer.

[Anonymous]

It depends on the car. Some cars look terrific in white while others look boring. I never pick a color until I see all the colors available in a model.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It depends on the car. Some cars look terrific in white while others look boring. I never pick a color until I see all the colors available in a model.

+1 I happen to love the Mercedes white shade, a soft white. Bright white? Not so much.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It depends on the car. Some cars look terrific in white while others look boring. I never pick a color until I see all the colors available in a model.

+1 I happen to love the Mercedes white shade, a soft white. Bright white? Not so much.

that doesn't count.

On a GLC:
Polar White - $0
designo Diamond White metallic - $1,515

this thread is about the Polar Whites of the car world

[Anonymous]

Safety issue especially for families that are training young drivers or will be soon. Easier for other drivers to see white (or other light colored) cars.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Because I buy used cars, and color is at the bottom of my list of concerns.

+1

I don't care about color. At all.

+2 I care a tiny bit in the sense that once we decided on a car (last year's model bought in December for a discount), we went to the dealership intending to buy a charcoal version. There were only white ones left so that's what we bought. Make/model/amenities/price matter. Color, notsomuch.

+3. Do not really care about color. My car serves a function. I am not invested in what it looks like. I am driving a "funky" colored car currently because it's a reliable brand, the car had barely been driven, and the price was right. Bonus for this absentminded mom: I can always easily spot it in a busy parking lot!

I always thought people just picked a color because... that was the color they liked.

+4 plus you don't see much of the outside color from the driver's seat.

[Anonymous]

From this article:

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/25/business/car-paint-job-resale-value.html

Over the years, those technologies that improved the longevity of cars and paint may help explain the unprecedented 10-year run for white as the most popular color. Its functional advantages also help. White is good in hot climates and hides scratches and dings well, making it popular with fleet buyers.

“Rental car companies love white,” said Karl Brauer, executive analyst for iSeeCars.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:From this article:

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/25/business/car-paint-job-resale-value.html

Over the years, those technologies that improved the longevity of cars and paint may help explain the unprecedented 10-year run for white as the most popular color. Its functional advantages also help. White is good in hot climates and hides scratches and dings well, making it popular with fleet buyers.

“Rental car companies love white,” said Karl Brauer, executive analyst for iSeeCars.

OP here - thank you, that article was very enlightening!

A couple of quotes/points jumped out -

I'm baffled by the responses here from folks who say they don't care about color. From this excerpt, it seems they are in the minority - "The importance of color to cars is almost singular. It’s nothing to chuck a formerly fashionable fuchsia T-shirt, and you can repaint a room in a weekend. But repainting a car costs thousands and requires skilled technicians. With the possible exception of kitchen appliances, there are few color decisions as costly that consumers live with for as long. In a routinely quoted poll from 2000, 39 percent of car buyers said color was more important than brand."

Another good one for the 'fancy' white colors, like that Mercedes designo Diamond White metallic "The white we have is not the white we had 20 years ago... a white metallic that is a little bluish, and from this grazing angle it has this property, and from this angle is has that property... That is very exciting.”

and the final statement brings it all home

"Ultimately, many buyers may choose paint color disregarding both value and popularity to achieve a third goal, Mr. Berger said: “Maybe having a color that’s different than white makes you happy.”"

Yes, it does.