Skip to main content
Colour for Products

Find out what your Car says about You

By 09/02/2012January 28th, 201717 Comments

I snapped this the other day, this is what driving in the country looks like! It’s here on Instagram which I’ve finally joined. Next I need to figure out how to follow you!

I found this article ages ago, written by by Dee Van Dyk (canadianliving.com), read on to find out what your car says about you!

The colours you choose in your car and in your life will be variously influenced by culture and trends, but certain colours can spark behavioural and emotional responses.
We’re all familiar with the stereotype of the man in midlife crisis buying a red sports car, but is there any truth to the stereotype? There might be, say practitioners of colour psychology.

“We’re often drawn to a certain colour because we want that attribute in our lives,” says Holly James, Clinical Psychologist with Artemis Counselling Services. “Colours reflect one of two things. Either you want more of a certain attribute (of a particular colour) or that you’re looking for a positive aspect (of that colour) you want to bring into your life.”
Where does your car sit on the colour wheel? Read on, then vote in our poll.

If your car is red
Red is a bold, energetic colour. Warm and sensuous, it gives off vibes of high energy and stimulation. People who like red might be, or might like to project the image of themselves as, ambitious and impulsive, courageous high achievers and risk takers.

If your car is black
Black subsumes all colours. It suggests power and mystery, with overtones of comfort and silence. Black says, “I’m at the top of the pack.”

If your car is white
White is linked to innocence and purity. People who favour white might be dreamers, with an eye on the big picture or possibly searching for a bigger connection to life.

If your car is silver
You might be a communicator, someone who inspires trust. You may be someone
who reacts from a place of instinct and trusts those instincts.

If your car is green
Green is a friendly, calming colour, especially in current times and with its connection to the environment. Green brings to mind nature — forests, grass, trees. People who choose greens might be observers, catching details that others overlook.

If your car is blue
Blue is an emotional colour, cool and calm, promoting relaxation and tranquility. If you like blue, you might be conservative and loyal; you might value affection and tenderness.

If your car is orange or bright yellow
Bright colours like orange and bright yellow say, “Look at me!” They’re fun colours, full of flamboyant spontaneity and energy.

Bright yellow suggests an interesting personality, open to challenge and activity; orange is a happy colour that promotes good humour.

Bright colours are often marketed towards younger people who are at a time of their lives when it’s normal developmentally to be adventurous and bold. So, what exactly does the flashy red sports car potentially say about its middle-aged driver?

“He might be drawn back toward a younger time in his life,” says James. “If you never felt that you had enough adventure, if you never had the fast car, if you never felt that you had what you wanted at that point in your life, when you start to review part way through your life, you might try to meet that need.”

Hey, speaking of flashy red sports car, that happens to be the one I posted above, haha!

Hope you are having a wonderful Labour Day Weekend!

Related posts:

White: Messages & Meanings

What is the Colour of Fun?

Three Ways to Inject Lots of Colour without Going Bohemian

Download my eBook, How to Choose Paint Colours: It’s All in the Undertones to learn how to get colour to do what you want.

If you would like your home to fill you with happiness every time you walk in, contact me.

To make sure the undertones in your home are right, get some large samples!

If you would like to learn to how choose the right colours for your home or for your clients, become a True Colour Expert.

17 Comments

  • Ginger says:

    I just like something that runs and doesn’t require me to take out a loan. 😉

    Do you think the trend in dark cars is passing? It seems like I am seeing more light blues and softer greens.

  • Kat says:

    I wanted a color that would not be hot in the summertime and hides dirt. I wonder what that says about me 🙂 Our car is actually a light blue-gray. But if they had offered it in bright red, I would have chosen that, I think!

  • Mary says:

    My last four cars have been black with a cream leather interior – I just feel like it’s a classic combination that never goes out of style and I (obviously!) never tire of it. I’m not sure what that says about me though!

  • BillP says:

    I picked up a new car Friday. My previous four cars were white with either beige or gray interiors.

    This time I chose black on black, my first black car ever. Candidly, I’m still a bit uneasy about it, but figure it is time for me to leave my comfort zone. I guess the same can be said about interior design- we should all stretch to be a bit out of our comfort zones.

  • Denise says:

    I’ve never owned a car and never will. What does that say about me? It says that I’m concerned about the environment and don’t want to waste my money on something that I don’t need.

  • Our car colors have never been a factor in picking them. The deciding factors are 1)is it affordable for us and 2)does it work well…since we buy used cars.

    Color is rarely ever on the check list when purchasing.
    But right now we have a black SUV and a dark blue sedan…both used when we purchased them. 😉

  • kristin says:

    Color was one of my top hot buttons when selecting a car. It had to be blue with tan interior. I think the blue means confident, but not arrogant, and I liked it because none of my friends had a blue car – it made me unique! Plus a blue sapphire is my birthstone and my all time favorite color even as trends change!

  • Tawna Allred says:

    When I went to register my ’95 Subaru at the DMV, they asked what color it was. I had to pause….”I think we’ll call it brown. My husband says it’s purple. We’re not exactly sure.” It does have a nice spot of orange (rust). Ha ha! But it has a lot of life in it, and we don’t have a car payment. Throw in that it’s all wheel drive in a snowy mountain area and I have to say, whatever it says, I’m quite attached! I hope I can it stays alive a few more years.

  • Although I agree wholeheartedly that the colors you are attracted to say a little bit about you, I’m afraid the color of car you actually have says more about what the manufacturers thought would sell. And so many of us buy used, myself included. So, even though color is really important to me, as long as a car was the model and price I was looking for and the color didn’t actually embarrass me, I went ahead and bought it. If we all got to buy new cars and had a huge variety of colors available in any model, then I think this would be pretty valid. In that case, this year I would choose fuchsia, and I would have to get a new car every year because my favorite color is an ever-changing thing.

  • Lynda Curry says:

    I read an article (or saw it on TV) about this very subject, so I was curious if they were similar. What I remember most is the suggestion that we choose a car color that we would be unlikely to wear. When I chose my favorite car color – yellow -I realized that I rarely wear yellow. My sister who chose her orangy colored car, favors black in her wardrobe. My friend who always wears jewel colors, chose a white car. Hmmm…

  • Angela Taylor says:

    Personally, I stay away from RED! I recall reading that red cars are involved in more accidents! Maybe there’s a link here to the type of driver?

  • A caution word about grey colored cars – I find them hard to see when they come out of shady corner at certain angles they blend into the pavement.

  • StagerLinda says:

    My Lincoln MKX is “Creme Brulee”. People comment that it matches my hair.

  • M says:

    About as accurate as a horoscope

  • Paula Van Hoogen says:

    Ok, Maria, what colour is Your car?

    • Maria Killam says:

      I know I forgot about my car until the post was up. My car is gray but it was used so I don’t think it counts quite the same. I think gray is totally boring but it rains so much here it certainly hides the dirt! Maria

  • Sandy says:

    I wonder why so many car companies stick with the standard white, sliver, blue, black for car colors? Possibly those are the colors we’ve been conditioned {by car companies} to be comfortable with. I have a pearl white car because I don’t like dark colored cars, mostly I don’t like to have to wash my car that often. I love all the new colors the small Fiat cars have, if my car had come in {Verde Oliva} Fiat’s olive green, I would have chosen it.

Leave a Reply