Black cars! We all love them, I think, even if we don’t love owning them so much, because they look terrible when dirty. But if I’ve got pay-for-a-weekly-detail money, I’d definitely consider going black. And I mean black black, not some metal-flake anthracite or really dark silver-gray Midnight Rensezvous or whatever.
Exactly how much I want the car to be black depends on the car in question. I like my obnoxious sports and/or muscle cars to be equally obnoxious in their paint hues – lime green, banana yellow, bright AF orange – you get it. Ditto off-roady things and convertibles and hot-hatches, anything meant to put fun ahead of practicality. Give me a nice, bright color there.
Of course, it all depends on the specific car. The Subaru WRX is something I’d expect to want in a snazzy shade like the nice red below, but I don’t love the goofy plastic wheel-well surrounds and the black lipstick on the nose. But put a coat of black on the WRX, and it’s all homogenized nicely. I’m sure we can all think of a bunch of other plastic-not-so-fantastic cars that would benefit from a blackout treatment.
If we’re talking luxury or some kind of grown-upness (or sinister adulting), that’s where I think black cars really look best in general. Examples abound, but some obvious ones to me are the Chevy Impala (you know the one) and Mercury Marauder:
Mercedes S-Class? Gotta be black. I’ll have a W140, please.
Range Rovers should also be black, I think. I’ve been watching a lot of Slow Horses and The Diplomat, and MI5 is always turning up in a fleet of the things. And every time, I think, “Yes, those look good.”
Your turn: what cars are best in black?
Top graphic images: Ford; AC/DC via YouTube
I’m not bringing anything new to the chat here, but you already hit it with the full size sedans, it just works. I also think Cadillac Escalades only look good in black but they do need some chrome (they’re Cadillacs after all). If you want a color, get a Suburban. I guess the same thing applies to the Lincoln Navigator too.
any fullsize boaty american sedan from mid 60s to mid 90s
I loved the black Ferrari 512 BB that was on the cover of an issue of R & T.
1967 Cadillac Eldorado (with the black and white houndstooth inserts on the seats.)
Lincoln Towncar, Escalade.
Early to mid 1960s Mercedes limousine. Must be flying diplomatic flags of some banana republic and said dictator must be in the back seat with a pair of partially undressed high end call girls, several bottles of champagne, a dropped mirror of coke and on the phone angrily calling in air strikes on his rebel enemies.
1990 SS 454. i may be biased because i had one in high school but i loved how menacing my truck looked. after deleting the cat it sounded the part too.
Holy high-school rig, Batman. That’s fantastic.
The Mazda CX-30 has those too-fat wheelwell trims in unpainted black plastic. Though I don’t find them quite as visually offputting as some do, they’re less of an eyesore if the car itself is painted in a dark color. So, a black CX-30 generally looks more put-together than in another/lighter shade.
Old Beetles look best in black too, if I’m being honest. Perhaps it’s because it makes them look like the very early N-word (the other N-word) prototypes seen in WW2-eraish photos.
I think Miatas SHOULDN’T be black, though mine is. Mine looks OK black, but that’s really only because it’s sporting a hardtop, which looks great in black.
Agreed on the CX-30. My wife generally prefers a light color car but we got our CX-30 in the dark blue (it is almost black except in the sun) because it hides the awful trim around the wheels. The car is so good that even the ugly trim did not stop us from buying it.
I really wish Mazda had more actual color options for the Miata and the Mazda3 (hatchback especially). Soul Red is lovely, but a nice orange, yellow, lime, British racing green, and electric blue would suit them both well. Full disclosure: Polymetal Gray Mazda3 hatch owner here.
The CX-30 really does have an excessive amount of chunky black trim, but that wasn’t the deal-breaker for me; I just preferred way the 3 hatch felt on the test drive. The CX-50 also has a thick band of black wheel well trim, but the proportions just seem to work better to my eye, even in lighter shades.
I agree of course. 🙂 I always want more color choices and yes, as nice as whatever permutation of Soul Red looks, if you don’t want it, you’re mostly just left with monochromes.
I’ve been seeing a lot of metallic yellows over the last 2-3 years, at least as wraps, but it’s not as widespread a trend as metallic teal and metallic orange were back in the 90s-00s.
Polymetal grey sometimes has a bit of a bluish tinge in daylight, so there’s that. It makes sense that the 3 would feel a bit more interactive/responsive than the CX-30 in spite of the fact that they’re the same platform/drivetrain, given that the 3 has a lower center of gravity and I suspect it might be a tiny bit lighter too. Also, the 3, being a sporty subcompact car, is probably tuned a bit differently than the 30 is. Being almost old, I sort of lean toward the 30, just for the higher ride height/ease on ingress/egress.
I’ve made peace with the thick unpainted black plastic on the 30, but if it’s really a PITA, I suppose a long-term owner could spring to have it painted body color (or gloss black, or whatever). I’m a little suprised Mazda itself doesn’t do this on a higher trim level of the 30.
Ah yes, the “almost old” thing hits. As a fellow man of a certain age, I definitely considered the 30 for the very same reasons you mentioned. Truth is, for 90, maybe 95% of my use, the 30 would have been fine – I’m not often carving corners at ludicrous speed. Well, not that often. Perhaps if I’d insisted on a little more time to dial in the seating position for the test drive, I’d have ended up in the 30. Meanwhile, I barely had to fiddle with the 3 to find myself in the Goldilocks zone – at that point, it was decision made.
Mercedes-Benz 600
Ford Model T, of course.
I’m sorry, but none. I’m sorry, but to my mind, but none. Color is what we band things. I see that quality paint is really [REALLY] expensive these days, but we need colors. I understand that good paint is few and war bextwween, but the flat blak jaxt sucks.
Hearse. It’s OK in black because it’s sad duty is to be as anonymous as possible. Black is a total lack of imagination. Black is something you fade to. It’s a final destination. I’ll go sit quietly in the corner now.
The Beast! Whoever decided our presidents needed a Caddy, and that Caddy needed to be black NAILED IT. Try to picture it in any other color. Not even gunmetal gray would have the same gravity as that slutty shade of black.
Has anyone noticed if he’s turned the chrome trim into gold guilding on those yet ? Asking for a friend.
London cabs.
Any of the current big fuguly grill cars, assuming the grill is black. All those cai with the inexplicable black piece on the rear pillar.
53 Studabakers?
Buick Grand National. The T-types in various colors still look good, but the GN looks best. Beyond that, I’m not sure the are any other cars that look best in black. The ’94-96 Impala SS looks great in black, but better in the dark cherry and grey-green colors. Same with the Mercury Maurader where the dark red looks better than the black. I think I just realized I’m not a fan of black cars…
You’re not wrong about the Impala or Marauder – the other (still dark) colors actually look great b/c they’re unusual. Everyone got black; being the person who didn’t often surprises people. My Mustang is dark blue for exactly this reason.
Came here to read this! Lord Vader, your car is ready!
I respect unique and unusual colors (especially a good blue), but 94-96 Impalas need to be color matched to my soul – jet black.
For the most part, cars that only show up at your dad’s factory to close it.
I want to see Adrian Clarke’s take on this! (aside from the Ford Capri MkIII he seems to lust after)
Personally, I think a Triumph GT6 looks great in black. Same with a Mercedes 300 SDL. But maybe I’m biased because I’ve owned both these cars, and still have the GT6.
There’s also the Ford Falcon XB Coupe, for obvious reasons if you understand the origin of my username.
Another good choice: mid 1950s Cadillac Series 60 Fleetwood Special
Yeah, where is Adrian? This is totally his bag.
He is sobbing in a corner since he was seperated from his beloved SsangYong Rodius.
He may have put up a good front of hate but his heart cannot lie.
Lament! Repent!
Oh, mortal you.
We’re going to find out Adrian adopted a puppy and named it Rodius.
It’s the same as fashion, black is slimming and tends to hide design elements, brighter colors accentuate.
Fresh designs are often best highlighted in white, bright colors, or even matte. As a design ages, black tends to work best.
Clean black can make your ride look younger.
1967 Buick Riviera. That guy on YouTube who runs the “Rare Classic Cars and Automotive History” channel has one. It’s stunning in black.
67 Eldorado… Rivieras need to be silver.
Rivieras do look amazing in black, but the problem is, they look amazing in many colors. I’ve seen gold, maroon, and even silver or green Rivieras that I thought looked just as amazing.
Maybe it’s just an amazing-looking car in general?
Whatever, a black Riviera does look incredible, no argument about that.
Toyota Crown
Toyota Century
Most Audis
We’re well into the second comment page and no one has mentioned the Toyota Century yet?
Soviet limousines – ZiLs and the lesser Chaikas
Dodge M4S Turbo Interceptor (The Wraith, PPG Pace car, etc.). Black worked better than the weird iridescent thing.
Such a delightfully aerodynamically slippery bastard, too.
Cars you park outside in the winter in places you get snow.
It’s why I got a Leaf in black, because I knew I was going to street park it for a couple of years, and in general BEVs handle the cold much worse than ICE vehicles (much less waste heat and much less energy to convert to heat).
Welp my theory held up. Most the time in below freezing temps the limited frost and snow we get most of the time melts off the car before noon and the car is noticeably warmer than the exterior temp.