color – Zimbly Cars

2009 Vehicle Color Popularity (India & Global) from DuPont

December 2, 2009 admin

Dupont has published their annual studies of vehicle color popularity data for 2009. Am really happy to see that for the second year in a row India has warranted its own data collection and analysis. Till 2007 India was not considered separately and the closest was Asia which had data from Japan ! Shows India has reached a stage where the data coming from it is meaningful on a global scale.

: India 2008-2009 Vehicle Color Popularity

For India as indicated in the graphy above Silver still is the most popular color followed by white, red and blue. Last year White was the most popular closely followed by silver. Other colors constituted less than 6% each. Unfortunately DuPont has not released the breakup by other colors this time around.

On the global scenario silver is still the most popular color followed by black, white, gray and blue. Below is the trend of color popularity for the past 10 years.

: Global Colors Popularity 2000- 2009

The full DuPont report is here.

2009 – Vehicle Color Popularity from PPG

October 6, 2009 admin

PPG has released their findings on color popularity for 2009.

This is not as detailed as the data released by DuPont in their charts but can serve as a good reference. DuPont had the data down to a breakup for India as well. This is not available in the PPG press release.

Silver is still the most popular color the world over. Here is a summary of the breakup for Asia Pacific, North America and Europe. (Click on the chart image below for a larger version)

Read the details of the PPG press release source here.

Here is my older post with data from 2000-2008 from the DuPont studies.

Diesel Hatchbacks Comparison Chart Updated with Hyundai I20 CRDI

July 9, 2009 admin

The diesel hatchback comparison chart is now updated to include the Hyundai I20 CRDI Diesel. The comparison is for the highest end trims for all models. Why ? Because only then can we compare features to features. the lower end trims are basically diesel engine and chassis.

The list now contains the following:

Ford Fusion Plus TDCi
Skoda Fabia 1.4 TDI Elegance
Getz Prime 1.5 CRDI GVS
Suzuki Swift VDI ABS
Suzuki Ritz VDI ABS
Grande Punto Emotion Pack Multijet
Hyundai I20 Asta (O) CRDI
Palio Stile 1.3 SDX
Indica Vista Aura Quadrajet
Indica Vista Aqua TDI
Tata Indica V2 DLS BS III

The specifications are now color coded to indicate the largest dimension/best value/cheapest cost(green) and lowest dimension/value /highest cost(red). Hope this sheet is easier to read now.

The costliest is still the Skoda Fabia and the cheapest still remains the Indica V2.

The I20 is the second costliest in this comparison but also comes with a long list of features even longer than the Fabia.

Middle of the list with medium features and middle of road price is the Swift and the Ritz.

Here is the list : Diesel Hatchbacks Comparison Chart. Here was my original post on the diesel hatchbacks with more analysis on the data: Are you looking for a Diesel Hatchback ?

Thanks: A lot of feedback, errata identification and great suggestions from Jacob, Manoj and Vasu were used to update the older sheet – Thank you for reading through in detail and giving valuable feedback and pointing out the many errors !

Some items still pending such as mileage data for the latest updated cars and the performance figures for acceleration and braking. This will be done in the next update.

The I20 & I: I tried checking with the Hyundai dealership I bought my Getz from but they still do not have a registered Diesel or Automatic available for TD. They have promised to get me a TD as soon as their vehicles get registered.

Buy these vehicles in White only if …

May 14, 2009 admin

: Image by SOCIALisBETTER via Flickr

If you are a cab/tourist travel /call taxi operator, these are your most favourite vehicles of business:

Call Taxi Favourites:

Maruti Suzuki Omni (esp the LPG version)
Tata Indica (Indicab version)
Hindustan Ambassador

Travels/ Tourist Favourites:

Tata Indica (Indica DLS with A/c)
Tata Indigo/ Indigo XL
Tata Sumo
Chevrolet Optra
Chevrolet Tavera
Ford Ikon 1.8D & Flair
Hindustan Ambassador (with A/C)
ICML Sonalika Rhino
Toyota Qualis
Toyota Innova

Possible Future Cabbie Options:

Indica/ Indigo Vista (New lowest end trim just released for the Vista)
Hyundai Santro (New Cabbie edition is out)
Mahindra Xylo
Tata Sumo Grande
Maruti D’Zire

**Sad part is even if you buy them in any other color people see them as cabbie vehicles :-).

If you buy the above listed vehicles in white you have to get the following “Must Have” accessories as well:

Annoyingly Loud Horns
Blazingly Bright Headlamps and controls to use both horn and light with just a press of the horn to flash the lights non stop and keep honking non stop
Terry Towel Seat Covers
More Horse Power than Driver IQ ratio
Stereo music system with more watts & bass than required
Pointless stickers or either the puppy peeping from under the sheet, row of dogs walking, cricket ball breaking window, keychain hanging from keyhole,Ferrari or other exotic car name/logo stickers, NOS, Sports, Racing, Rally etc.

You are eligible to drive a vehicle with the above specifications only if you meet the following must have “Driver Attributes”:

Cro-magnon/Neanderthal intelligence (maximum IQ has to be atleast 20 less than vehicle Horse Power) & features
Cat like reflexes – to keep twitching between lanes
Bat like vision – to see atleast some things/vehicles on the road
Must not be able to hear other road users expletives. Otherwise hearing should be fine.
Rhinoceros Spec Skin (to ignore all the curses of all other vehicles). Buffalo spec skin is too thin.
Must know how to operate cell phone to keep asking cab company for directions
Must know how to navigate vehicle without using brakes but with only horn, lights and accelerator
For high end tourist/travels must be fluent in native language and butler style english if foreign customers are to be served.
Be able to sleep and drive. (Work all day/night and sleep whenever a few minutes are free)
Be a good runner, to out run mobs on foot after sleep and drive accidents

Any essential points missed out ? Do let me know.

PS: The car in the photo up top is an Indica Vista EV. It has not yet been launched – but when it is launched am sure it will be done with an Indicab trim as well.

Most Popular Vehicle Colors – 2000 to 2008

March 28, 2009 admin

DuPont releases data on vehicle color popularity for major markets across the world and in 2008 have included India data separately. I hope it will be tracked going forward as well. Here is the DuPont report for 2008. Lots of interesting data point there including variants on core color types, finishing, textures etc. While mentioning the textures something very interesting is Chrome finish paint. An example is seen here.

They have been tracking such data for US, Europe and Japan for close to ten years now. Though they haven’t given it in one single chart – Zimbly Cars spent the time to collate it from data made public by DuPont. Here is the trend for the past 8 years.

**2001 – I wasn’t able to find data for this year on the net – if anyone has it or knows someone in DuPont please let me know.

The most popular colors over the past 8 years for cars are White, Silver, Black and Blue. These have been fairly consistent and have not lost their charm over time.

Red has been a consistent color with no changes in popularity since 2004. Grey has been steadily increasing in popularity since 2004 and may be a serious contender to Black.

Black though considered a timeless color went through a small dip in popularity between 2002 and 2005 but has been increasing in popularity since 2005.

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