'Flat Grey'

[revrnd]

What is w/ the OEMs falling all over themselves to offer 'Elpo Grey' as a colour choice? The reason I call it that, is GM's electrodeposit primer is that colour. To me it looks like they ran the car or truck thru the elpo line, then bypassed the colour booths & then gave it a clear coat. Even the Corvette my dealer had in their showroom was that colour...

 

Plus it seem that if the vehicle is a metallic, there's an upcharge.

 

The colour choices appear to be getting fewer & fewer & the 'ones' that aren't black, white, silver, maroon are God awful. I see a new GMC Canyon @ the parts store I deal w/ & it's a yellowish green metallic  

[newdude]

Its just what's trending right now really.  I'd say Dodge with Destroyer Gray and then some German cars like Audi started the trend, as well as maybe the car wrap community.  

 

At least the ones GM has been doing are a metallic instead of just gloss.  Slate Gray Metallic on the pickups and Sea Wolf Tri-Coat on the Corvette although both colors are getting the axe after 2025 model year.  The flake helps them pop more than just plain clear coat.

 

Some of the others on the market are gloss with no metal flake and more fit the bill for primer with clearcoat.  

 

2026 brings White Sands solid to some of the pickups.  Here's a Trailblazer in White Sands solid.

 

 

Edited August 1, 2025 by newdude

[revrnd]

39 minutes ago, newdude said:

Its just what's trending right now really.  I'd say Dodge with Destroyer Gray and then some German cars like Audi started the trend, as well as maybe the car wrap community.  

 

At least the ones GM has been doing are a metallic instead of just gloss.  Slate Gray Metallic on the pickups and Sea Wolf Tri-Coat on the Corvette although both colors are getting the axe after 2025 model year.  The flake helps them pop more than just plain clear coat.

 

Some of the others on the market are gloss with no metal flake and more fit the bill for primer with clearcoat.  

 

2026 brings White Sands solid to some of the pickups.  Here's a Trailblazer in White Sands solid.

 

 

One of the 2024s the salesman found last year was the metallic grey/silver (it ended up being unavailable). Yes it did look nicer than the usual 'pewter metallic'.

 

Probably my familiarity w/ the elpo colour may have something to do w/ my distaste for it. The general public see it as a new colour.

 

PS: My grandfather's '66 Pontiac Laurentian was a similar colour as the Trailblazer.

Edited August 1, 2025 by revrnd

[Black02Silverado]

When I first saw that color, the first thing that came to mind is exactly that, they painted in grey primer and then just added a clear coat.  Crazy how popular it is. I wonder if they will do the same thing with the red iron oxide primer.

Edited August 6, 2025 by Black02Silverado

[Atlas]

This gray? On something the size of the Silverado it looks fairly drab, in my opinion. But so does silver, and nonmetallic colors are still fairly rare, so I can see why people might be drawn to them. It's something different.

 

.

 

Jeep was doing a flat gray for a while, which I think kind of fits with the motif. Wranglers are small enough not to be a billboard of flat color. Red accents definitely help, in my opinion. You used to see grays with red accents/trim highlights back in the 80's and I always thought it was a good mix.

 

 

The one that befuddles me are the flat tans. So, we go from primer gray with clearcoat, to military tan with clearcoat. GM offered a bunch of cars back in the 70's and 80's in a similar color. I always thought they were vomitrocious. The color earned the nicknames of "bisque", "mannequin", "prosthetic beige" in enthusiast circles over the years. But, I guess people think it's cool to drive around in military-esque vehicles. 

 

 

 

 

The trend of flat black also escapes me. Primered aftermarket body panels, anyone? Even when the car is painted professionally in flat black, it's a nightmare to maintain. I believe Toyota once offered it on some cars in its Scion lineup and quickly rescinded it due to complaints.

 

But...variety in the automotive world is a good thing, and so is a wide variety of choices. What might not be my cup of tea might be someone else's favorite.

 

I agree GM has struggled as of late to offer a lot of good choices. Most regrettably on the Silverado, a blue that isn't an eye-popping shade of Smurf. Can we have Northsky Blue back, please? No offering of a metallic black, just black now, I believe the Slate Gray is gone. Cypress gray is more green IMO, also nonmetallic. And who wants to pay for a color choice other than white? But here we are...

Edited August 6, 2025 by Atlas

[revrnd]

I refer to the tan as 'Desert Storm Tan'

 

As long as GM doesn't copy Plum Crazy and/or the bright green that have been Mopar colours since the muscle car era & now seen on Jeeps...

 

I see some Toyota pickups that are a green that looks similar to OD green.

 

I think Ive seen a couple of Cypress Green trucks in recent weeks.

 

 

[Black02Silverado]

7 hours ago, Atlas said:

This gray? On something the size of the Silverado it looks fairly drab, in my opinion. But so does silver, and nonmetallic colors are still fairly rare, so I can see why people might be drawn to them. It's something different.

 

.

 

Jeep was doing a flat gray for a while, which I think kind of fits with the motif. Wranglers are small enough not to be a billboard of flat color. Red accents definitely help, in my opinion. You used to see grays with red accents/trim highlights back in the 80's and I always thought it was a good mix.

 

 

The one that befuddles me are the flat tans. So, we go from primer gray with clearcoat, to military tan with clearcoat. GM offered a bunch of cars back in the 70's and 80's in a similar color. I always thought they were vomitrocious. The color earned the nicknames of "bisque", "mannequin", "prosthetic beige" in enthusiast circles over the years. But, I guess people think it's cool to drive around in military-esque vehicles. 

 

 

 

 

The trend of flat black also escapes me. Primered aftermarket body panels, anyone? Even when the car is painted professionally in flat black, it's a nightmare to maintain. I believe Toyota once offered it on some cars in its Scion lineup and quickly rescinded it due to complaints.

 

But...variety in the automotive world is a good thing, and so is a wide variety of choices. What might not be my cup of tea might be someone else's favorite.

 

I agree GM has struggled as of late to offer a lot of good choices. Most regrettably on the Silverado, a blue that isn't an eye-popping shade of Smurf. Can we have Northsky Blue back, please? No offering of a metallic black, just black now, I believe the Slate Gray is gone. Cypress gray is more green IMO, also nonmetallic. And who wants to pay for a color choice other than white? But here we are...

This is a local daily driver it seems.  

 

[txab]

I think this was the color Grand Prix i had. Soft nose. Thing was a tank

 

 

[customboss]

33 minutes ago, txab said:

I think this was the color Grand Prix i had. Soft nose. Thing was a tank

 

 

1977 babe magnet 

[revrnd]

Not specifically to topic but on Mon' I saw a fairly new Denali HD, white w/ the 'greenhouse' painted black. The A,B & C pillars plus the roof were painted. No company graphics on it, so I dont know what to make of it. 

 

Back in the day only the C (B pillars on regular cabs) pillar got the secondary colour. The painted hood must've been a change (or different option) as I dont recall my father's '75 regular cabs that was 2 tone as well having it. This was his '79 crew cab.