We've been hearing about this kind of thing since the mid-80s, but it appears an actual color-shift system could be in place by early next decade, reports World Car Fans. It's the next step from Nissan's self-healing paint, a paramagnetic paint system that can change color from a default of white to a range of shades. It's a polymer-based substance containing tiny iron oxide particles that can be manipulated by an electric current. Doing so adjusts the distance between the particles, altering the wavelength of visible light, and thus the color shade. It's good news for small cars, which will soon be able to blend in with their surroundings so they're not eaten by birds, a growing insurance liability issue. [World Car Finns]
The New Switcheroo: Electrical Chameleon Paint Changes Color
1:15 PM on Thu Nov 8 2007
By Mike Spinelli
2,073 views
37 comments













Comments
I want a hypercolor Nissan GT-R!
The Man won't allow it. Mark my words.
@beercheck:
What do you mean I can't kill my lights and pull into someone's driveway after changing color?
There's nothing wrong or illegal about that! (Say nothing of the activity directly before that caused the need for the sudden stealthy parking...)
Spent the last few minutes blowing my nose after the coffee I snorted/choked on. Good to see you posting again Spinelli.
The suspect is driving a red, no green, damn make that blue, Oh my GOD he's turned plaid!
it makes you wonder how many shades of ugly are out there.
@Ray Wert: My only question is whether or not it will stop responding or just stay white after you wash it a couple of times.
I wonder how accurately you can control the color change. I bet you could rig a type of special plotter and print patterns or pictures.
It would put airbrushing to shame.
World Car Finns? Think you did a boo-boo writing the text for that link there.
Anyway, if this does come about I wonder how easy it will be to change the colour. Not so much an issue of The Man not allowing it, but rather how much money will The Man want for the privileged of using something like this? I'm guessing quite a bit. Still a cool bit of tech.
"All cars be on the lookout for a re...blue...no green-ish...now its yellow!"
@POLAR: Ever seen the movie "Johnny Dangerously"?
That whole scenario happens towards the end.
My favorite movie of all time. Watch it. Plays on Turner Classic Movies.
"It's an 88 Magnum. It shoots through Schools."
I'm connecting mine to the sub-woofer channel.
@Evander:
Duckies and bunnies
such a great movie
-Iron Oxide in the paint!?! -Great; it's rusting already!
@Evander: My mother drove a Lexus once... ONCE!!
@Evander: My mother slapped me in the face once, ONCE!
@POLAR: OOOPS! Forgot my meds, YUK, YUK!
Sweet, now we can recreate the opening scenes of Cannonball Run with the Lambo... but in a Nissan. Hmm. Who would we choose to pull the license out of their cleavage?
@POLAR: Exactly what I was thinking. Perfect for the getaway car!
@Evander: Ha ha! You farging icehole, you stole my pop culture reference!
Oooh ooh oooh... this was also a feature on that horrible Knight Rider 2000 movie or something like that... I totally remember... They were being chased and went into a tunnel and changed color, then came out and got away or something... they called it 'electrostatic paint' or 'fiber optic paint' or something like that though. I totally remember.
@ThnderbltDoherty: "I would like to direct this to the distinguished members of the panel: You lousy corksuckers. You have violated my farging rights. Dis somanumbatching country was founded so that the liberties of common patriotic citizens like me could not be taken away by a bunch of fargin iceholes... like yourselves."
Yeah, but does it transform?!?!
I can't see how different color fenders is worth the effort to develop this sort of technology. You wanna impress me? Make my cockpit glass turn opaque white whenever I hit the lock, so I'm not crawling back into a sauna all summer long.
@Tanshanomi: I remember seeing a car at the San Diego car show that used this technology for a sunroof.
@LTDScott: Maybach?
@Evander: You shouldn't arrest me, Johnny. My mother arrested me once. Once.
Anyone else reminded of that Viper TV show from the 90's where the car changed from a red convertable into a modified grey hard top? We're getting closer! [www.youtube.com]
On further consideration, I realize the true calling of this technology. With this, one will be able to deterimine through empirical testing exactly which shade of yellow makes the panties drop the fastest when you're riding in your p***y magnet.
@pitchpitch: I got the CMYK breakdown dawg.
0, 18, 100, 0 = p***y city!
@disgustepated: That was the first thing I thought of when seeing this.
@beercheck: You may be right. I actually heard about this in the early/mid 90s--also, the paint changed colors depending on the angle you saw it from. (The same guy who told me this also told me the old mustang faces were coming back, which seemed really unlikely at the time). BUT the catch was the Man, who did not want vehicle identification made more confusing, since color is the primary means most people--excluding Jalopniks--use to identify vehicles.
@Dr.Danger:
Awesome, I'll get some #FFCF01 paint and be up to my neck in p***y! Thanks!
I wonder if you could program it to change as you roll down the highway... telling the motorists around you how you really feel, by having your "courteous" message scrolled around the body of the car... like times square.
@boognish: Yes, so you can quickly flash really rude messages to jerks behind, beside and in front of you. With a special option to let it ripple and flash like a tripping cuttlefish!
@spaceman7: It'll probably be magnetite - the good rust!
I'm actually reminded of a TV show called Chameleon that featured a Ford Taurus station wagon that changed colors. I can't find any information about it online. I was hoping to find it in NetFlix, but it's not there. And after reading Disgustepated comment about the Viper show, I'm going to go look for that...
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