One of the biggest appeals of a show like this week’s New York Auto Show is you get to see, touch and sit in supercars you otherwise might not get a chance to experience, like the Ford GT. It just sucks if the cars are painted black.
I have nothing against black cars in general. You want to buy a black Camry and look like an Uber driver? Go right ahead. You want ride around like a person who winks at cops and smells like cigars in a black S-Class? I won’t stop you.
I just wish automakers would stop painting their show cars black, because I can’t fucking see what’s going on.
Look at the pictures I took of the Ford GT and Nissan GT-R from the New York Auto Show this week. Yeah, you can tell what they are, and yeah, I can lift the shadows in the editor and try to give you an idea of the details, but it shouldn’t be this hard! Literally any other color choice would be better.
You want to see the contrast of the carbon weave with the metal bodywork? Too fucking bad, buddy! You want to experience the light bouncing around the corners, curves, bends and edges? Look elsewhere.
What’s even worse is that the Ford GT and Nissan GT-R were parked right across from each other by the main entrance, like two looming featureless shadows guarding the gate to hell.
Black-painted cars aren’t generally bad. They can look sleek, classy and sinister. But when you’re locked in a big room with only overhead stage lights beaming down unforgivingly on you like the judgement of a higher power, choosing to paint a flagship supercar in a shade that absorbs all light is not going to capture the attention nor imagination of most people walking by. And the photos will probably suck, too.
Plenty of other automakers got it right this year, especially the Germans. When in doubt, please just pick an actual color.