These Are Your Favorite Yellow Cars
How could I be so stupid, to forget the Yellowbird?
Folks, I owe you all an apology. Earlier this week, I asked for your opinions: Which yellow car is the best yellow car? As always, I offered up my own opinion in trade, but I — a rube, a fucking idiot — forgot the greatest yellow car there is. I suggested the Lexus LFA, which while a solid contender, is not the RUF Yellowbird. I apologize for the error.
Luckily, many of you were smarter than I was, and suggested the Yellowbird. But that wasn't the only good suggestion — in fact, you all gave hundreds of answers to my little query. So, let's see what you all said: The best yellow cars ever made.
RUF Yellowbird
Ruf Yellowbird
HJTravels had something like a third of the top replies to this question. Yellowbird, S2000, and more. I try to only grab one response per person, which made whittling down their contributions very tough — but, of course, it has to be this. Whether they meant the original record-setting Yellowbird or the modern interpretation doesn't matter. Both rule.
Nissan Xterra
Early 2000's Nissan Frontier & Xterra
Yellow Nissan Xterra: The refined choice of mob sons everywhere.
VW New Beetle
I believe the VW New Beetle wore yellow quite well. It was a great fit for the character of the car.
My mental image of the Beetle is always that bright, pastel-y green they came in, but yellow is a close second. If I have to hear "yellow punch buggy no punch back" one more time, I swear to god.
Suzuki Swift Sport
I'll see you and raise you a Suzuki Swift Sport in Champion Yellow.
Quite fetching in person.
God I wish we got the Suzuki Swift here in the states. Imagine this happy little yellow guy, scampering about the roadways of North America. A sure way to brighten up your day.
Checker Cabs
When I think "yellow car" this is the one most suited to bear that phrase as a title rather than simply a description:
Holden Ute
Holden Ute in Hyper Yellow baby
No one does it like Australia, huh? High-powered utes in bright colors are almost — almost — worth the spiders. The later model ute pictured is Hazard Yellow, not Hyper, but chalk that up to image rights.
Volvo 850
Volvo 850 T5 R Wagon in Pleasant Muted Yellow
What an apt name. That really is a pleasant, muted yellow, isn't it? Exactly what it says on the tin.
Lamborghini Diablo
Diablo
When I think of a yellow Lamborghini, it's always the Gallardo that comes to mind. But maybe that's a generational thing — the Diablo ended production when I was five.
Mazda FD RX-7
Easy. The Competition Yellow Mica RX-7's.
I specifically requested Keisuke Takahashi's RE Amemiya FD RX-7 when asking the question, but I'll take this as an answer. Keisuke's car started the series in yellow, it was likely an original Competition Yellow car that kept its coloring through all the changes and bodykits.
Lotus Exige
Exige -
Simplify? Check. Add lightness? Done. But Colin Chapman omitted the most important step in making the perfect car: Paint it yellow.
Chevy SSR
*hits publish, runs away laughing maniacally*
Listen, I'm not here to judge. If you like the SSR, more power to you. I've got the number for a great ophthalmologist, and I'm just gonna write it down on a piece of paper and leave it on the table here. It's up to you whether you take it or not.
VW Thing
VW Thing, all day.
Volkswagen just knows how to make a good yellow. This is a much brighter, more saturated tone than the New Beetle got, but both are fun in their own way.
Pontiak Aztek
How is this not here yet?
Did you know Walter White's beige-green Aztek wasn't a factory color? The Breaking Bad team developed a color with the goal of being as bland and unremarkable as possible. Imagine if they'd given Walt this shade of yellow instead.
Volvo 240
Volvo 240. The wagon should be brown, but the sedan simply must be this gorgeous, creamy yellow.
This is very reminiscent of the Pleasant Muted Yellow from the other Volvo, but even pleasanter and muteder. Not yellower, since that would run directly contradictory to the other two, but still yellow enough to count.
Ducati 900
The Porsche 911s are close but this gets the cigar:
1992-1993 Ducati 900 Superlight
I cannot think of a less comfortable-looking place to sit than the seat of a Ducati 900. I simply must try one someday, to truly learn how it feels.