Is there anything better than a cheeky little hatchback with a colour to match its feisty little terrier attitude? I was looking at the Abarth 500e here and thinking what an awesome colour:
Similar to the yellow of Peugeot:
And also in the vein of that awesome green that Mazda introduced a while back:
A little hatchback that shouts "look at me, I dare you" is a great thing to behold. Whether it's zipping through dark, rain-soaked, city streets, dancing down country lanes, or merely sitting, twitching, and menacingly announcing "I'm ready, are you?" it's always a special occasion. It is too from the driver's seat. You know you're behind the reins of an adrenalin-fuelled, jumpy, and twisty little beast, with more than a hint of ADHD, and it's your mission to give it a little bit more slack on the lead, but be prepared to tell it to sit and wait when the lights are on red. It will do, but only just.
People may argue that a colour makes no difference to how fast a car is, or how responsive it is, but deep down you know that's not true. Of course it isn't. Mazda was spot on when they called their green "spirited", as were Ford with their "Tangerine Scream" Focus.
However, unfortunately it seems that people aren't so enamoured with vibrant colours, and in New Zealand our favourite car colour isn't even a colour, but a shade. As a nation we like white, and it appears that if white isn't available then we go for silver as that's close enough to white.
Naturally, we could point to fleet vehicles and taxis, and yes, that would explain the reasoning behind many of the white vehicles on our roads. Though, if you drive anywhere for any length of time on New Zealand roads you will notice plenty of white vehicles with no hint of a sticker, nor the aroma of an Uber. Therefore white is very definitely our colour (shade) of choice.
Maybe we're not quite brave enough. Maybe we approach the dealership telling ourselves "say yellow, say yellow" and then when asked, we panic and sheepishly murmur white. It's a sensible colour, easier to keep clean, apparently, and less likely to be in an accident. It's a sensible colour, a proper colour for a proper grown-up, not a boisterous eyesore that suggests you're at one with the reckless youth.
But don't do it, please, don't pick a white hatchback. You will do a disservice to yourself whilst placing your little hatch inside a cage from which it will never escape, never run free like nature intended. Everyone will feel so much better if you choose a vibrant colour. You will feel better, other drivers will feel better, people gazing distractedly from bus windows will feel better. Even the cattle you zip past will feel better, and they're colourblind. Everyday you'll look outside to appreciate your hyper little yellow, orange, red, or green hatchback friend, and he or she will grin back at you with a twinkle in its eye, politely asking "can we go for a drive?"... and you will respond "oh yes!"
