Seriously, Mazda...

Yes!  It's not exactly the shade of blue I'd pick, but I'd probably go buy one tomorrow if Mazda offered that. As someone who is willing to buy a new car now and again, I'm happy to vote with my wallet whenever I can.  I'm not sure one car is an effective vote, but it's got to be better than simply whining about it on the internet (which I'm also happy to do).  But given the difficulty of custom orders, it's really hard to vote this way!  I keep seeing statistics that say we can't have nice colors because people don't buy nice colors, but of course people don't buy nice colors because there aren't any to buy.  When I replaced my tow vehicle with a new Tacoma a couple years ago, I stood firm on most of the things: manual transmission, long bed, V6, 4x4...  Getting all that was hard enough that I had to give up on having any choice about the color.  Of the "available" colors, I'd have picked the blueish one.  Dealing with the reality of what was actually available, I have a black truck.

So when it comes to a new Miata, because I don't in any way need another Miata, I keep figuring I'll wait until I can get it with all the things that matter to me so that I can signal what matters to me. Right now what's missing is interesting colors.  But Mazda doesn't know that I'm sitting here waiting for an interesting color--maybe they think I'm waiting for paddle shifters or a hybrid drive train.

I wish I liked wraps, but my problem is that they look like wraps.  Or maybe there are some that don't, and so I've never noticed?  The best ones seem to be a matte finish, but I want my cars to be shiny.  Shiny wraps look like cheap wrapping paper.

DirtyBird222 said:

Keith Tanner said:

You have gone on and on and on about how Soul Red was awful because it was used on SUVs. Not everyone agrees, but I did acknowledge both the SUV heritage and the IMSA prototype heritage of the color in my first post because I knew you'd get wound up. Nobody has ever said the rest of the color range for the ND was compelling. Relax, it's okay.

Wraps are a good option because people don't trust repaints ("what are they hiding??") although there has been a repainted ND running high level autox for years. It's a Jaguar color, IIRC. I salute his commitment but I don't think he chose the best shade. I have a friend who wrapped her ND in orange years ago because she loves orange :)

It's my understanding that part of the difficulty in custom paint colors at the factory is not just changing over the color in the booth, but also making sure that all the plastics etc age properly. We've all seen cars where the plastic nose cone changes color over time while the painted steel does not. This is annoying when it's a Hyundai but far worse when it's a custom Porsche paint job.

Wild. You'd think these billion dollar corporations that charge quite the premium for a vehicle, would have the know-how or capital to invest in the R&D to solve that issue. Times must be tough, especially with how chemical tech is progressing at such a slow and trepid pace. 

So who pays for the R&D for a one-off color? ;) 

Porsche will also print a copy of your thumbprint on the hood of your car. Not vinyl, basically a giant inkjet printer. I wonder what the take rate is?

AnthonyGS (Forum Supporter) said:

In reply to Keith Tanner :

I think you pontificated just now more than I did.  Wraps are a great option for most people, but they never look as good up close as quality paint.  
 

I just find it ironic after slagging on me yet again, you started a topic on Mazda's lack of colorful paint options.  Enjoy.

I have stated many times since the ND first appeared that the color palette is lacking. The one standout, to me, is Soul Red. You don't like Soul Red. That's where we disagree, and disagreeing is not "slagging". It's just disagreeing. I even acknowledged your opinion in my original post. Your opinion will not prevent me from ever discussing the ND color palette again, nor will any such discussion be a direct attack on your or your opinion.

Driven5 said:

There is no such thing as an "SUV color", or a "CUV color", or a "sports car color", or a "minivan color", or a "sedan color", or a "station wagon color", or a "hatchback color", or a "chep economy car color", or a "truck color", or a "racecar color" or any other such idiotic nonsense.

Ah but that's where you're wrong. There's a Toyota color and that is Beige. 

93EXCivic said:

I have to ask has the choice of colors ever stopped anyone from buying a Miata. What is more likely to stop someone buying a Miata the colors or having the car cost a decent amount more to cover the extra cost of Miata specific colors? The GR86 (which is really the only competitor) doesn't have a many more choices for colors (one more choice of blue).

People very much buy Miatas for the color. All those special editions in the NA era were nothing more than a one-year color choice and a couple of shiny bits. I don't know how many people don't buy Miatas because of the color choices (it's hard to come up with a negative number like that) but there's loads of historical data to show that people definitely respond strongly to new ones, especially limited edition ones.

Those who were around in 1996 may remember the fuss when Mazda dared to use Merlot Mica from the 1995 M Edition on an MX6. Totally ruined the Miatas :)

Keith Tanner said:

DirtyBird222 said:

Keith Tanner said:

You have gone on and on and on about how Soul Red was awful because it was used on SUVs. Not everyone agrees, but I did acknowledge both the SUV heritage and the IMSA prototype heritage of the color in my first post because I knew you'd get wound up. Nobody has ever said the rest of the color range for the ND was compelling. Relax, it's okay.

Wraps are a good option because people don't trust repaints ("what are they hiding??") although there has been a repainted ND running high level autox for years. It's a Jaguar color, IIRC. I salute his commitment but I don't think he chose the best shade. I have a friend who wrapped her ND in orange years ago because she loves orange :)

It's my understanding that part of the difficulty in custom paint colors at the factory is not just changing over the color in the booth, but also making sure that all the plastics etc age properly. We've all seen cars where the plastic nose cone changes color over time while the painted steel does not. This is annoying when it's a Hyundai but far worse when it's a custom Porsche paint job.

Wild. You'd think these billion dollar corporations that charge quite the premium for a vehicle, would have the know-how or capital to invest in the R&D to solve that issue. Times must be tough, especially with how chemical tech is progressing at such a slow and trepid pace. 

So who pays for the R&D for a one-off color? ;) 

Porsche will also print a copy of your thumbprint on the hood of your car. Not vinyl, basically a giant inkjet printer. I wonder what the take rate is?

Ask BMW or VAG who will gladly let you pay for that premium. 

In reply to Keith Tanner :

I think the idea is that the vast sums of money spent to develop predictable appearance and durability qualities in paint across substrates would be far better spent on a few color agnostic systems that could be reliably used long term, if they haven't already, rather than repeating the entire process of creating unique paint systems for each specific color that you seem to be implying. I would assume that's how Mazda was able to do all of those special edition colors over the years, including the 30AE orange.

Have automotive paint formulations changed so much in recent years that they can't even easily reuse older water-based colors?

In reply to Driven5 :

I'm not saying the R&D is why we don't see interesting mass produced colors, it's why the one-off thing is harder than we think it is.  When Mazda was doing those special edition colors, they were doing a few thousand of them so the R&D got spread out. They did 3000 of that orange 30AE, and the US allocation sold out in something like four hours. Why that made Mazda say "oh, people like bright colors, let's introduce one that's a slightly brownish silver to go alongside the silver silver and the two greys and the black and the bluish black" I have no idea.

I don't know what's changed in paint formulations (if anything), but I'll bet emissions requirements make a high volume paint shop quite a pain in the butt to manage. If they could dust off the Winning Blue color from 2006 that would make me quite happy.

In reply to Driven5 :

mazda is just cheap, they are an incredible small automotive company and they minimal amount of part numbers and unique tools they can keeps them afloat with crafty engineering and business practices. The cost of change over is likely too high to have a dozen color options. 

fidelity101 said:

In reply to Driven5 :

mazda is just cheap, they are an incredible small automotive company and they minimal amount of part numbers and unique tools they can keeps them afloat with crafty engineering and business practices. The cost of change over is likely too high to have a dozen color options. 

That's why a company like Mazda outsources their paint needs to a chemical engineering company like BASF, DowDupont, Nippon, etc that has likely already come up with a solution to those problems with their paint and primer formulas. The bottom line figuratively and literally comes down to the bean counters going "We can make this much more per unit if we only offer XX colors on this model. Even more so if all our models share the same pallette." 

As someone said earlier most people won't be turned away from a Miata due to color; but, damn a nice color on a car sure does make it better to look at when you aren't driving it. 

DirtyBird222 said:

Ah but that's where you're wrong. There's a Toyota color and that is Beige. 

They've been unbeiging themselves now, but there are at least a couple of generations that think of this color when they hear Toyota or Lexus.

Found the perfect paint job for Keith

Speaking of a Dirty Bird...

In reply to j_tso :

beige on beige on bronze I know all about it

DirtyBird222 said:

Found the perfect paint job for Keith

Ah, Starlight Mica. Very sought after. Such depth and texture. Every one is different, it's truly custom. 

In reply to Keith Tanner :

Ah, that explains why some look awesome and others are just ok! 
 

In reply to Keith Tanner :

So we agree if Mazda offered more Miata colors they'd probably sell more?  The entire palette is SUVish.  Sure it's palpable to many, and it saves money.  I just find it hum drum at best.  Soul red does look interesting in certain lighting but it's still pretty solidly in a grey scale with metallic and some red.  

I thought the 30th anniversary orange was a nice change.  I came pretty close to ordering one, but I've missed that boat now too.  
 

I also see FM isn't currently stocking ND swap parts :(.  

AnthonyGS (Forum Supporter) said:

In reply to Keith Tanner :

So we agree if Mazda offered more Miata colors they'd probably sell more?  

I work from home now (again) and can finally rationalize getting rid of my GD3 Honda Fit and buying a fun car that I would only drive on dry and sunny days. My wife has her own Fit that we can use year round so I now have the luxury of owning a garage queen. I've configured Miatas on the Mazda website many times but I hate every color they offer. In the past I had a red 1993 c package car with a tan interior and I want something with a similar pop of color. A new Miata would be a big stretch for me financially so I'm not going to settle on a boring color. If they don't offer something interesting,  I'll just continue to drive my Fit and wait for a vibrant color to magically appear in the pallet. It's  a shame because I really want a new Miata right now.

AnthonyGS (Forum Supporter) said:

In reply to Keith Tanner :

So we agree if Mazda offered more Miata colors they'd probably sell more?

We definitely agree on that.

I don't think the orange was actually a very flattering color for the shape in person, like the 1992 yellow. It basically blows out the surface details and removes any subtlety from the design. A little more metal in the mix to give some highlights would have been worthwhile, but may have required an expensive triple stage (like Lotus Chrome Orange) to make it work. Still, I'll take that over yet another grey/silver/beige, and the hunger the market showed for that color should prove to Mazda that it's worthwhile spending a little on real colors.

In reply to DirtyBird222 :

that doesn't matter, you still have to purge and change the line and thats interruptions in cycle time which is added cost and they can't afford that much variables it seems. 

I wish this wasn't the case because they had a lot of colors at one point now its all kinda meh. 

low volume painting is expensive and generally not worthwhile - even if they outsource it I have seen automakers put painting companies out of business because of this. 

jimbob_racing said:

AnthonyGS (Forum Supporter) said:

In reply to Keith Tanner :

So we agree if Mazda offered more Miata colors they'd probably sell more?  

I work from home now (again) and can finally rationalize getting rid of my GD3 Honda Fit and buying a fun car that I would only drive on dry and sunny days. My wife has her own Fit that we can use year round so I now have the luxury of owning a garage queen. I've configured Miatas on the Mazda website many times but I hate every color they offer. In the past I had a red 1993 c package car with a tan interior and I want something with a similar pop of color. A new Miata would be a big stretch for me financially so I'm not going to settle on a boring color. If they don't offer something interesting,  I'll just continue to drive my Fit and wait for a vibrant color to magically appear in the pallet. It's  a shame because I really want a new Miata right now.

But how much extra would you be willing to pay for that color? If it costs an extra $2 or 3k would you pay it?

In reply to 93EXCivic :

Yes.

j_tso said:

DirtyBird222 said:

Ah but that's where you're wrong. There's a Toyota color and that is Beige. 

They've been unbeiging themselves now, but there are at least a couple of generations that think of this color when they hear Toyota or Lexus.

Last week I had my Audi in for service, and was driving the loaner car around.  It was a white Q5, and looking around at a traffic light it occured to me that a white mid-sized SUV is today's equivalent of a beige or forest green Camry of the 90s.  Seen as stylish-yet-conservative at the time, and 20 years later the epitome of boring.

I agree, the ND body shape needs metallic. IMO the 30th AE orange just doesn't look right. 

codrus (Forum Supporter) said:

j_tso said:

DirtyBird222 said:

Ah but that's where you're wrong. There's a Toyota color and that is Beige. 

They've been unbeiging themselves now, but there are at least a couple of generations that think of this color when they hear Toyota or Lexus.

Last week I had my Audi in for service, and was driving the loaner car around.  It was a white Q5, and looking around at a traffic light it occured to me that a white mid-sized SUV is today's equivalent of a beige or forest green Camry of the 90s.  Seen as stylish-yet-conservative at the time, and 20 years later the epitome of boring.

Observation: parents drove station wagons --> wagons became uncool to their kids. Parents drove minivans --> they became uncool to the next generation. Parents today are driving SUVs...