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bk15dcx t1_j4nzsw2 wrote

Reply to comment by houtex727 in TIL in 1967 you could buy a Ford Mustang in 47 different colors by MoreTacoPie

There's more to it than that.

Typically we have up to 22 colors (lines) in the assembly paint shop.

10-12 of those are standard, then we have limited and municipal.

We can only maintain so many colors/lines due to space and production capacity. The amount of time and money spent on selecting even a basic shade of white is mind boggling.

Also, with too many colors, mistakes in production can be made. I could go on but anytime I talk about vehicle assembly on reddit, people get all experty even though they've never set foot in an assembly plant.

In short, there are dozens of reasons you have 8-12 colors to choose from.

From marketing studies, line restrictions, supplier constraints, cost controls, to formulation, maintenance, vat space, and design selection.

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MoreTacoPie OP t1_j4on27p wrote

What happened to the days of custom ordering a color that they generally didn’t do? I’ve heard how you could submit the right forms to the right department and wind up with a Cleveland engine (the racing one), other people who were able to secure options and colors not generally offered, but still “factory”, as it were

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GumPaper t1_j4q2ofh wrote

Well those days are not over like bk has said but rather that a lot of manufacturers have recognized that there are only a few customers who would spend money on a 1 of 1 car so it isn’t profitable for them. Which is why this is mainly now a thing which luxury brands offer. Porsche‘s Exklusiv Manufaktur comes to mind.

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houtex727 t1_j4twq8n wrote

Later on, I reply.. :)

I totally get what you're saying. But you didn't see my list of 'options', which really aren't when you get down to it. Blues, Grays and Reds. White and black are really gray scale colors, so it's more like 5 grays, 3 blues and 2 reds. Which is woeful.

I totally get the reasons and all that but c'mon. Mustang's more exciting than that paltry list of color options.

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mbmbmb01 t1_j4pvg60 wrote

How does BMW (just as one example) handle the production of their huge Individual colour selection?

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chain_me_up t1_j4pzfiu wrote

They charge a 5 grand fee pretty much for custom color, BUT you can only get certain colors on certain styles/models still. Two of my favorite colors come on M cars, but I could never get them on the X1 or X2 that I want :/

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