Toyota missed the boat on color selection!

Blizzard Pearl looks nice on some cars. I've seen similar colors on other makes. It would be my second choice after Blue Ribbon metallic. So why didn't I get it?
I live in New England and nothing is harder to see in the snow than a white car. People don't see it when they park or when it's really snowing you are practically invisible to them.
We get some very high snow banks here during the bad snow storms and you just aren't seen as easily. In the summer it's a non-issue but for winter driving I want the other cars to see me in the winter. We have a lot of Prius' in town but I don't recall seeing any white ones.
Something to consider for the Snow States.

 

Interesting, and interesting they call it Blizzard Pearl no less! - Can't be seen in a blizzard? I'm getting BP here in California and thinking it's one of the more visible colors on the road.

 

I'm glad some people are finding colors they are happy with, but we're in the camp of the original poster. We're really struggling to find a color in the lineup that we could be happy with for 20+ years.

 

For grins I checked out the Civic Hybrid site and available colors.

The grass sure isn't greener on that street. blahhh.

To be fair, the Insight has similar exterior colors as Prius, but only 2 interior choices, gray and blue fabric.
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$27,560 Total MSRP
2009 Civic Hybrid

Exterior Color







Exterior color: Magnetic Pearl

Interior Color


Interior color: Blue


Build and Price a Honda - the Official Honda Web Site


2010 Honda Insight Hybrid - Exterior Colors - Official Honda Web site

 

I was just thinking about this whole color issue. Some points that came to mind:

1) Most mass produced cars are no longer made "to order", which limits the available color choices. In other words, you may tell the dealer what you want, but they don't call or fax the factory and have the exact car built for you these days. Instead, they try to find what is already available in the colors of your choosing and with most of the options that you want.

Therefore, if a manufacturer has too many color choices, the possible combinations that have to be made available go up greatly. So for a car with 6 option packages and 7 colors, you have 42 possible combinations that would have to be produced and stocked (and that's not even counting interior color options). If you add three more colors for a total of 10, then you need to produce 60 different versions, etc. Therefore, it is in the manufacturers best interest to minimize the possible color choices for each region.

2) Not all colors look equally attractive after you have owned them for a while: prior to purchasing the Prius, we had test drove several models from different manufacturers. One color that we particularly liked was the "Orange Revolution Metallic" found on the Honda Fit. It was interesting that the salesperson (a younger man), made a comment that seemed to indicate to us that he we might want to be certain that we "really" liked that color. I forget his exact comments now, but I remember getting the impression that he was worried that we might not like it as much after we had owned it for a while (that is, we might get tired of it).

Looking back now, I see what he meant. A color like that reminds me of "cotton candy": it tastes great at first, but after you've had enough of it, you get sick of it.

3) Some colors that were not attractive at first seem to "grow" on you after a while: when we bought our 2009, we settled on what I called "old man blue", a.k.a. Seaside Pearl. It reminded me of the color cars that some retired citizens seem to prefer. Of the options that were available to us, my wife liked this one, and I liked it better than plain white (which seemed to us to make the G2 Prius look like a pregnant guppy).

Strangely enough, after owning the car now for a couple of months, I can honestly say that I really like the Seaside Pearl better than most of the other options. Especially when it is clean, it really "glows". It's easier to keep nice looking than the darker colors, without being as "boring" (my wife's assessment) as my usual favorite car colors.

So when I think back now to the "Orange Metallic Revolution", versus the "Seaside Pearl", I'm glad that we never had the former choice when buying the Prius, or I might now regret it!

 

In California it's a non-issue since you only have snow in the mountains there. Here we have it all over and when you poke your cars white schnoz out into traffic to see where you are because there is a huge white snowbank blocking your view, then you risk being hit.
Here is a pic of my driveway before being plowed after a mild storm mid winter.

 

You guys all fell for the troll? Seriously?

 

I agree the original OP. Toyota has really made color selection for the 2010 Prius a tough issue.

I'm happy for the people that have found a color that they like, but, for us, it's the hardest part of deciding which one to get. Models? No problem. Options? No problem. Color selection? Very tough.

We have yet to see the Winter Gray, but all indications are that it's too dark to be practical for us -- would show the dirt too quickly.

Since we think we'll probably drive this car at least 20+ years (last gas powered car for us?), it makes the color selection even harder since we're going to be living with it for LONG time...

 

What kind of options can you get on a II to make the price $2,200,000?

 

I agree completely ...

I am finding the car looks quite different in different lights ... can look fairly white in certain settings, then a little more eggshell in others ... yet it never does look eggshell or like it's tinged with tan. Overall I just love it!

I parked next to a 2007 in Super White today and just marveled at the differences both in the re-model and in color. General people may not notice the changes as much, but those of us who KNOW the Prius inside and out will realize this is a whole new beast

 

Wings and a flux capacitor?

 

Toyota is in the business to make cars, not "statements". The only cars that ever sold well in green were MGs, Jaguars, etc. in British Racing Green, but that is from another generation. I love my basic lack of color white. If you want to make a statament, go see Earl Schieb Auto Painting. I bought my car to drive, not make enviro-statements.

 

Oddly enough despite that I am in the "environmental" business I feel exactly the same.

 

USA Toyota colors = Buick Colors. Very sad. Appeal to the older generations.

 

Well, after they got rid of Salsa Red everthing just went to hell.

 

Any car you drive makes a statement about you whether you intended it or not. I don't want green in order to make an enviro-statement. I just like the color (not all greens -- don't like the silver pine mica, for example). I buy a car "to drive" too. But I choose a car with the combination of features that pleases me the most, and that would include the color. After all, I have to look at it every day. I want to be able to love looking at it.

 

When I drive my car, I can't see even one painted surface, except maybe the rear view mirror housings. If you just want to sit outside and stare at your car, go for it. While driving, any color pretty much drives the same. My Impreza is a red similar to the old "Salsa", Subaru calls it "Sedona" red. I love looking at the hood red hood and scoop. In the Prius it hardly matters because I can't see the hood, anyway. Happy and colorful motoring!