[FONT="]I have a new 2010 Prius “Blizzard Pearlâ€. [/FONT] [FONT="]White apparently is most popular Prius color and often leads as top choice with many other makes and models, too. Why? Doesn’t show dirt, more easily hides scratches, appears to reflect heat?[/FONT] [FONT="]Any other advantages? Looking to feel better about tacked on $220 charge for what appears nothing especially special.[/FONT]
I too purchased a Blizzard Pearl, initially, because it was the first Prius V that was available at my dealership, but once I saw the color in person I fell in love with it. If you think that you are paying $220 for nothing, park your baby next to any other 'white' car out there, and walk around the cars and take a look. What you will see is that for only $220, Toyota added a third layer of paint to the process, adding depth and character to the look and finish of the car. Then try to price what other car makers get for their 'special' paint color, and you will see that they get between $495 and $899 for a similar 3 step paint. Overall, I think that Toyota does a great keeping some of these costs low. Try to find any shop that will price a 3 coat paint for only $220 more than they charge for a 2 coat paint job. I doubt that even "Earl Schieb"
Toyota made a lot of them, up to now ALL prius sold regardless. Blizzard pearl was not my first choice, but it is what was available. It's growing on me.
I got the white for all of the reasons you noted above, and in addition: (1) IMO, there is nothing sharper looking than a light-colored vehicle (e.g., silver or white) with darkened/tinted windows. That's why you will see nearly EVERY car ad today features a light-colored vehicle with tinted windows. All the first Prius Gen III ads were this way. (2) I also think that white helps the car stand out at dusk/dawn, or on dark/cloudy days. In that regard, white is (also) a safety feature. years back studies were done to try and assess which color was safest for school buses. Yellow was found to be best...but I suspect that any color that stands out from the background (ie trees/foliage and the road), like white, are also colors that provide a bit of safety edge. The only downside I've noticed so far is that bugs show up more on white, than they did on my black car.
I liked the idea of reflecting heat and the fact that it looks really cool under full sun or street lights. For me, it was a toss up between blizzard pearl and metallic silver, so I told the dealer to get me whichever of those two colors came in first.
Naw,....... what you guys need is Sandy Beach Metallic with a solar roof package and tinted windows Really look sharp and you won't loose in the snow :cheer2:
Silver used to be the most popular color for the same reason. With Model Ts, black was the most popular. Tom
Definitely light color is better in terms of safety. I originally considered Blizzaard Pearl until we saw a Sandy Beach in a local lot. Both my wife and I fell in love with the earthy color, which is more in tune with the environmental theme. Besides, we would like our car to be a little distinctive in the crowd. So we ordered a Sandy Beach. This decision delayed our ownership for 2.5 months because no dealer here had a V/ATP in this color. We had to drive to NJ to get one finally. In the survey by this site, only 4% people have Sandy Beach, out of about 1000 Prius owners. I bet my Sandy V/ATP is so rare that there shouldn't be more than 2 on the DC roads in any given day (unless someone at this forum correct me).:cheer2:
Was thinking the other day that I've completely lost count of all the 10s I've seen on the roads now - however I've only seen ONE Blizzard Pearl. Is it because here in New England anything named Blizzard has a bad connotation? Or white isn't quite so safe six months out of the year?? Edit - how well would "Hurricane Gray" sell in the south or "Wildfire Red" sell in California?
I currently have silver metalic and still love it. However, I LOVE blizzard pearl. It looks classy and you don't see too many around. The only issue I see is color matching in the event of body work that possibly may be needed.
You're paying for a 3-coat premium paint (and look at the amount of sheen there is on your white paint compared to a standard flat white). Check the PriusChat thread on the colours. We have a poll of colours and packages based on PriusChat members of course.
I thought that the darker colors would be best for a hybrid (absorbing heat to warm up the engine faster)? Or is this a misconception?
To the OP. You already own a Blizzard White? Then just enjoy it. All the reasons you site are often reasons people site for chosing white. $220 extra is nothing to worry about. You kind of sound like you aren't too high on it to start with, calling it something that "appears nothing especially special"? I mean, color choice is a very personal thing with people. Degree's of attached importance vary from individual to individual. I hesitate to offer an opinion about a color choice because it is so personal. White does have some tangible advantages. I'm not a huge fan of Blizzard White, BUT you either like it or don't. It if makes you feel any better the charge wasn't just "tacked on", it is a more labor intensive process for the metallic white.
It's the speckles that make the white different from the other whites. My mechanic said that the Blizzard Pearl would be a hard color to match if the car needed body work. Any comments on this?
A neighbor backed his wife's blizzard pearl Lexus into an object, resulting in paint damage. It was more expensive to repaint than if it hadn't had the "Pearl" effect. This was told to him by the body/paint shop guy. So yes, it is more difficult to get it to match, and you will have to pay for that if body work/repainting the car is required.