It takes a long time to do all those tests, so they have to plan years down the road for the colors they want to use next. Currently, we're working on the model year 2003 with the colors that we're showing to the automotive manufacturers. Daily prepares all kinds of different color samples for car designers to come in and look at. But unlike the little, flat, square samples you might see at your local hardware store, the automotive samples are much larger and are painted on curved panels, or even ones with all kinds of shapes and curves. This mimics the different shapes on a car body and lets the designers see how different shadows and light can affect the color.
Color can play a critical role in how a car looks.
Car designers do not want to make every car available in every color. That's because the size and shape of a car will affect how it looks - both bad and good. Certainly compact cars or sporty cars look better with primary colors or brighter colors, for instance, like bright yellow. There are a lot of cars on the market and some small trucks in bright yellow. While white is the most popular color today, it's closely followed by dark green.