You expect to see purple on Easter baskets, spring lilacs and wine for Passover. While it won't push out green as a wildly popular color any time soon, purple's appearance on the automotive scene doesn't surprise color experts. Check the color-scheme forecast from the Alexandria, Va., based Color Marketing Group. It is among 16 colors commercial designers are expected to offer in 1998 for everything from interior furnishings to clothing to, yes, automobiles. But while hot rods typically sport robust colors such as Prowler purple, a rich mid-tone shade, traditional passenger vehicles show trends of their own.
Luxury vehicles tend to be muted in tone.
Compacts and sporty vehicles often are done in brighter shades. Green has become so popular for everything in recent years that automakers now consider it as much of a basic vehicle color as white, black or red. The colors for future models are a closely guarded secret, so GM and others wouldn't talk color futures. And colors evolve from year to year. Forest green and other popular greens are giving way to newer hues.