###### Abstract  
Since in the automotive field colors play an important role, the present study tried to answer the following questions: is the perceived quality (PQ) of the vehicle interior color different after visually exploring the car body color? If so, how? Here, exploiting immersive virtual reality simulations and eye-tracking technology, participants were asked to visually explore an unbranded car in different exterior/interior color combinations and rate its PQ. Fixation duration (time eyes are fixed on a target) was considered as an implicit measure of visual attention allocation while PQ evaluations were considered as explicit measures of individual preferences for car colors. As for eye-tracking data, the results showed that white and red car exteriors affected the attention to interiors with the fixation duration being longer for gray than black interiors. Moreover, the subjective evaluations of car PQ predicted eye-tracking patterns: as the negative evaluation increased, the fixation duration on car interiors also increased. Overall, these preliminary results suggested the need to further explore the relationship between PQ and attentional/motivational processing as well as the role of subjective aesthetic preferences for color combinations in the automotive field. p +
Footnote †: journal: Applied system  
e +
Footnote †: journal: Applied system  
evaluation of a vehicle or brand value [30; 31; 32]; it rather embraces aspects such as the aesthetic and functional attributes in satisfying customers' needs [33; 34], the quality and reputation of the product [35; 36] related to the purpose of the purchase, the alternatives in the market, users' expectations, and previous experience [30]. Evidence has shown positive and negative associations of colors, e.g., it has been shown that the most preferred colors are white, gray, black, and red as compared to others [6; 28; 37] and that color repetition and harmony principles can foster the perception of a pleasant interior car ambience [2; 29; 38]. In this perspective, [PERSON] and colleagues [2] aimed at identifying patterns in color choice of potential car customers by asking the participants to create different vehicle interior designs, after which they compared the most and least preferred color compositions. The results showed that the most preferred colors were brown and beige, while the least preferred was gray. Therefore, although the literature has addressed color perception in the automotive field, to our knowledge, no study has investigated whether the perception of the car's exterior color could influence the PQ of the interior colors [1; 6; 18; 28; 29]. Here we aimed at understanding whether and to what extent different color combinations of cars' exterior/interior sections affect users' PQ. Specifically, we wondered whether the PQ of a car interior is affected after visually exploring its exterior. Throughout immersive virtual reality (IVR) simulations, participants were asked to visually explore an unbranded car presented in different exterior/interior color combinations (e.g., same color: white exterior-white interior; different colors: white exterior-black interior, etc.) and rate its PQ with an ad hoc 6-item questionnaire recording the following aspects of the interior car ambience: (a) comfort; (b) pleasantness; (c) quality; (d) originality; and (e) efficacy. During the visual exploration, eye-tracking technology was used. Several psychology and neuroscience studies have recorded eye movement to understand the visual, cognitive, attentional, and motivational aspects of human performance [39; 40]. Evidence has been reported that the vehicle purchase decision can be attributed to color after a short visual exploration (up to about 90 s) [41]. This implies that eye-tracking can be a useful tool to assess individuals' behavior and to interpret their responses to different visual stimuli [42].