Autoblog

Normally, when you want to change the paint color on your car, you're facing lots of disassembly, extensive prep work, and expensive time in a spray booth followed by seemingly endless hand blocking. Instead of the conventional method, a new technology might be on the way to make a color change as easy as twisting a knob. It's actually quite similar to the magic General Motors has wrought with their magnetorheological dampers. The variable-color paint works this way: prior to paint, the body gets a special polymer coating that's got paramagnetic iron oxide particles in it. When a current passes through this coating, the ferrous particles change their alignment, which alters the way they reflect light, effectively changing the car's color. The default color when the car's not running is white, which hints at a future of exceptionally bland parking lots if this technology takes off.

[Source: Motor Authority]

When I was a kid, I used to sit in front of the computer and draw up concept cars on Microsoft Paint. It was, and still is, a very primitive application, but it was simple enough for me to use back in grade school. I even designed the graphics for a local ISP's website on MS Paint, but that was the extent of it.

Here's someone, meanwhile, with the know-how and the skills who decided to render a Lamborghini Murcielago, with considerable detail and skill, all on Microsoft Paint. What's more is that he captured the entire process on video and uploaded it to YouTube, from blank page to finished product. Someone with too much time on his hands? Probably, but his video has been making the rounds. And remember, if the time-lapse nine-minute video has you bored halfway through, think of how long it must have taken him in real time.

[Source: Jalopnik]

Look away, look away, look away, Dixie Land!

Some things are just unnatural, and should never be attempted. Does the paint job give this car any pop-culture cred via osmosis? Yes, yes, calling it the "General Zee" displays a modicum of wit, but we can't condone trying to splice in cool with a paint job. Us Gen-Xers will always have a soft spot for the orange Charger with pushbars out front and "01" emblazoned on its welded-shut doors. Giving that treatment to a 2002 Z-28 does not make it a collector car, even if the abomination has under 40,000 miles on it. There's a "Dixie" horn setup, and enough amateur-grade extra wiring is present in the underhood shots to make us cringe visibly. Our favorite modification has to be the muffler, which "has holes added to enhance the sound quality of the V-8 engine." The dead newspaper tycoon operating the T5-6 is a nice touch, too. Must be a one-off, 'cause that's the first we've heard of a "Hearst" shifter. Reserve is not yet met at a current bid of $7,100. Us, we'd use that cash as a downpayment on a General Lee replica that's at least a Mopar, though an Omni GLH dressed up in this type of drag would be equally repugnant.

Thanks for the tip, Aaron!

[Source: eBay]

There's no shortage of crossover between the aerospace and automobile industries, with carmakers regularly borrowing ideas from airplanes. Car manufacturers like BMW, Mitsubishi, Saab and Rolls Royce all have roots in building airplanes, but the Dodge Viper? Sure, Carroll Shelby, on whose Cobra the Viper was modeled, used to be a fighter pilot, as was Bob Lutz, but that's still a bit of a stretch. Aerospace retrofitters Northwest Helicopters took a shot at bridging (or at least flying over) the divide with a big ol' Huey painted to match the company owner's Viper SRT/10 coupe.

The firm was reportedly fixing up the chop-lifter for a show and was looking for a way to get it noticed. After driving around car lots looking for the most vibrant of tints, they decided to go with Viper Racing Yellow, and painted the helicopter to match, complete with silver stripes.

The chopper was apparently a big hit at the show, and the owner is undoubtedly the only one to have matching Huey and Viper. (Sure beats matching luggage.) One big difference between the two, aside from the obvious: take a close look a the picture and you'll notice the M60-D cannon mounted to the side of the helicopter, something you're not likely to see on a Viper (unless, of course, Dodge steps in for Aston Martin in the next Bond film).

Thanks for the tip, Dave!

[Source: DavidPitlyuk.com]

Quite simply, rust sucks. Most any vehicle regularly driven during winters in the Salt Belt will fall victim to corrosion, and the various spray-on undercoatings available from the aftermarket have their shortcomings. Specifically, the spray-on application of these coatings often results in incomplete coverage, and what is applied will typically degrade upon repeated exposure to a decade's worth of abrasive road debris.

After dropping the fuel tank on our 1996 Buick Roadmaster, we found some oxidized ugliness despite the vehicle's near-impeccable maintenance record. Fortunately, the damage was caught before significant amounts of sheetmetal were lost, and modern technology has provided us with the tools to keep the situation from getting worse.

Did you think the Porsche Turbo with the camouflage paint job was strange? Then try this on for size. Japanese streetwear brand Bathing Ape (think Fubu or Marc Ecko from the land of the rising sun) seems to have a knack for taking the most expensive, exclusive high-end automobiles on the market and giving them a "different" paint job.

This repainted Veyron at least remains faithful to Bugatti's two-tone rule: the side panels get a rather unique pink and purple camo job, while the hood and rear panels are in solid Pepto pink. Just as well, 'cause you'll probably need a bottle of Pepto after seeing this, anyway.

Glutton for punishment? There's an almost as revolting image of a camouflaged Rolls Royce Phantom after the jump. Don't think the camouflage will keep it hidden with all that blingin' chrome, though.

[Source: Ed Spivak via German Car Blog]

Silver has been the most popular color on cars for the past six years, and the godfathers of paint at PPG predict it will remain the king for quite some time. This fact doesn't stop these connoisseurs of color from searching for the next contender of silver's throne. On Thursday, PPG showed off its official color palette of 110 concept colors at its studio in Troy, MI, and revealed it expects more natural colors like brown, green, blue and gold will become popular by the end of the decade, when colors automakers choose today actually go into production.

It's a tough gig trying to predict what hues will be hot three years out, so PPG tracks high fashion, architecture, and consumer goods to get a bead on future color trends. As always, new technology also continues to change the color wheel. Paint additives called effect pigments are increasingly being used to change the make-up of paint. For example, some may remember the optional "Mystichrome" paint offered as an option on the 2004 Ford SVT Mustang Cobra. It contained aluminum flakes and mica and was applied using a different process than normal. The effect was a paint job that shifted color from a metallic topaz to cobalt blue to royal purple to deep onyx black. Trick paint like that, along with more natural tones, is in our future, but silver will not soon be supplanted as our most preferred paint.

[Source: The Detroit News]

Hot Rod magazine is bemoaning the lack of interesting paint colors and schemes on today's street machines, and who can blame them? It was just last week that we had the same conversation with some local gearheads. Sure, we love the subtle silver and grey of Joe Rogan's Sick Fish 'Cuda, but it seems as if the majority of custom vehicles have pulled back just a bit too far from the garish paint schemes of the 1980s Pro Street movement, and have left us with a limited palate of monotone boredom.

The question then becomes a matter of where to go from here. The psychedelic schemes in Hot Rod's gallery come mostly from the hippie aesthetic of the 1960s, and so it would seem that any new trend would need to be equally rooted in contemporary times instead of simply borrowing from the past. With that in mind, what makes sense? Joshua Davis has produced prints for BMW that were computer-generated from a variety of character lines and the available colors for the roadster. Perhaps a similar technique could be applied towards coding a program that would design the appropriate paint scheme when given a variety of inputs. Considering how computers are taking over every other aspect of the automobile, it's only appropriate that they assume a larger role in the appearance as well.

[Sources: Hot Rod; Wired]

The National Association of Manufacturers brings us an educational treat for a fun TGIF - an insider's look at manufacturing the BMW Z4. The vehicle, built at Bimmer's plant in Spartanburg, South Carolina, gets the soup-to-nuts treatment from NAM with subject matter and descriptions accessible enough for non-engineers. Check it out to learn more about BMW's assembly and finish techniques, as well as an opportunity to eat up the eye candy that is the BMW Z4.

[Source: The National Association of Manufacturers]