Congratulation to Chris Rado and Descendant Racing for the worlds first 6 second 1/4 run at Pamona raceway in SoCal last weekend. Look for some faster times as the car gets sorted out over the season.
scionracing.com
http://www.descendant-racing.com/
Watch the Record 6 Second Run below!!!!
Silver Gleams in First-Ever DuPont Global Color Rankings for 2009
Wilmington, Del. (Vocus) December 1, 2009 — DuPont announced that silver, black and white are the top colors in the first-ever ranking of worldwide vehicle color popularity. Now in its 57th year, the annual DuPont Global Automotive Color Popularity Report is the original and most authoritative source for automotive color popularity information and trends with detailed breakdowns for the top automotive markets as well as this year’s newly announced top global colors.
Top Ten Global Vehicle Colors:
1. Silver – 25 percent
2. Black – 23 percent
3. White – 16 percent
4. Gray – 13 percent
5. Blue – 9 percent
6. Red – 8 percent
7. Brown/Beige – 4 percent
8. Green – 1 percent
9. Yellow/Gold – 1 percent
10. Others – <1 percent
“By gathering and analyzing color popularity data around the globe, DuPont is able to better identify trends and help our customers in the automotive industry develop color palettes for the future,” said Nancy Lockhart, color marketing manager for DuPont OEM Performance Coatings. “The auto industry is an increasingly global business, so regional and global color data are vitally important to designers.”
Although the results suggest an ongoing convergence of color choice globally with color preferences becoming more homogeneous across regions, distinct regional differences remain. The top three colors – black, white and silver – continue to show strongly around the globe with growth of these colors across regions.
“It’s important to recognize that most people today, no matter where they live in the world, have access to cutting-edge information about popular colors from many sources like glossy magazines and fashionable websites and often will see the same widely distributed films,” said Leatrice Eiseman, executive director, Pantone Color Institute and author of the blog Eisemancolorblog.com. “The top colors become ‘aspirational’ with a universal appeal.”
Changes Across Markets:
“There are still distinct regional differences in preference, but global trends are unmistakable,” said Lockhart. “Color preference can change from year to year because of a variety of factors including types of vehicles introduced, reduced vehicle size, consumer tastes and even the economy. These and other cultural, societal and demographic influences can shift regional trends over time.”
In North America, white (17.8 percent) remains the top color choice with black (17 percent) and silver (16.7 percent) in second and third place. However, examining black’s popularity over time shows it is rising – up six percentage points from 2005 – while silver and white have dropped in popularity by about two points over the past five years. Chroma colors blue and red remain solidly popular in the North American market, rising from 11 percent in 2006 to approximately 12 percent this year.
In Europe, the top color black (27 percent) continues to gain popularity over silver (19.9 percent), which is continuing to decline. White is growing in popularity but remains a second tier color with 10.2 percent of the market.
Japan saw a wide swing of color popularity for the year, ultimately aligning more with the North American and European markets. White remained the top color choice at 28 percent, dropping 4 points from 2008. Silver dropped five points to 23 percent, tied with black.
In contrast, the Chinese vehicle market experiences fluctuations in color preference. Silver rose four points to 36 percent for the year to remain the top color, with black dropping eight points to 23 percent as the second most popular color. As this market continues to grow there will likely be less variation year to year.
The market in India shows strong preference for silver (26.4 percent), white (23.4 percent), red (16.1 percent) and blue (10.9 percent) with the remaining colors each garnering 6 percent or less of the market. Of interest, the Russian market looks similar to India with strong chroma colors mixed throughout the rankings, most noticeably in the green area. In the Russian rankings, silver was first (23.4 percent), followed by green (18.2 percent), black (16.7 percent), blue (15.5 percent) and red (10.8 percent).
The DuPont Global Automotive Color Popularity Report remains the authoritative ranking of color preferences and is the industry’s only report to include detailed information on the automotive markets in a variety of countries and regions, including: North America, Europe, Russia, South America, Mexico, Brazil, Japan, South Korea, China and India.
Automotive Color Trends:
“In the automotive market, it is essential to forecast trends at least three years ahead of the target model year, due to the length of time it takes to develop, source and manufacture a vehicle,” said Lockhart. “As a partner with our automotive customers, DuPont develops a yearly color trends show that highlights new vehicle colors and technology advancements for the industry.”
The 2009 trend show, “Contrast of Color,” is focused on global interests in automotive coatings, using contrasting ideas to merge a complete and fresh approach to long-lasting color preferences. With the use of pigments and hue-shifting elements, traditional colors have been freshened to provide a sense of uniqueness and personality to consumers’ vehicles.
“There are many reasons to buy a new car, yet we know color is often the ‘driver’ for purchasing a vehicle,” said Eiseman. “Consumers have gotten very savvy about how and where to look for color trends and they do look for guidance on “what’s new (and newsworthy) in color.”
The color trend show uses opposite themes that evolve into one color palette of diverse, simple, complex, and upbeat color trends. The themes are defined as: “Traditional Avant-Gardist,” “Normal Maniac,” “High-Tech Ecologist” and “Global Patriot.”
The “Traditional Avant-Gardist” category exploits colors as classic and modern. These classic colors have a twist of elegance and prestige while maintaining their long-lasting appreciation. These colors – Water Desert (blue), Wooden Nickel (medium dark gray) and Winter Lavender (purple) – are expressions of historical colors remembered by generations that have been updated to fit the future trends.
The “Normal Maniac” category shows that colors can be quite simple and frankly, wild. These colors are bright and chromatic – Simple Chaos (blue), Serious Fun (green) and Running Start (yellow). Small cars, limited editions, and aftermarket usage may showcase the confidence of this palette.
The “High-Tech Ecologist” palette features natural colors with modern characteristics. As fuel-efficient vehicles are integrated into the new vehicle market, the branding of new color spaces will evolve. This soft, yet rustic, palette will have enduring appeal for consumers – Light Intensity (orange), Frozen Wave (light blue) and Microcosm (dark blue).
The “Global Patriot” category responds to the growth in global markets. Although each region has its own preferences, general color trends are shared worldwide. This global palette will relate the worldwide trend to consumer’s local demands. These familiar colors of silver, black, white, gray, blue, red and beige are updated to exhibit extensive popularity in today’s mature market in Authentic Replica (dark red), Crystal Crème (beige) and Dark Diamond (silver).
DuPont Supports the Global Automotive Industry:
In addition to paints and coatings for new cars and aftermarket applications such as collision repair, DuPont supports the global automotive and transportation industries with a vast array of products including elastomers for hoses, belts and other parts; engineering plastics for molded components; electronics products for microcircuits and flexible and printed circuits; and a variety of polyester films. The DuPont offering also includes glass-laminating products, fuel cell components, refrigerants and thermal protection materials. DuPont is working actively to introduce sustainable, bio-based materials into fabrics and engineering polymers and fuels. These products reduce dependence on petroleum resources, reduce vehicle weight and improve fuel efficiency.
DuPont is a science-based products and services company. Founded in 1802, DuPont puts science to work by creating sustainable solutions essential to a better, safer, healthier life for people everywhere. Operating in more than 70 countries, DuPont offers a wide range of innovative products and services for markets including agriculture and food; building and construction; communications; and transportation.
Best-ever October for Toyota and Lexus sales
(TORONTO) – Toyota Canada Inc. (TCI) sold 18,813 Toyota and Lexus cars, SUVs and trucks in October – up 18.7% from October 2008 to set a best ever October record.
* Toyota sales of 17,354 (up 19.4%) included 11,480 cars (up 15.1%) and 5,874 trucks (up 28.6%). All three figures establish new best ever October records
* Lexus sold 1,459 luxury vehicles (up 11.9%), including 885 luxury SUVs (up 40.5%). Both figures establish new best ever October records.
* TCI sold 886 Lexus and Toyota hybrid vehicles (up 5.9%) to set a new best ever October record.
Highlights for Toyota in October 2009 (versus October 2008):
* The all-new, third-generation 2010 Toyota Prius enjoyed a fourth-straight month of record sales, with a best ever October at 499 models sold (up 53.1%).
* One of Canada’s most popular cars, the built-in-Canada Toyota Corolla, set a new October record with 5,192 models sold (up 29.8%).
* Another made-in-Canada success, the Toyota Matrix, established a new October record with 2,584 models sold (up 28.2%).
* Fun, functional, and built in Canada, the Toyota RAV4 continues its record-breaking sales streak, with best ever October sales of 2,066 models (up 3.4%). The RAV4 has set new monthly records each month since January 2009.
* Sales of 1,445 Toyota Venza’s set a new, best-month-ever record for the unique and versatile vehicle. The new record is the third in the last three months, and means the Venza has broken the 1,000 monthly sales record four times since its introduction in January.
“Quality, fuel efficiency, and versatility are at the top of the list when Canadian drivers shop for a new vehicle – and they’re hallmarks of the Toyota brand,” said Warren Orton, Director at TCI. “Canadians are finding that Toyota has the perfect line up of vehicles to deliver our more power, less fuel promise, from the efficient Corolla, to the versatile Matrix, RAV4 or Venza, or the ‘future-now’ innovation of the Prius.”
Highlights for Lexus in October 2009 (versus October 2008):
* Following a best ever September, the Canadian-built Lexus RX 350 sold 771 models (up 76.0%) to set a new best-ever October record. The RX series has set new monthly records each month since February 2009.
* In its first month of sales, the all-new Lexus HS 250h enjoyed sales of 95 units, showing strong demand from Canadian drivers for the world’s first entry luxury hybrid vehicle.
“Advanced performance, intuitive design and the attention to quality and detail that is synonymous with Lexus never go out of style with Canadian luxury drivers,” said Larry Hutchinson, Director of Lexus in Canada. “That’s why Canadians looking for a luxury vehicle continue to turn to Lexus for the world’s only full line up of luxury hybrid vehicles, now including the all-new HS 250h, and for the only Lexus manufactured outside of Japan, the Canadian-built Lexus RX 350.”
