Black car in a hot climate...bad idea?

[pinkoos]

Thanks for the replies. Very interesting discussion. Not sure what we're gonna do, but don't want to regret our decision either way.

[RAMd®d]

I've got a black car with gray interior.

It's HOT in direct sunlight. The steering wheel, door latches, seatbelt buckles, leather or vinyl seats-- hot, hot, hot Sing it with me...

"Taxing airconditioning more..." is a little misleading. Does a white car *stop* getting hot? Not necessarily.

A/C only drops the temperature a given amount below the *ambient* temperature. That's true of all car A/C, though some may be more robust than others.

I agree with rz- if the air temp is hot enough or the cars are in direct sulinget long enough, it really doesn't make any difference what color the car is. Surface temperature is irrelevant.

Something that's made a huge difference for me is sunshades in the windshield when the car is parked. The rear window would benefit too, but in most states, they can be tinted. Some will even allow the side windows even with the driver to be tinted. The interior leather and vinyl are preserved as well.


From a safety point of view, black cars are very difficult to see at dusk and in overcast conditions. Lighter cars (yellow, white, etc.) are certainly preferable in that regard.

That's certainly a non-issue these days, rendered so by daytime running lights, auto-on lights, or turning on your parking lights or headlights.. Done. Un-safety of color now irrelevant.


Sorry to be so pragmatic...

No you're not.


...what is for many an emotional/aesthetic issue.

Aesthetic yes, Emotional? Please. More like for the abberant few.

[JoeBob]

[quote olnacl][quote JoeBob]I used a laser thermometer (non contact) last year to measure surface temps on cars in a parking lot.
Black cars averaged 30 to 40 degrees hotter in direct sunlight.
Some of them measured 150 degrees or so in direct sunlight on a 90 degree day.

I have a white car.
But did you measure the interior temperature of the closed car? I was shopping for a car in the blazing FL sun a few months ago and they were all da-- hot inside. I couldn't tell any difference and thought I'd like to bring a thermometer there one day just to see what the difference REALLY was. Never bothered - bought a dark gray car. My two cars before that were black. So there. Where?
I only had a chance to measure the outside temps, maybe next time I will go to a dealership, and try the interior temps.

I live in the sunny Wilmington, NC area.

[mrbigstuff]

From a safety point of view, black cars are very difficult to see at dusk and in overcast conditions. Lighter cars (yellow, white, etc.) are certainly preferable in that regard.

That's certainly a non-issue these days, rendered so by daytime running lights, auto-on lights, or turning on your parking lights or headlights.. Done. Un-safety of color now irrelevant.

well, not in my experience. i drive both a light colored car and a dark colored car. the difference is quite noticeable when driving the dark car and it happens to be a wagon whereas the other is a sedan, so more to see, in theory. nope. people drive right at it. the windshield seems to be a factor, too, as it has a slight tint and is, therefore, less visible.

so, my experience happens to be the opposite. besides, DRL have not been standard for some years now. i have to *manually* turn on my lights. sigh.

[testcase]

billb has it right. A black vehicle shows every bit of dirt. If you're in a hot, sunny climate, the thing to do is use fitted window shades. You'll be amazed at how much cooler the interior is when you pop the shades in. I got mine from: http://www.autosunshields.com

[RAMd®d]

DRL have not been standard for some years now.

That's why the or turning on your parking lights or headlights inclusion. If somebody drives at you because the color of the car was dark, and they didn't see its lights, the problem is very likely bigger than the color of the car.


i have to *manually* turn on my lights. sigh.

Oh the humanity! But more and more newer cars do have an auto-lights function. And for those that don't, yes, manually hitting that switch can work.

I agree with everything said about light vs. dark vehicles, except when you add lighting.

Tinting my windows is on the list, but I never get 'round to it. A/C works fine, and I toss a couple of shades into the front windshield.

[bazookaman]

I disagree with the car color thing too. I drove my friends jeep (which is black) and i felt like a target. OTOH, when I drive my truck (a big WHITE ram that makes the jeep look like a toy) I also feel like people are actually aiming at me. Its like i'm invisible.

[mikebw]

White reflects more light than black- that's a fact. What energy is not reflected is absorbed and will carry through the exterior of the car and will radiate into the interior. This also happens with white cars but more so with black.

How much of a difference? Only way to be sure is to find 2 of the exact same cars, only difference being the paint color, and do a test. Same time same day, same exposure. Sounds like a decent Myth Busters episode in the making.

[Rain]

Ive owned tan and white vehicles all my life - had a blue van for a short time as well.
They rarely needed washing, didn't show dust and dirt, and were great vehicles.

Then we bought an aqua/metallic Corvette - not bad. But has a black interior that gets quite hot.
THEN I go out and buy a black Corvette with a black interior. It lives in the garage so at least once a day its not a powder-coating oven. They look GREAT when they are clean but black cars do not stay clean long.
So anyone considering a black vehicle needs to either not care about keeping it clean, or they need to get a part time job as a detailer.

btw, I can relate to the billet shifter knob. Had one on my black car for a month. Replaced it as fast as I could!

[pinkoos]

Update: Ended up going with black exterior/tan interior. Now that it's cool here in Houston, I have until next summer before regretting my decision. ;-)