# A Useless List.....



## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

*A Useless List*

I commuted by car to and from Philadelphia for 15 years, and engaged myself during the ride with music and looking at 18-wheelers pass by. Along with my other automobile travels earlier, I began to recognize the different manufacturers of the cabs, and started keeping a list until 2004. l even considered putting together a Vacation Traveler's Guide to Heavy Trucks to keep kids engaged during long trips. Never did. Here is what I saw:

Autocar
Brockway
Chevrolet
Diamond Reo
Dodge
Ford
GMC
International
Kenworth
Mack
Marmon
Peterbilt
Volvo
Western Star
White

Does anyone know if I missed any?

P.S. I forgot Freightliner


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## NoCoPilot (Nov 9, 2020)

Saab makes trucks. You might not have seen them in the US. Similarly there are probably a lot of foreign makes not certified for the US market: Russian, Latin American, Chinese, Indian, Italian, French, British, Eastern European, Spanish?


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## pianozach (May 21, 2018)

I recently started a travelling game noting the colors of cars and trucks. It seemed to me that most cars were either White, Black, or some shade of Gray (like silver or charcoal), but there were also a good many Red autos as well.

I did a little research into it, and colored cars have become less popular in the last fifty years, but, yes, indeed, most vehicles are White, Black, and Gray, with Red trailing closely behind.

As it turns out America’s Most Popular Car Colors are 
White 23.9%
Black 23.2%
Gray 15.5%
Silver 14.5%

Of course, I'm counting silver and gray as being basically the same thing, so Gray/Silver is at 30%.

So white, black, and gray account for roughly 77% of the popular car colors.

Red and Blue come in at 10.3% and 9.0%, and Brown's at 1.4%

All the other colors (Green, Beige, Orange, Gold, Yellow, and Purple) all account for less than 1% each.

So now I just watch for cars that AREN'T White, Black, Gray, or Red.



https://www.thedrive.com/content/2020/10/car-color-graph.jpg


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## NoCoPilot (Nov 9, 2020)




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## NoCoPilot (Nov 9, 2020)




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## progmatist (Apr 3, 2021)

I believe Mercedes also makes semi tractors

When I was a kid, the next-door neighbors' mother/grandmother's boyfriend was a truck driver. The couple would drop in on the neighbors every time his route brought them through Phoenix. He owned one of those cab-over tractors common in the 70s. To work on the engine one had to jack up the cab, tilting it forward to gain access. When asked if he'd rather have a tractor with a proper hood/bonnet, he said he couldn't afford one. Oh, and did I mention my dad worked at a truck stop for the better part of a decade?

Also back then, trucks had license plates with a bunch of smaller plates stuck to it. Often more than one plate when 1 was completely filled. Trucks had to be registered in every state through which they transited.


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## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

pianozach said:


> I recently started a travelling game noting the colors of cars and trucks. It seemed to me that most cars were either White, Black, or some shade of Gray (like silver or charcoal), but there were also a good many Red autos as well.
> 
> I did a little research into it, and colored cars have become less popular in the last fifty years, but, yes, indeed, most vehicles are White, Black, and Gray, with Red trailing closely behind.
> 
> ...


I have noticed in the past couple of years an entire palette of "new colors" for vehicles--interesting variations of existing colors--new blue-green combos, red-orange, robin's egg blue, cerulean blue, etc. All kinds. Lots more metallic finishes, A pleasant sight though I'll stick to white. White, curiously, never looks dirty even though it can be so. It's much more visible at night. And it doesn't get so hot in the parking lot.


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## NoCoPilot (Nov 9, 2020)

A friend of mine swears silver is the color that shows the least dirt. Everyone agrees black is the worst.

And hard to see at night. So why is it so popular? Because you can touch up scratches with a Sharpie?


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## NoCoPilot (Nov 9, 2020)

Strange Magic said:


> I have noticed in the past couple of years an entire palette of "new colors" for vehicles--


Mazda has a bright metalflake red which is gorgeous in the sun.


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## NoCoPilot (Nov 9, 2020)

One trend that can't disappear fast enough for me is flat finishes.


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## pianozach (May 21, 2018)

NoCoPilot said:


>


There was a car this "color" whose owner lived around the corner, so I'd often see the car on the street. Orange from one direction, purple from the other. Pretty neat.


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## progmatist (Apr 3, 2021)

When Henry Ford introduced the Model T, it came in any color you like....................provided you only like black.


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## geralmar (Feb 15, 2013)

For no discernible reason some months back I compiled a list of every movie I could find about a killer shark or sharks. Movies with an incidental shark attack or two (Death Curse of Tartu, Licence to Kill, Let's Kill Uncle) didn't count; although they could warrant their own list.


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