car paint history

Flat. Muddy. Neutral. Desaturated.

Even wet putty.

There are many descriptions for a new style of car paint that has become popular in recent years, but none quite captures the essence of the know-it-when-you-see-it look.

The hues are muted earth tones — grays, tans, browns and others — that lack the light-reflecting metallic flake that is typically mixed in with car paint. And it’s a look that’s gone — over the course of a decade — from rare to near ubiquity in car-obsessed Los Angeles. Companies including Porsche, Jeep, Nissan and Hyundai now offer this sort of paint.

Automakers say these earthy shades convey a sense of adventure — stealthiness even. To some design experts, the colors represent harmony with nature. To other observers, they have a quasi-military feel, reflecting the craze for all things tactical. And car critics see in them the expression of drivers’ contradictory desires — to stand out while also conforming.

“I think the color is calming; I think this color is very soothing,” said Tara Subkoff, an artist and actress with credits including “The Last Days of Disco” who drives a Porsche Panamera painted a subdued gray called Chalk. “When there is so much traffic, and it is literally increasing in the last few months astronomically — and almost unbearably — to have less red and orange is maybe good.”