Floridians and black cars

So I'm Florida, visiting some folks, trying to learn to suck less at golf, and I'm seeing a lot of black cars. Doesn't it get, you know, really freaking hot here? Is driving a black car a status symbol here? I owned a black car while living in Utah back in the day, and it just seemed silly when I was nearly burning my hands on the steering wheel...

Just wondering...

I'm sure they had tinted windows.

Mine doesn't, and I didn't really want another black car after my GLH Turbo. But the dealer offered me $2700 under sticker (on an $18K sticker) to take one he had sitting on his lot for 3 months.

Back in the day my older sister moved to Florida. Shortly afterward, she went new car shopping. Whatever car she was looking at buying(a Geo Tracker, IIRC), she wanted it in black. The dealer said it would have to be special ordered, because of the heat they don't carry them in black. I think she bought a white one instead.

its not that hot, as long as you tint your windows the ac cools the car off pretty quick. I personally won't buy a black car in fl just because the paint gets cooked so much quicker.

There are a lot of black cars in the sunny hot areas of California too. I don't understand it.

It's because people that like black cars (like me) REALLY like black cars, and like others have said, they may be hotter when sitting, but it's really not a huge difference. And unlike in Ohio, sometimes they actually stay clean for a while. Black and Silver are the two most popular car colors in the country.

I lived in Florida for about 4 years of my adult, driving life. Never owned a car with A/C. I don't miss Florida.

I love black cars esp. with some dark ass tint.

I've owned a white car, and I've owned dark colored cars (never black). On a hot sunny day, it's absolutely amazing how much cooler the white car is.

Another case of (some) people choosing style over practicality (not that there's anything wrong with that).

1988RedT2 wrote: I've owned a white car, and I've owned dark colored cars (never black). On a hot sunny day, it's absolutely amazing how much cooler the white car is.

+1

My E30 was white, my E36 is black. Both cars had tinted windows, and I always use a windshield sunshade in summer. The interior of the black car feels about 20 degrees hotter than the white one. It really is a massive difference.

I bought black because I had known the car since new, and I got the family financing plan. Although it looks pretty badass in black, I'd much rather have silver, or blue, or green, or......almost any other color.

Joe Gearin wrote:

1988RedT2 wrote: I've owned a white car, and I've owned dark colored cars (never black). On a hot sunny day, it's absolutely amazing how much cooler the white car is.

+1 My E30 was white, my E36 is black. Both cars had tinted windows, and I always use a windshield sunshade in summer. The interior of the black car feels about 20 degrees hotter than the white one. It really is a massive difference. I bought black because I had known the car since new, and I got the family financing plan. Although it looks pretty badass in black, I'd much rather have silver, or blue, or green, or......almost any other color.

Truer words have never been spoken, switching our black XR4 track car to white literally dropped 20°F inside the cabin with the windows down to where it's almost ambient w/o A/C, very nice for AutoX in the middle of August in Atlanta...

Hmm. And I kind of assumed it had more to do with the greenhouse area.

Just bought a black car in December, but at least the seats are tan. Windows are tinted. Looking forward to summer, regardless.

Yes it gets really hot here, and yes having a black car makes it worse. I came down here from new england in a black car, and I didnt last a year before I sold it- Everything Ive bought since has been white or silver with the exception of a couple red e30's (always loved red)

tint and a windsheild sunshade are something I should learn about... summer sun here is brutal :(... I think the worst part is the steering wheel gets so hot you can barely touch it... makes it hard to steer when you don't want to touch it...

I have a black car and live in Tucson. It's also gutted but has ac. No big deal. I do need to get the windows tinted as it does make a big difference. Also had a dark green hardtop Miata (which is hotter than black) in SE Florida, again no big deal.

All other things being equal, a black car would absorb more heat than a white car.

But things are never equal. The current black brick stays nice and cool, even in the Florida sun.

Hottest car I ever owned was bright yellow, with fuzzy seats and a red interior. An old Ford Galaxie. You learned never to casually pop that door open in the summer, you always shielded yourself with it.

Go figure.

I once drove a black Jeep Grand Cherokee through New Mexico and Arizona in July. With no A/C. Honestly, it wasn't that bad because the windows were darkly tinted, and I lay a white towel over the black dash to reflect sun coming through the windshield. I think the interior colour and whether it has window tint make a lot more difference than the shiny exterior paint.

donalson wrote: tint and a windsheild sunshade are something I should learn about... summer sun here is brutal :(... I think the worst part is the steering wheel gets so hot you can barely touch it... makes it hard to steer when you don't want to touch it...

Sunshade during the day makes a big difference in how much heat gets absorbed by the dash and steering wheel. Wheel can be painful to touch without it, but just normally warm with it. Heat radiation from the dash is also much less on my drive home if I've used the sunshade.

There's more to it than just interior air temps.

I grew up in Northern Pa. My folks had a '64 Country Squire, white with a red VINYL interior. That car was awful to get into in the summer, like an oven. My sister had a '67 Mustang, light green with a BLACK vinyl interior....again, a literal oven. While white MIGHT make the car a bit cooler, interior color and the material on the seats, such as leather or vinyl kind of cancel out the benefit of a lighter exterior color.

BTW, my current car is a silver Civic with a light grey interior. It can be a bit toasty, but it's not as bad as a car with leather or vinyl....especially black leather or vinyl.

integraguy wrote: again, a literal oven.

Unless you literally cooked something in that car, you can't say this.

You cannot use literally as a generic intensifier. It's the ONE word in the English language that has to be protected.

Mangle the rest of it as much as you like, but leave "literally" alone.

I do have to say that its probably more about the car than the color.

My 66 Bonneville (mission beige, tan interior) got WAY hotter than my 96 Impala SS (black/grey). But, if you look at the insulation/sound deadening in the SS, you can see why its a bit less thermal.

My tan/tan F150 is remarkably cool in the summer... it has a cap on the bed and there is very little glass comparatively to let the light in.

But one of the hottest cars I ever experienced was my buddy's 94 Tbird (white/black interior, dark tint). That thing was an oven on a 70 degree day.

Hasbro wrote: I have a black car and live in Tucson. It's also gutted but has ac. No big deal. I do need to get the windows tinted as it does make a big difference. Also had a dark green hardtop Miata (which is hotter than black) in SE Florida, again no big deal.

An important note; I do have a garage and always park in the shade if it's available. Shade under a desert tree can be pretty minimal but it's better than nothing. If I'm close by I'll crack all the windows and even open the hatch. At my grocery store I park way out under a Palo Verde that I continually prune. It is MY parking space!

My E28 BMW is red with black leather seats. It does have AC but with big windows and no tint it barely cools the interior. Backseat passengers are SOL.

If burning your buns and thighs on a hot summer day in a car with vinyl seat covers isn't LITERALLY AN OVEN, then I guess I should be posting on a college English Lit bulletin board instead of a BB where folks who post are termed dorks of varying degrees.

How stupid of me to stretch the truth, and use incorrect spelling and/or grammar on this board. Please don't throw me in jail for my ill-literacy.