No Black Cars in California?

[cosworth151]

The hated California Air Resources Board (CARB) quickly backed off from a trial balloon it floated recently. It wanted to ban black cars, claiming they damage the environment!

The "thinking" was this: Black cars absorb heat. Hot cars run the A/C more, using more gas. Therefore, black cars, or any other color that didn't meet a minimum level of reflectivity, would be banned.

Once this asinine idea was made public, the uproar was defining. The anti-car crowd at CARB immediately backed off, claiming that it was just an idea that had been rejected.

Black was the second most popular color for new cars in the US last year. The only color used on more new cars was white, which is used on many fleet vehicles.

[SennaMan]

not an asinine idea at all as black does absorb heat and I am reminded of that every day when I can hardly hold my black steering wheel it is so darned hot after being directly in sunshine for as little as 30 minutes

mind you I live in Australia and most of you will not know what sunshine is let alone be able to discuss it if you do not live here or in California

also black as a car colour should be banned on the grounds of bad taste even if it is the latest fad colour for cars - especially for interiors!

[Steven Roy]

I guess the next move would be to ban colours that are too reflective because they can dazzle other drivers by reflecting the sun in their eyes.

[SennaMan]

I guess the next move would be to ban colours that are too reflective because they can dazzle other drivers by reflecting the sun in their eyes.

Lol SR, well I do know of a McLaren-Mercedes SLR all in chrome, owned by an Arabian, which can only be driven at night as the reflected sun does actually dazzle onlookers and I have heard of a gold-plated one that probably has the same driving restriction.

Perhaps the colours that do absorb the heat could somehow convert it into energy like KERS?