Two-tone paint jobs were quite a thing back in the 1940s and 50s, especially in the United States. The industry had long moved on from the coloring style, and a single-tone color scheme ruled over the cars manufactured, till a few years ago. Almost 20 car models have been released with this sort of color scheme. In most of these models, the roof, the hood, and sometimes the lower side of the car has a different color than the primary one coating the main body.
Automobile manufacturers say that this arrival is a form of an extra degree of customization that the manufacturers try to give to their customers. However, such coloring schemes are available usually on the higher-end trim levels of the model. Designers also back manufacturer’s statements by saying that the two-tone color scheme allows the customers to better personalize their vehicle’s style.
J. Mays, retired head of design at Ford and an important role-player in the design of Ford Flex (one of the few U.S.-based vehicles that offered contrasting color on the roof), says that the designers are playing with the ingredients they have with them. Mays also said that that two-tone paint creates a better expression of the car and its driver.
The trend – although quite high in European car manufacturers – is also seen in cars manufactured for the US and many other parts of the world. Some of the top names in the industry that are available in the two-tone color are the Toyota Camry, Toyota C-HR, Several models of Land Rover and Range Rover, Hyundai’s Kona, and KIA’s Soul. The trend that we see now actually originated back in the 1920s and 1930s. That was the time when customizers would use a bold combination of two-tone color on expensive cars like Rolls Royce to display the taste of its wealthy owners.
