a color story: vintage car

Along the way back from the Walmart plaza or the nursery, I noticed a stream of vintage cars; there must have been a meetup of some sort. This short event of appealing cars chased its way to my periphery. Then, I turned my head- a risky maneuver on my part but I couldn't help it. I was glad that the roads were familiar until this vintage model with the soft yellow exterior appeared. The soft vibrance demanded my attention like a Rothko Seagram mural - a painting I still haven't witnessed in real life. For now, this car acted as a convenient alternative.

I felt a gentle calmness under the presence of the yellow car. It looked like a faded yellow but the coherent paint job suggested a conscious color choice. This car radiated a vintage aura that sold nostalgia as a warm gentle past (pictured). 

Cars out now these days came in the variety of a shade: white, gray or black. Could these boring color variation - non-attention grabbing, subtle undertones, monotonous with the roads- be a low-risk indicator? I have been told that bright red Ferraris were the ideal speeding car for police officers to notice. But what on the case of the soft yellow? I wondered if the police officer would wonder in awe - as I did - if they spotted the same vehicle. Would they feel the nostalgic undertones?

I thought about the vehicle's maximum speed and whether it could ride the highways. Beats me as I only noticed this car on the town roads. I wouldn't dare pushing the limits to its ornamental frame. I could fairly say that the vehicle was a show car. In a rainy humid weather, I wouldn't be caught dead in that vehicle. I assumed that air conditioning wasn't available back then. 

Then, I wondered if this color was the original paint color. Was a mellowing soft hue a design choice to suggest the driver to slow down with the vehicle? Or was the color design directed towards the pedestrians? Or did this color not exist at all - it was just the owner's interpretation of their ideal vintage car? Back to the bright red Ferrari imagery, was there a contrasting suggestion of slower movement if mellow hues were applied to the exterior? If so, why don't we use colors in our modern cars. Slower vehicles could translate to less accidents. Gentle colors could translate to gentle drivers. Isn't it time for the cycle to repeat out of the boring shades? The thought of a pool of these soft yellow cars suggested otherwise. I chuckled as my artificial sense of nostalgia only sufficed my aesthetic needs. 

I have been left with more questions than answers in the pursuit of the soft yellow car exterior. Did I even categorized the right color? I felt the need to put it in the same fuzzy area of beige as its spoke the same boundaries of the different shades of grey. 

Back home, the white cars in the garage displayed their beaten up exteriors. I saw imperfect traces of beige as the rust blended in with the original coat. With a grim smile, I managed to get out of my mellow yellow illusion.