Turn One: Our Yellow AF Civic

Did you know that I’m clairvoyant? Yup, I’m Jedi. Or Spider-Man. Or maybe a reincarnated Carnac the Magnificent. Pick your favorite.

Prove it? Okay, fine. Your car is white. Or black. Or silver. Or pewter. Maybe something crazy like champagne, graphite or midnight?

Don’t feel so badly. The GRM parking lot often resembles a sea of neutrals, with Katie’s green Mini adding the lone dollop of color.

Whether it’s the chicken or the egg, this is what today’s market offers. Take the latest Miata Club. Mazda offers five colors: In addition to their trademark Soul Red, buyers can choose from Artic White, Ceramic Metallic, Jet Black Mica and Machine Grey Metallic. Yawn?

BMW shows 11 color options for their latest M4. I’d call two of them variations of brown, two have black in their name, and another two are whites. (Those of you who do want some color should check out the latest Mustang, though, as the palette includes Need for Green, Orange Fury, Race Red, Velocity Blue and, a personal fave, Ruby Red.)

Personally, I’m right there with the masses as my fleet contains three neutrals out of five. The two cars that do possess some color are rather subdued: The Porsche wears Ruby Red Metallic, a hue that’s about two or three notches away from brown, while the M3 is Mystic Blue, a rather dark, deep navy that could never be called flashy. And, for the record, I’m totally okay with these colors. I love them, in fact, and wouldn’t have it any other way.

I’m just as monochromatic in the rest of my life. My usual shirt color: black. My bike: a matte black frame done up in full neutrals, from chrome rims to raw chromoly crank arms. A lot of my guitars pair black bodies with white pickguards and maple necks; call it the classic tuxedo look. I carry an iPhone in Space Gray.

But lately a little bit of color has been injected into my world. This year we’re fostering a new Honda Civic Si. Before taking delivery, we discussed colors. For our project cars, we tend to stick with something that goes with our logo, meaning some combination of white, red and black. Maybe we’ll go nuts and select silver.

Davis Adams, our super-friendly PR go-to guy at Honda, suggested that we go bold with this one. The e-mail back and forth looked a lot like this:

Go with Tonic Yellow. ☺

Yeah?

Definitely. ☺

Okay, let’s do it.

A month or so later the Civic landed in our parking lot. Wow, it’s bright. Like, really bright. Here, let me put on my rather subdued, blending-into-the-background tortoiseshell Ray-Bans.

But I have to give Honda props for toning it down just the right amount. Look at the mirrors, for example: Half of the shell wears the body color while the rest remains black. Those black accents in the bumpers and around the nose also bring it all down a notch. I could deal with this. Yeah, this is going to work. I’m feeling it.

The remarks from the general population have been overwhelmingly positive, whether in the paddock at an SCCA Track Night in America event or parked front and center for Record Store Day celebrations at my friend’s shop. (Free plug: While in Tampa, tell Keith at Microgroove that I sent you.)

Instead of looking like a clown car, the Civic has a purposeful look. Business up front and party in the back? Fine, I can go with that.

So, when it comes to colors, what’s your favorite? Championship White or Panther Pink? Polaris Silver or Fly Yellow? Aviator Grey or Viper Green? Are you Batman or Robin?

As for me, I’m not ready to start wearing aloha shirts, but maybe a small splash of color isn’t so bad after all.

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