for cars, Japanese manufacturers developed the modern model of restricted optioning to improve production efficiency, and this includes reduced paint color choices, as that's a big one for production efficiency. you need production downtime to change colors, so minimizing the number of colors you offer minimizes the amount of downtime.

additionally, the US dealer model where dealerships keep inventory on the lot, and pay loans on that inventory until it's sold, incentivizes cars that sell quickly, and it's easier to find a buyer for a boring color than a loud color.

@bhtooefr @rasterweb The first paragraph makes sense, but the second makes a lot of assumptions.

Dealers used to sell colorful cars, but not anymore. And if people aren't presented with colorful car options to buy from, how do dealers know they sell more poorly than boring colors?

some manufacturers do offer actual colors, and AFAIK, when dealers get them, or when someone special orders one and then rejects the delivery, or when a used car comes in in an actual color, they do sit on the lot for longer

but yeah, that does create a bit of a paradox

and sometimes it reverses with luxury cars, where there may be fewer people who want a weird color, but if it's a rare color, you'll find *someone* who will pay a premium for it

@MLE_online @bhtooefr @rasterweb To the question of how we got to where we are, Kate Wagner has written a bit on that

thenation.com/article/culture/…

Liberating Our Homes From the Real Estate–Industrial Complex | The Nation

Having a personal aesthetic at home has become financially detrimental.

^{The Nation}