Colors

“…as long as it is black”

In 1914, six years after its original introduction, the Ford Motor Company started to produce the Model T only in black. Previously the Model T was available in red, blue, green or gray. Henry Ford's famous remark on the change was that customers could have the Model T in any color they wanted "as long as it is black."

Ford was constantly seeking innovations such as this color change in its assembly process.  By doing so, the company was able to lower the price of Model T's during its first 15 years of production when its price declined from an initial $825 in 1908 to $260 in 1924. The Model T's low prices made car ownership available for the first time to the middle class. The car was so popular and Ford's ability to meet demand so great that in 1914—the year it became available only in black—more Model T's were produced than all other automobiles combined.

The phrase has become well-known enough that it appears in non-automobile contexts:

• “You can have any colour you want, so long as it is black. This is what Dell, the world’s No 2 computer manufacturer, has been telling customers, after the launch of a range of colourful laptops was stymied by too much dust in the paint.”—Stephen Foley, “It’s black to basics for off-colour Dell,” The Independent (UK), August 23, 2007.
• “A sculpted winter coat the color of a juicy orange told the story from Narciso Rodriguez. Techno tutus, knits woven into a rainbow coalition and dresses dripping red like blood sang out the message at romantic Rodarte. And Matthew Williamson wove it all together with his patterns of cross-stitch samplers. The focus of the fall/winter 2008 season is primarily on colors. And this from a city where wearing any color as long as it is black has long been a mantra—at least for daytime clothes.”—Suzy Menkes, “Bland is banished—now it's primarily colors,” The New York Times, February 6, 2008.
• “Most wannabe Vivienne Westwoods run out of cash sooner. It costs upward of £15,000 for a fledgling designer to create and show a collection, even when the venue is free. Ms Marshall has funded her career with savings, government grants and a loan from a bank that thought it was financing the purchase of a car. She is receiving steady orders and 'getting close to break even'. Her frocks could catch the mood of the times, being austere and available in any colour as long as it is black. Moreover, she has a business plan, an accessory eschewed by cavalier counterparts. She is in with a shot. Some young designers need to survive the shmutter trade apocalypse. Otherwise, when we emerge from our underground shelters, big retailers will have no one to pinch fashion ideas from.”—Jonathan Guthrie, “First the credit crisis, now the fashion crisis,” The Financial Times, February 14, 2008p. 13.
• “Plastic Fantastic: The Ultra Silence Green from Electrolux claims to be the world's first vacuum cleaner made from recycled plastic. As a result customers can have the cleaner in any colour that they want, so long as it is black. The recycling process saves 90 per cent of energy when compared to the production from brand new plastic. The motor also uses 33 per cent less energy than standard 200W cleaners.”—“Decorate: Go Green,” The Sunday Mail (Australia), July 6, 2008, p. 26.

How It's Used

Q. My husband is a bit of a fuddy-duddy and, like Henry Ford, thinks I should be happy with every colour available as long as it is black. I would like a cheerful red for a change. Isn't black harder to see on the road?

A. Actually, anecdotal evidence suggests that green cars are involved in more accidents than those of any other colour. But black is unlucky when it comes to theft.

Q. Really? You see, my husband is not as young as he was and I was more worried that he would not be seen as clearly as he might. I didn't realise that colour could affect theft.

A. It appears to. The chance of having your car stolen or broken into is 20% greater if it is black, according to a survey by Admiral insurance. But that doesn't mean red is best for deterring the villains. Based on a survey of 10,000 claims, the findings showed that gold, yellow or brown cars are far less popular with thieves than other colours.”

“Assistant Insurance Commissioner Mok Hin-yiu said the Hong Kong insurance industry was in reasonable shape, certainly less adversely affected by the financial crisis that has plagued the economy for nearly two years than other sectors. Product innovation is increasing, with a greater range of niche-market products evidence the industry is steering away from viewing Hong Kong as a homogeneous market and offering them the life-insurance equivalent of the Model T Ford: you can have any colour as long as it is black. In short, the local industry is at last catching up with the rest of the world.”

“A century after Henry Ford's famous diktat that his customers could have any colour they liked, as long as it was black, it turns out the old boy might have been on to something.

"Recent industry figures state that approximately one in five new cars sold is black, but trend forecasters expect this to be closer to one in three in the next few years. Earlier this year Paul Purdy of yesinsurance.co.uk predicted, 'Black may soon jump from third to first place in the table of most popular colours.'"

“‘The factory people tell us that no two cars are identical,’ said Richard Gadeselli, Fiat's vice president for communications. ‘People are downsizing, but they're not prepared to give up their luxuries.’

“And at Audi, the old Ford proclamation that buyers could purchase the Model T in ‘any color so long as it is black’ has been turned on its head. Owners can now have any color they want, period. Do you covet that shade of green on your neighbor's Chevy? Take the color code to Audi when ordering your car and you can have the same shade on your new A4 or any other model, for an additional $2,500. ‘We get quite a few requests for pink TT models,’ said Erin Goward, Audi of America's Audi Exclusive specialist.”

“Over all, silver was the most popular car colour in India, in line with the rest of the world. White, the preferred colour since the days of the Ambassador, was a close second. However, black, which was the second most popular colour worldwide in 2009, managed only the sixth place in India with a modest 5.6 per cent sales. Henry Ford would have had to rethink his ‘Any customer can have a car painted any colour that he wants so long as it is black’ pitch here.”

Also Known As (AKA)

"...so long as it is black"

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