Import Vs Domestic

First off, let me say "hi", I'm new to the site, and new to Mustangs (and domestics, lol), but I am due to order my '07 GT in the next 2 days (just getting some numbers crunched with my salesman). Please don't think by my username I hate domestics.. I love ALL cars, regardless of country of origin... I just thought I'd play it up in the username (I'm a major Hondaphile, and no, I'm not a ricer).

Anyhow, onto my issue.

Currently on vacation for the week and visiting family outside of Ottawa, I was rollerblading past a Ford dealership when I decided to pop in and have a look-see just for fun. A V6 convertible caught my eye because of the nice, deep blue paint, and thus this led me to conclude the car was an MY2005 sporting Sonic Blue (which I like) and not Vista Blue Metallic (which I don't like).

However, the car was sporting the Pony Package grille which didn't come out until MY2006. Hmm.... then I rolled on up to the window and looked at the sticker. The car was advertised as being MY2007 with Vista Blue Metallic.

WTF?! This looks nothing like VBM to me. Curious, I called out to a salesman. He told me flatly that Ford changed their colours for 2007.

"I know about the drop of LL and addition of Alloy and Grabber Orange," I said, "but this still SAYS Vista Blue on it." He stood by his previous statement, then went and got both 2006 and 2007 brochures for me to make a comparison.

Sure enough, the VBM looked very different in the 2007 catalog compared to 2006. Performance white was clearly different, looking darker and more cream coloured, torch red appeared brighter somehow, and the new satin silver looked slightly darker. Now, while this may be simply a case of the print of the brochure causing the paints to look different, here's why I think Ford actually DID change the colours despite using the same names.

1) In the brochures, although the above paints were different from '06 to '07, the other colours (black, tungsten, windveil blue, redfire) remained identical.

2) Pictures of the perf. white mustang in the '07 catalog appear DRASTICALLY different from pictures of the perf. white mustang in the '06 catalog. Furthermore, check out the pics of the white Shelby GT on the internet, advertised as being performance white. That paint looks different.

3) Car and Driver recently did a feature on the '07 Shelby GT500 convertible. Though they never mentioned colour by name, the pics made it out to be a deep blue like the one I saw tonight (and mistook for almost Sonic Blue). The catalog has no diff. blue paint options for Shelby branded cars, so this must also have been Vista Blue Metallic.

So.... anybody know about this? I'm going to call Ford of Canada tomorrow morning to find out if the actual paint codes have changed despite retaining the same names, and I'm also going to ask about any changes to the paints they may know about. I find this interesting simply because I'm ordering my 07 tomorrow or the day after, and I WANT that deep blue in the pics of the Shelby GT500 and the V6 convertible I saw tonight, but I'll be ****ed as hell if it comes in and it looks like the '06 Vista Blue.

Import Vs Domestic

I'm not getting into this... can we please stick to my question? Thanks.

WB05stang

Not sure about color changes but the pictures in the Ford book look nothing like the actual colors.

I was rather surprised by how dark VBM actually was. I too at first thought it was Sonci blue but ith VBM does not have the purple tint. I think it is a much nice color than the Sonic.

I don't think the dealer knew what he was talking about.

Welcome to the boards and just ignore people like that there a number that just can't accept what other people like.

Import Vs Domestic

Thanks, guys. I'm used to it... I really have no problem with people not liking what I like... that's the beauty of choice! I just get irritated when people slam on something for no reason, and without validity. But it's all cool. I know I'm in a mustang forum, and the point is to discuss mustangs, which is what I wanna do

As to my reason for the thread.. I just remember seeing an '06 VBM in person a few weeks ago and thinking I didn't like it at all, but this '07 car tonight, whose paint is identical to the '07 GT500 vert in the Car and Driver article is BEAUTIFUL to me and was clearly not the same paint, despite the same name. We'll see what corporate has to say tomorrow. Here's the link

http://www.caranddriver.com/shortroa...nvertible.html

Jcopin, a LOT of Japanese cars for the N.American marketplace are built in Canada and the USA. If you really want to stop supporting foreign made goods (a concept I don't necessarily agree with, but to each his/her own), then I suggest you make sure your household electronics (clocks, DVD players, TVs, video game consoles, etc.) come from non-Japanese brands.

nonsensez9

on the web-page the torch red looks a bit darker than it used to. And at first I chalked it up to different monitor settings, perhaps. But it looks darker on other monitors, too. However, your dealer ought to have bigger, actual samples, about the size of a sheet of paper.

tom_vilsack

So catching the family pricing thing are you...if you go to ford.ca they have all the 2007 family price discounts and including any options at discount also...(options show list price,but final total family price will reflect options discount)

Anyways as to your topic,i was at a dealership about 2 weeks back and they had a 06 and 07 vista blue,one base V6, one with pony package...they looked like same colour to me...and no way near the purple sonic 05 blue...also i have seen a 07 V6 and a 07 C/S in white,and they looked like same white as 05/06...

ps: i bet they either continue or bring back family price thing after aug 31...

Boomer

I VS D... welcome to the site.
Sorry about the previous posts, which I cleaned up as they have NOTHING to do with the topic.

Are you comparing colours from brochures to actual car?
I've seen both Sonic from 05 and Vista from 06/07 and they could look similar in certain lights..but otherwise, they are different. And I personally like Vista better... but Sonic is a cool colour for sure

The thing with the metalic paints, is that they do colour shift a bit in the light. This cannot be reproduced in a brochure.

Paint codes are probably the same, and you may be comparing brochure to real life, and they won't jive


JCOPIN... smarten up

ipchay61

The '06 and '07 Vista Blues are the same. I've had two different chances to compare them. First, the dealer that I got my VB '07 from also had an '06 in VB. Had both cars side-by-side. They are exactly the same color. Next, at a cruise-in a week ago, I was parked next to an '06 Vista Blue Saleen S281 convertible. Again, no difference in color. The color does seem to change under varying light conditions so maybe that had something to do with why it caught your eye. Hope this helps!

-Chip in SC

P.s. Here are some pics from the cruise-in before we parked the saleen next to my car. Also included is a Sonic Blue '04.
'07 Vista Blue

'06 Vista Blue

'04 Sonic Blue

bobdobolina

I vs D, is it possible the first car you saw (the one you didn't like as much) was actually Windveil Blue? That is certainly lighter than VBM. Just a thought.

Cheese302

i havent seen an 07 in vista yet. I am willing to bet if it was changed it was very slight. if at all. Or else they wouldnt call it the same color. However, i believe the white is identical. I have a white 07, and it doesnt seem any different from any other white S197 mustang.

good luck with the order and purchase i am sure you wil be quite impressed with your car.

TakeOffStang

No difference. I have several here to compare between the 2 years. Must be the angle of the sun!

red454

I know that the Sonic Blue is very dependent on the light source. In direct sunlight it is mostly deep blue. Indirect light (or shady areas) it has much more of a purple cast - which some like and some don't. Now, under flourescent lights, it really takes on a deep sapphire blue which I really like.

Paint chips from the brochures seem to vary a bit...

Import Vs Domestic

Well, Ford Canada didn't provide much help. They told me to "ask the salesman."

In response to some of your questions, I was comparing two different VB in person, though at different times and at different places. Also, last night it was just before sundown when I scoped the VB vert, I'm going to blade past again today earlier in the afternoon when the sun is still beating down, to see if I notice a difference. I wasn't comparing the car to Windveil Blue, lol.. I've seen that colour and I can tell it wasn't VBM

*sigh* Upon further review of various pics online, it looks like it may well BE the same colour after all... which is too bad. Because even though I LOVE it in certain examples - check out the GT500 vert in Car and Driver - I think it can look downright cheap and ugly in many other examples, particularly when the sun is on it and the glare shows the graininess of the metallic flake. Bummer for me, guess I'm going to go ahead and order it in perf. white. I can't get a paint I think only looks good HALF the time now, can I?

Thanks for all your suggestions and advice, people. Much appreciated. I think I'm going to like it here.

Burke0011

Vista blue is also very sensitive to direct sunlight. it can appear quite LIGHT... and yet in darker lighting conditions, quite depp and rich blue....

Heck Redfire messes with me now that I have it (which I didn;t expect).

In direct sunlight, the metallic just POPS.....
But in low light conditions the car looks burgandy!

wjones14

As has been mentioned too many times to count in these forums, you really need to see the colors in person. Brochures are not really accurate, because they are not real paint chips. Some dealers do have paint chips on hand, but even with those, you're looking at a sheet that's less than a foot square, compared to a 15-foot long car.

Seeing pictures online is the same problem - cameras alter colors differently, so the pictures of the same car will look different depending on the camera.

ipchay61

[quote=Import Vs Domestic]
*sigh* Upon further review of various pics online, it looks like it may well BE the same colour after all... which is too bad. Because even though I LOVE it in certain examples - check out the GT500 vert in Car and Driver - I think it can look downright cheap and ugly in many other examples, particularly when the sun is on it and the glare shows the graininess of the metallic flake. Bummer for me, guess I'm going to go ahead and order it in perf. white. I can't get a paint I think only looks good HALF the time now, can I?
[quote]

I've not noticed any of the "graininess of the metallic flake" that you speak of. I'm also probably a bit prejudiced about this but when I first saw Vista Blue, I knew it was the color I wanted. My opinion is that you can't go wrong with VB. That said, it's going to be your car and you're paying for it so get what you want.
-Chip in SC

WERKED 66

i love my sonic blue...glad i got it.as far as vista blue..i think it lacks that pop effect...i order my car color unseen......i saw eery color and could not find one in sonic...i was beating myself up until i saw it in person.white always looks good ...as long as it stays the color...if it does not yellow or get a dirty look to it.....

Hollywood_North GT

Yeah, that's absolutely true. Under overcast conditions - or under flourescent lighting at night, Redfire definitely takes on more of a wine color.

The good news is, when it's all shined up, Redfire looks pretty good, no matter which "hue" it's taking on.

Hollywood_North GT

Are you certain about the white? My experience has been that the Ford metallic paints tend to stand up better than the flat "enamel" variations.

Any other colors strike your fancy?

nynvolt

Lighting has a big effect on the two colors, vista almost appears to be more metallic but same shade where the sonice has a pearl coat. I saw a few vista's at a dealership and like you saw, one was a pony package, not having seen a pony package car yet at the time I took a double take, because it appeared sonic blue, but that color was discontinued. So I took a closer look and it really looked like sonic. It was overcast and drizzling at the time. The window sticker confirmed it was vista. On a seperate occaision I saw a vista blue under clear bright sky's and it appears obviously a different shade, almost like some grey mixed in. Not quite as bright or deep as the sonic.

The paint chips are usually pretty acurate but having worked in printing for over 13 years I know how much color can vary from any number of variable, color seperation, ink density and even the type of equipment your using. You can't ever trust a printed product to be a perfect representation, even photo labs have difficulty capturing really acurate color.