The color pink has rarely been seen as a color that practically defines a macho philosophy.
It has a Barbie Doll car feel to it and, if a kid wants to play with dolls, at least make it a GI Joe– and Joe would drive a camo-Jeep or Humvee.
So a pink vehicle would likely push its male owner into a debate at every car show, except for one amazing fact: Detroit made pink a power color in the 50s and 60s.
Pink was a part of a multi- color scheme on American cars and nobody batted an eye.
Very tough guys, including my own father, owned pink cars in the 50s. He wasn’t a trend- setter or trend- follower, he was simply a guy that found an exceptional deal on a pink and charcoal gray 1956 automobile.
The color was secondary to function for him because his car was a big part of his career on the road. At the time, pink cars were as plentiful on the road as drive-ins and carhops.
These days a pink car would be a bold choice for a new color on a car, outside of the Mary K fleet driven primarily by women. The choice of pink for a guy’s car would boil down to support for breast cancer research or a larger political view that is well beyond the scope of our mandate as a car site.
It should be noted that pink-as-a-color option in 2011 might actually be a good investment. We have seen new Challengers with this color scheme and they may well be future collectibles if they have few takers at the dealerships.
Chrysler had a rare pink option available in the early 70s and Dodge called it Dusty Rose, or something to that effect. One buyer purchased a Dusty Rose 1970 Charger and was very unhappy when his pink car was delivered to him. He thought that he ordered a red Charger.
That pink car was one of a handful of Chargers with that paint scheme and options, and it is very well known in collector circles. Jay Leno called it the Mary K Charger and its current value is somewhere north of your first and second born children in trade.
Unfortunately the first owner unloaded it long before its fame and rarity made the pink Charger one of the most expensive Chargers in the world. We did a story on this particular car while it was still owned by a local collector- before he got an inevitable Godfather offer for the car-https://www.mystarcollectorcar.com/2-features/stories/906-oct-2010-owning-the-worlds-rarest-charger-a-1970-pink-mary-kay-rt.html
But a pink ride still may have the odd ‘Boy named Sue ‘ complications for guys-unless it’s from the 50s.
Jim Sutherland
Many stories and pictures about all colors of cars at…https://www.mystarcollectorcar.com/
