I'd say farm equipment has embraced the same "meaner" trend, but has also doubled down on bright, vibrant colours.

Noticeably, though, the colours don't date the equipment. 20 years ago the colours were the same, and 20 years from now it is very likely that the brand new ones will still feature the same colours still.

That hasn't been the case for passenger vehicles. They are famous for having a colour available this year and gone the next, so if you have one of those no-longer-available colours it sticks out like a sore thumb as looking old. Which is what I believe the consumer truly fears – owning a car that looks old and dated.

The blacks and whites have remained consistently available, so it is far less risky.

Something I found myself paying attention to as I was getting tired of cars and looking towards training for a motorcycle is what colors stand out, not just high-visibility clothes but the vehicle too because you want to be seen. Once you've tuned your eyes into looking it's shocking how many riders are pure black when they're more vulnerable on the roads. It's an interesting exercise when you're walking around a city onto a new street with cars parked up to see how quickly you can count how many there are, I found it can be difficult to separate out cars with how common black is now, and the less common brighter colors really stand out.

Mercedes lead with "silver" cars decades ago such that the color itself meant luxury. Other car manufacturers (and car buyers) then followed.

Literally every vehicle seems to have that diagonal line incorporated somewhere. I mean the one generally near the windows that slopes downward as it moves towards the front of the car, regardless of the general shape of the car itself.

I think the generations below boomers prefer non-chrome options. The blacks and dark accents add to the meaner look.