Vote on color!

[DanCooper]

Some people only see what they are looking for. One time, as I was about to enter an intersection on my motorcycle, a woman stopped at a stop sign looked straight at me and then pulled out in front of me. I don't think she saw me at all. I managed to stop in time. An FUV looks more like a car so it is more likely to be seen.

The way to pick the color of the FUV is ask the wife, because she cares more about color than I do. First choice lime green, then yellow or white.

[Rickb]

Some people only see what they are looking for. One time, as I was about to enter an intersection on my motorcycle, a woman stopped at a stop sign looked straight at me and then pulled out in front of me. I don't think she saw me at all. I managed to stop in time. An FUV looks more like a car so it is more likely to be seen.

The way to pick the color of the FUV is ask the wife, because she cares more about color than I do. First choice lime green, then yellow or white.

I hate to admit, that happened to me decades ago while driving a high profile 4x4 pickup out of a parking lot.   I stopped, looked both ways, and commenced to pull out in front of a very low profile sports car.  There was a line-up of parked cars along the street that may have blocked my view of the car and/or my line of sight was over the much lower car and unfortunately I failed to see it.  I wonder had it been a high visibility color would it have been more eye catching........I think yes.  Accidents happen and I plan to do all I can to avoid/reduce my risk as a first time motorcycle owner.

[ricschug]

This has happened to me more than once over the years too. I agree that anything you can do to increase visibility can only help but I would still pick a color I like and asking the wife is probably the smartest thing to do. People only seeing what they are looking for is a real good point and since the FUV is a totally new profile its possible that it may not register to folks even if they look straight at you. Best thing is to always assume that every car on the road will try to hit you if they can, that has saved me more than once.

[Rickb]

Accident research study on the top four colors:  (click on image to enlarge) I think it’s interesting, but do like the even greater safety margin of letting spouses choose the color.

[Dan21]

I rode motorcycle as my only transportation for a few years after getting my license, then as a second vehicle. I have a total of about 30,000 miles on various bikes. My first bike was a 125 cc Kawasaki and car drivers pulled out in front of me about once every 2 weeks. (This is in SE Pennsylvania farm country) One of them hit me broadside and totalled the bike. I was doing 35 in a 35 zone and there were no parked cars, so, no visibility excuse. Then, I got a 350 cc bike and the frequency of 'pull-outs' dropped to once every 2 months. About a year later I started riding a 650 and the rate dropped to about once every 6 months. Once, a woman pulled out, saw me, and stopped broadside to the lane and stared at me. . . . sitting broadside to my traffic lane. I managed with all my skill to pass behind her (stopping was not feasible) and as I rode on, I watched my mirrors and she stayed there until I could no longer see her. Another time, a dump truck started pulling out in front of me. I had a freon horn strapped to the handlebars and blew that. The driver jammed on his brakes and as I passed, I saw him frantically looking left and right for whatever blew that horn and I'm convinced he never did see me.

I' think it was psychological. The different bike sizes were not that much different optically. Now I am driving a red Westfield SEiW and nobody has ever pulled out in front of me. I think it's a wierdness factor. People look at the car and wonder what the heck is that? By then I'm gone. People often ask me if my car is safe but my experience is that they are more likely to drive into each other while both are looking at me.

All this rambling is relevant to the FUV in that people will unconsciously look at the FUV because of the wierdness factor and not ignore it. But I do plan to get a red one.

[jimball]

There are also a few drivers who simply do not understand or accept the fact that motorcycles and bicycles have the same rights to use the road, and that car drivers are required to treat them the same as any other vehicle. "Oh, it's just a motorcycle. F## them!" I had a couple of young men (teens?) pull out of a side street in front of me last summer. I barely stopped inches from the passenger door of the MG convertible they were driving. I left a 20 ft long black streak of tire rubber on the pavement. Both were looking at me and laughing hysterically as they proceeded through the intersection without even slowing down.

[DanCooper]

It is more than a few drivers who do not think bicycles or motorcycles belong on the road. Actually I have had relatively few troubles on a motorcycle, but riding a bicycle on the road can be terrifying. It is cultural - California is pretty good, Wyoming and Colorado are intermediate, and in the South you have a target painted on your back.

I was thinking, if Arcimoto plans to buy a whole bunch of plastic in one color, and avoid cleaning out the molds to change colors, white might be best. Then with decals or trim paint you could make it look nice with any color scheme.

[Rickb]

I think they are doing just that, but with the black base color........and a color of choice accent.  The black body panels better blends with the black metal component parts of the FUV.    That’s the best overall base model look to my critical designer eye. Black frame/battery case/dash, etc. with white body panels, and a color accent would be way to busy looking.  There is adequate accent color on the front and sides of the FUV for highly visible colors to be visible.  All the colors look good on the base black vehicle, but for me it’s choosing the highest visibility color (white, yellow, orange, lime green) I like and can live with...........not necessarily my favorite color.  Lime green is not in the running, but i appreciate the color and it sure looks good on Hula’s rental FUV’s.  I’d see that coming from a mile away! 

[DanCooper]

How about an option for no paint at all and you take it to a local motorcycle customizing shop?

[jimball]

Right now it's a tossup for me between Hey Look At Me Yellow yellow and School Bus Orange.