BASF Presents 'Color At the Speed of Light;' Future Trends in Automotive Color and Design.

Business Editors

SOUTHFIELD, Mich.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 26, 2001

BASF recently presented "Color at the Speed of Light," its annual forecast of directions in color that will impact future automotive designs. Each year, BASF color experts from the company's principal centers of automotive coatings systems -- Germany, the United States and Japan -- review their findings with automotive manufacturers in those regions. Forecasted trends are typically realized in automotive designs two to three model years in the future.

"'Color at the Speed of Light' refers to the use of all means in the physics of light to generate new color effects for automotive coatings," said Jon Hall, Manager of Color Development for BASF Corporation's Automotive OEM Coatings business group. "Designers can begin to consider new uses for color and coatings. For example, BASF introduced 'Constellation Color'(TM) this year, which makes color visible at night. This introduces a whole new thinking about color, as vehicles can be designed for safety, environmental friendliness and beauty all at the same time. We also continue to develop new colors based on BASF's Variocrom(TM) color-variable pigments. The newest look is for even more subtle changes in color, creating the same effects found in nature, specifically plants, animals and minerals.

"The purpose of our annual color forecast is to stimulate new technologies and new designs," Hall continued. "Many new car and truck designs have a more mathematical, technical look, where the function demands a form that has its own aesthetic and precision. These new designs should lead not only to new colors and effects, but to new textures and combinations of materials --mat and gloss, reflective and iridescent, and opaque and phosphorescent."

Based in the United States at the BASF Automotive Campus in Southfield, Mich., Hall represents the company's automotive color development activities in North America. Participating with him in "Color at the Speed of Light" to represent BASF's global presence in the automotive market were Renate Weber, Chief Designer for BASF Coatings Aktiengesellschaft (Muenster, Germany), for Europe; and Eiji Fujimori, Manager of Color Design for NOF Corporation (Yokohama, Japan), for Japan. BASF has a joint-venture agreement with NOF. Input on future trends in color from non-automotive perspectives were also given by experts within and outside of BASF, and from "man-on-the-street interviews, in the "Color at the Speed of Light" program.

North America

"The trend for North America is dominated by metallic, and that's not exclusive to silver," said Hall. "There needs to be some additional color influence or modified effects for silvers. What's coming are highlights of turquoise, green and red, as well as grays with many color influences and highlights. Copper and gold metallic colors continue to be fresh looking, with new pigment effects being introduced every year."

Hall also reported that strong colors, like "juice and concentrate" will come back to counter-balance the dominant silver look. "Versions of turquoise, ink blue, wine, raw green and other colors that have a transparent, rich color look will reappear as new trends. This is the new middle ground between very light and very dark," he stated.

Europe

"The new concept for the 21st century is sustainability - not only in ecological terms, but as the opposite condition of extravagance and a throw-away society," said Renate Weber of BASF Coatings Aktiengesellschaft. "We are concerned not only with what is recyclable, but also with forward-looking concepts and innovative solutions. For instance, automotive coatings can take on new functions beyond delivering aesthetic quality and corrosion resistance. Perhaps the paint could store solar energy and transfer excess heat to the interior when it's cold, or have reflective attributes that improve safety by making the car easier to see at night."

Silver and blue - elite, technically extravagant, individual and somewhat cooler than in the 1990s - will remain important. Blue will also be made apparent though all shades outside of this color being given a touch of blue.

In terms of color trends, Weber cited blue, all shades of green, warming and brilliant yellow tones, powerfully intense reds, a new red scale that is very dark and extravagant, and blacks and grays that connote mysticism and distance as important future directions in Europe. A new area, fresh and cool tropical colors, that are intense and hot like exotic flowers will also generate much interest.

Japan

"The color forecast for Japan centers around a theme of 'Contrast and Combination,'" said NOF Corporation's Eiji Fujimori. "We regularly see old and new, analog and digital, East and West, traditional and contemporary, future and retro. A good combination of elements that contrast can lead to innovative new designs. We also see such combinations of contrasting categories in car designs being considered. This might be seen with combinations of finished appearances, metals and new materials, and other areas. This is where new color effects will be found for new designs."

According to Fujimori, colors that will have an increased presence in Japan are the ever-popular whites, blacks with slight color shifts and deep tones, creamy-light yellows, bright turquoise, and blues ranging from pale shades to deep tones.

The worldwide coatings segment of BASF has about 10,000 employees and achieved sales of about $2 billion in 2000. With global headquarters in Muenster, Germany, the BASF Coatings Division develops, produces and markets a high-quality range of innovative automotive OEM coatings, automotive refinishes and industrial coatings, as well as the processes needed to apply them. Major markets for this BASF segment are Europe, North and South America, and the Asia/Pacific region.

Variocrom is a trademark of BASF Aktiengesellschaft. Constellation Color is a trademark of BASF Corporation.