I'd thought I would join the forum with an answer, not a question.

I was interested in the popularity of exterior Corvette colors offered in 1969, but couldn't find anything (at least semi-easily). I extracted the data from C3registery.org into Excel and crunched the numbers. The sample size represents almost 4% of the cars produced, so this should be a reasonably accurate estimate. Hopefully posting this won't mangle the table data.

1969 Corvette Exterior Color Frequency
Data extracted from C3registry.org, 11/1/11 by Bobs69BB

Rank Color Number %
1 Lemans Blue 259 17.2%
2 Monza Red 199 13.2%
3 Fathom Green 189 12.5%
4 Riverside Gold 178 11.8%
5 Daytona Yellow 169 11.2%
6 Cortez Silver 150 9.9%
7 Can-Am White 116 7.7%
8 Tuxedo Black 108 7.2%
9 Burgundy 78 5.2%
10 Monaco Orange 62 4.1%
Total sample size 1508
Total 1969 production 38762
Sample size (%) 3.9%

Now the question (you didn't really think I was not going to ask a question ? ;-p)

Which colors surprise you as higher or lower ranked than you thought?

Enjoy,
Bobs69BB

 

more blue than red .no 3 is green.more gold than yellow.peoples color tastes have changed .

 

Was a bit surprised, given the universal popularity of black, that Tuxedo Black is only 7.2%. My son's Tuxedo Black has a red vinyl interior which we have been told is a super rare color combination since black / black was very common followed by black / tan.

Wonder how a person would ever figure out how rare black / red really is?

Kevin

 

Great info. My 69 is Fathom Green and knew that it was one of the more popular, but have seen various folks on here say that it was "by far the most popular" without any backup - looks like it was the 3rd most popular, far behind Lemans Blue. Personally, I think every '69 looks hotter than hell!

 

I did the same thing for an article in the Corvette Club of America newsletter a few years back. For all of C3 production where the figures are available, red, white, and blue always rank right at the top.

 

great work, I had posed the question a few months back, nice to have a good, strong estimate or production

 

A sample size of 3.9% is not particularly strong, but makes for interesting information.

 

It's good work in calculations, but statistically I don't see the validity. You are looking at a sample that has a representative bias problem of "people likely to post their cars on a registry." There's absolutely zero reason to believe this 4% slice of the overall population is remotely representative of what is accurate.

You could just as easily look at the comparative color choices in '67 and '68 and extrapolate their trends into 1969 and guess the numbers with no less validity, probably more.

I'm sorry, but there's nothing about capturing numbers from a registry and assuming the distribution is any less than random. Might be accurate; might not. Most experimental design instructors would reject this premise. The validity weaknesses are way worse than the margin of error.

There's is absolutely nothing "good or strong" about this estimate.

 

What's an "experimental design instructor"?

 

uh oh it poopoo

 

KS69, beautiful looking 69 your son has in a great and rare color combo black/red. Is your sons 69 a real 900 code Black 69 ? Also any other pics that you can post,specifically the trim tag...Thanks Jerry

 

Hi,

Yes - trim tag is 900 paint / 407 trim C31 body build date (October 31, 1968), Tuxedo Black / Red Vinyl. I'll come back to you with picture of the trim tag, since the car is in a storage unit tonight.

Car has been extensively documented. NCRS Technical Information Manual and Judging Judge is full of notes and part numbers as Kyle and I have gone over the entire car the past couple of years making notes of everything we find that has a number on it. It is an original car all the way down to lighter, shoulder seat belts, even the storage covers for the T-Tops.

Kyle's Dad - Kevin

 

That is a truly beautiful car!

 

KS69, from the data I extracted, out of the 108 Tuxedo Black, 10 have red interiors, 4 of which are leather.

Vettebuyer5869, as they say lies, damn lies and statistics ...

 

From the photos you've provided, I would say that your car is one of only a "handful" that have those color options and also look amazingly good! So, I wouldn't be concerned about rarity of color combinations. Your car is a "rare treasure" as it is!

 

Total sample size 1508? I see 1817 registered (4.69%). I can't believe 20% more people registered their '69s in the last 2 days (though I just registered mine).

Edit: 307 Other/Unkown Color and 2 new registerees add up to the 1817.

what surprises me is that more 1970 corvettes have been registered (2,011 of 17,316) than any other year, yet it has the lowest production total of any C3.

 

Hi Jerry,

Took a picture of the trim tag for you. As you know, the tag is on the driver side door tucked in a pretty hard to reach spot for a camera. Did my best, hope this works for you. Used the close-up feature and tried to get sharper on the 900 and the other sharper on the 407

Kevin

 

Pretty fun information,

Thank you Vettebuyer5869 -

So out of 108 (7.2%) Tuxedo Black's in 1969, 6 would be 407 red vinyl trim interior. Now I'm wondering how many of the 6 red vinyl interiors would be Coupe's.

No wonder Vette owners keep urging Kyle to keep his car (forever). Not sure Kyle yet understands how special and unique this car really is.

Kyle's Dad
(Kevin)

 

By my count, 2.

 

Thank you. Very cool.

Owner of the car was so impressed with Kyle. Her husband died of cancer and the car was sitting in their garage for many years. They hit it off fantastically. The more they talked the more she wanted Kyle to have this car and the more she was convinced her husband would have wanted Kyle to have his car.

Kyle has wanted a 1969 (only a 1969 Coupe) since he was about 8-years old. Every birthday, holiday, special event, and Christmas every family member gave Kyle cash. He did not want any presents - just cash. To help make his dream come true faster, Kyle started working part-time at a golf shop / driving range when he was a sophomore in High School. Kyle graduated #26 out of his class of 396 students with a 4.06 GPA. He also lettered 5-years in Golf going to State 3 consecutive years, twice advanced to Regional's in Wrestling, is fluent in French, and spent his Junior year in Bordeaux France as an exchange student.

Kyle's now a sophomore in college. I met him last weekend for his induction ceremony into the National College Honor Society and he is still carrying a 4.00 GPA. Amazing person. Genuine, Kind, Compassionate, Driven, Focused, Goal-Oriented, and very determined to succeed.

Kyle's brother Josh is a similar story. 4.00 GPA, graduated with academic honors on a partial academic scholarship from Johnson & Wales University in Business Management with a Minor in Sports Marketing and is currently working for the Colorado Rockies organization in Denver, CO.

We are very, very blessed. Our boys are both just amazing people and they own some cool cars too.

Kevin