From 1969 to 1973 buyers of all new domestic Chrysler cars could order their new cars with special, extra-cost paint. These are the High Impact Paint (HIP) colors.
The High Impact Paint option cost around $15.00, depending on the model. These colors can be found on everything from compact 4-doors to top-of-the-line full-size C-bodies, but are most often found on musclecars. And the names are as colorful as the paints.
The following is a list of the ten most popular optional High Impact Paints, along with a best-effort representation of the color scanned from original paint chips.
| Paint Code | Dodge Name | Chrysler/ Imperial/
Plymouth Name |
DuPont Lucite® Code | DuPont Centari® Code | DuPont Dulux®
Code |
PPG Ditzler® Code | Years offered |
| FC7 | Plum Crazy | In-Violet | 5182LM | 5182AW | 5182DH | 2210 | 1970
1971 |
| EF6 | Bright Green | Rallye Green | 4987L | 4987D | 1969 Spring Color Only | ||
| FJ5 | Sublime | Lime Light | 5181L | 5181A | 5181D | 1970 | |
| FJ6 | Green Go | Sassy Grass | 5127L | 5127A | 5127D | 2259 | 1970
1971 |
| EK2 | Go Mango | Vitamin C | 5065LH | 5065AH | 5065DH | 1969
1970 |
|
| EL5 | Butterscotch | Bahama Yellow | 5267L | 5267A | 5267D | 2325 | 1969
1970 1971 |
| FM3 | Panther Pink | Moulin Rouge | 2260 | 1970 Spring Color Only
1971 Special Order Only |
|||
| EV2 | Hemi Orange | Tor Red | 5067LH | 5067A | 5067DH | 2186 | 1969
1970 1971 1972 |
| FY1 | Top Banana | Lemon Twist | 5180L | 5180A | 5180D | 1970
1971 1972 1973 |
|
| GY3 | Citron Yella | Curious Yellow | 5308LH | 5308AH | 5308DH | 2320 | 1971 |
And finally, here is a list of 9 paint names that were allegedly rejected by Chrysler executives:
Catch Me Copper
Unforseeable Fuicha
Statutory Grape
Gang Green
Well Red
Cost Of Living Rose
Fisher Body Rust
Hi-Ho Silver
Frank Lloyd White
It's true that one of Chrysler's High Impact Paints was named after a controversal 1967 Swedish film. "I Am Curious (Yellow)" was confiscated upon import to the U.S. and was the subject of a 1969 U.S. Supreme Court case concerning freedom of speech in the 1st Amendment to the U.S. Consitiution.
The other half of the film was "I Am Curiouis (Blue)", 1968. Yellow and blue are, of course, the colors of the Swedish Flag.
Both films are currently available on DVD.
In perusing old newspapers looking for dealer ads, I ran across these ads mentioning the film. The ads below are from the Rocky Mountain News (Denver, Colorado), Saturday, November 29, 1969 and the Los Angeles Herald-Examiner (Los Angeles, California), Monday, July 21, 1969.
(Click for a larger image.)
One wonders if the executives in the corporate office understood why GY3 was marketed to the youth market as Curious Yellow. Gotta love a car company with a sense of humor!
