I know I’ve lamented about the , and if the sea of grayscale monotony that clouds every parking lot you come across isn’t enough to depress you, then perhaps this will help: color names used to be so much better, too. Look at these examples from the 1970 Ford Maverick, and you’ll see what I mean.

In fact, to put things in real perspective, let’s compare the 1970 Maverick colors to the reborn 2022 Maverick colors:

Look at those names! Freudian Gilt! Hulla Blue! Anti-Establish Mint! Thanks Vermillion?! Come on!

The best the new Maverick offers — and, keep in mind, the Maverick is actually a lot better than many when it comes to colors — is likely the evocatively-named Area 51.

Those are just the colors listed in that ad. Ford actually offered even more for the Maverick, Mustang, Fairlane, and Falcon, and there were still great names:

Bring ‘Em Back Olive? That seems to be a take on “bring ‘em back alive,” from anti-Viet Nam war protests, which is a pretty edgy thing for a carmaker to choose for a color name.

Actually, wait: as commenters pointed out, . Sorry!

There’s a yellow called “Last Stand Custard,” another military reference, this one to, you know, Gen. Custer’s defeat at the Battle of Little Bighorn, which some of you may know from Eli Cash’s book .

There’s also Home on the Orange, There She Blue, and Good Clean Fawn.

If all this lost fun is getting you down, I implore you to not feel too bad. As far as actual vehicles go, the 2022 Maverick is light-years better than the original Maverick, which, and I say this from personal experience, was kind of a heap.

Yes, we’re missing out on a lot of colors with witty names, but that’s about it.