Production methods in car factory paint shops in the 1950s and ’60s meant that dealing with lots of different colours was complicated, time consuming and expensive. It was usual for a car to be offered in a small range of colours for a year or two and then these would be replaced by another choice. This meant that, although the SEAT 600 was available in many different colours over its lifetime, its colour range at any one time was limited. And the colours were quite simple, with no metallic colours or special finishes. The paints themselves weren’t exactly healthy, as they were enamels that contained lead.
Move forward five decades to the SEAT Ateca and it’s a very different story. SEAT’s new SUV is available in 11 different colours (depending upon trim level), including several metallic colours, such as Samoa orange.
The SEAT 600 had many parts that were chrome-plated, including front and rear bumpers that would be a disaster in today’s pedestrian-impact crash tests. The Ateca, of course, has deformable plastic bumpers that are painted in the body colour.
Mirrors were rather lacking in the original 600 and if fitted as an aftermarket extra had a chrome finish. Again, the Ateca’s are finished in the car’s body colour. The choice doesn’t finish there. In the Ateca’s accessories catalogue you can specify your car with different colour wing mirror covers, a slash of colour in the radiator grille and even with Samoa orange alloy wheels.
The car buyer in the ’50s had fewer choices to make – not just for colour, but also for upholstery. Vinyl was the material of choice in a simple and affordable family car such as the 600. Just imagine how sticky those seats must have got during high summer in Spain, SEAT’s home, and with no air conditioning either. Today, Ateca customers can choose between leather and cloth upholstery.
In 1957, the SEAT 600 customer would have been beyond excited at the prospect of owning a new car. That’s the same today, although Ateca owners have the pleasurable challenge of not only choosing colours and materials, but also selecting a combination that is statistically unlikely to be seen on another car.
