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A Smidgen Less Chrome

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Hello!

During my prolonged suffering over what color to choose for my Model S, I spent a lot of time looking at pictures and videos of the car in various colors. For a couple of the colors, I knew something was bothering me a bit, and I finally put my finger on it. I thought I'd share.

On the dark colors, like the Blue, the chrome accents really pop against the dark color, and they add a little "zing" to the car. Among these nice accents is the chrome strip beneath the doors, which echoes the chrome trim around the windows.

On the light colors (white, silver, maybe grey), to my eye, that chrome strip doesn't work as well. I feel as if it detracts from the lines of the car. With a little Photoshop help, I tried a quick experiment in selective de-chroming, and I liked what I saw. It put silver back in play for me, and ultimately led me to choose white. So, on my white car, I plan to have these under-door strips blacked out, probably at a vinyl shop so that the tweak is reversible. Before/after photos below.

Here's a shot of the Performance Pearl White car in LA by mdennick from his excellent photo set posted over on the Tesla forums:
Perf White.jpg


And here it is minus the chrome under the doors:
Perf White dechromed.jpg


Here's my own shot of the two silver cars from Palo Alto:
IMG_0288.jpg


And here it is with the chrome deleted from the front car:
IMG_0288.jpg


And finally, a frame from that Santana Row YouTube video:
White from above.png


And with the chrome removed:
White from above, chrome deleted.jpg



I'm sure there are folks who like that chrome strip, and seriously, to each his own, but I thought I'd share my own thoughts on this in case others might find that it makes those light colors look nicer to them, as it does to me.
 
Mike,

Thats always bothered me as well, and as im getting the white also (pretty similar package to you actually) id love to see how yours looks once you get that wrapped. Would definitely be something id consider based on your photoshop efforts.
 
It's the chrome around the windows that I dislike the most (Zero chrome is the correct amount). It looks worse on the dark coloured cars but it's way too noticeable on the light coloured ones. The chrome sticks out like Bozo the Clown at a wedding.
 
I'm very disappointed with the overuse of chrome on the S. I was going to get black, but after seeing it in person I'm definitely going with something else, and I think the chrome is throwing off the look. When I see it I immediately think "Nissan Altima". The grey has really grown on me after seeing it in Chicago. Add the matching performance wheels and it looks wicked.
 
I have been watching the chrome discussion from the sidelines for some time now. For the most part posters seem anti-chrome. Yet I'm wondering if that's an overly skewed sentiment with selection bias of the posters or if it represents the mainstream impression of the average Model S customer. I personally don't have any problems with the chrome use on the S and think it looks fine on all the colors. Without chrome things would look different and I'd probably think that looks OK too. But I'm curious about the mainstream buyer. Tesla has given a great deal of attention to the exterior styling of the car so I'm wondering if there may be a good reason for their choice in the bigger picture.
 
I have been watching the chrome discussion from the sidelines for some time now. For the most part posters seem anti-chrome. Yet I'm wondering if that's an overly skewed sentiment with selection bias of the posters or if it represents the mainstream impression of the average Model S customer. I personally don't have any problems with the chrome use on the S and think it looks fine on all the colors. Without chrome things would look different and I'd probably think that looks OK too. But I'm curious about the mainstream buyer. Tesla has given a great deal of attention to the exterior styling of the car so I'm wondering if there may be a good reason for their choice in the bigger picture.

i'm not as "anti-chrome" as a lot of the posters in this thread. :) Frankly i could take it or leave it. It's just that strip on the bottom that really bugs me. Makes the doors look "off". Not sure how to better describe it.
 
It's just that strip on the bottom that really bugs me. Makes the doors look "off". Not sure how to better describe it.

That is exactly my feeling as well, and actually only on the lighter colors. I like the rest of the chrome on the car, and I like that chrome strip on the dark colors. It's just on the light colors that I find that strip makes things look peculiar.

With that said, I look forward to seeing photos of a de-chromed Model S, which I'm sure some members here will provide us with shortly after they take delivery. ;-)
 
I don't want any chrome with my white and dark wheels, but to be honest I never noticed that strip til you told me so it may be going too far before fixing the chrome window trim. Thanks for making me notice EVEN more chrome now Mike! ;). Honestly I think I'll live with it though considering there is already chrome other placesm but yeah ideally there would be none. Example my 03 fx has black window trim and the newer ones have chrome all over and just kills the fx for me now.
 
It's the chrome around the windows that I dislike the most (Zero chrome is the correct amount). It looks worse on the dark coloured cars but it's way too noticeable on the light coloured ones. The chrome sticks out like Bozo the Clown at a wedding.

Not that this should matter, but it's worth pointing out that pretty much any modern car has chrome around the windows. It's not like Tesla is doing anything that deviates from the norm.
 
I have been watching the chrome discussion from the sidelines for some time now. For the most part posters seem anti-chrome. Yet I'm wondering if that's an overly skewed sentiment with selection bias of the posters or if it represents the mainstream impression of the average Model S customer. I personally don't have any problems with the chrome use on the S and think it looks fine on all the colors. Without chrome things would look different and I'd probably think that looks OK too. But I'm curious about the mainstream buyer. Tesla has given a great deal of attention to the exterior styling of the car so I'm wondering if there may be a good reason for their choice in the bigger picture.

I love the chrome.
It's one of the things that caught my eye when I first saw the Model S.
It was a refreshing change and I interpreted it as a signal that Tesla intended to turn out a quality product.

Besides, I've grown tired of the chrome-free trend. To my eye, the black and matte effects are starting to just look like it is an excuse for some manufacturers to cut corners. Carbon fiber details are no longer novel and it is looking dated to me as well.

But, maybe I am like a bowerbird and just attracted to colorful bright shiny objects.
 
I like the chrome EXCEPT for the strip under the doors. It makes it look like the doors are too long/tall. Depending on how my wife feels about this I may investigate having some black vinyl installed but need to figure out how well it would hold up since that's a high foot-traffic area.