Extra: Car Colors & Storage Units

Presenting two stories from The Economics of Everyday Things: Why does it seem like every car is black, white, or gray these days? And: How self-storage took over America.

SOURCES: • Tom Crockett, classic car enthusiast. Zachary Dickens • , executive vice president and chief investment officer of Extra Space Storage. Mark Gutjahr • , global head of design at BASF. • Kara Kolodziej, self-storage unit tenant. Anne Mari DeCoster • , self-storage consultant. Nikkie Riedel • , carline planning manager at Subaru of America.

RESOURCES: • “ A Fifth Of Americans Rent Self Storage, With Millennials Overtaking Gen Xers In Generational Storage Wars • ,” by Francis Chantree ( Storage Cafe, • 2024). • “ Lessors of Mini Warehouses and Self-Storage Units Show Significant Financial Gains During COVID-19 Pandemic • ,” by Ben Chandler and Robin Enlow (United States Census Bureau, 2024). BASF Color Report 2023 for Automotive OEM Coatings • , (2023). • “ The Fate of Oversupplied Self-Storage Markets and How to Pull Back From the Brink • ,” by Frank DeSalvo and David Perlleshi ( Inside Self Storage, • 2023). • “ A Pandemic Space Race: Self-Storage Roars Back • ,” by Ellen Rosen ( The New York Times, • 2021). • “ Beige on an S.U.V. Will Cost You, but for Pickups It’s Golden • ,” by Roy Furchgott ( The New York Times, • 2021). • “ A Brief History Of Car Colors — And Why Are We So Boring Now? • ” ( Consumer Reports, • 2018). • “ The Link Between the Colour of Cars and the Economy • ,” ( The Economist, • 2018). • “ Need to Store That? Booming Self-Storage Industry Says No Problem • ,” by Liam Pleven ( The Wall Street Journal, • 2015).

EXTRAS: • “ Car Washes • ,” by The Economics of Everyday Things • (2023). Storage Wars, • TV series (2010-present). Auction Hunters, • TV series (2010-2015).

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