Since the beginning of photography, shooters have used an 18 percent gray card as a brightness gauge for exposure. When television came along, and then color video, the role of the 18 percent gray card became even more important. It boils down to something approximate to this: 18 percent gray is the average color and brightness of everything. If you are, say, the U.S. Navy (or really the navy of any country big enough to float one), it would very much be in your best interest to paint your ships a color that makes something that big and dangerous disappear. You’d probably call it Destroyer Gray.
In 2017, Dodge decided to offer the color Destroyer Gray across its performance portfolio, which is to say the Dodge Charger and Challenger and not the Dodge Journey and Caravan (both of which are now gone). As colors go, Destroyer Gray is the anti-color; it has no color and no metalflake (note: Destroyer Gray has pigment, just not what an artist or photographer would call “color”). Some would call it boring—I’m in that group as my Hellcat is Yellowjacket Yellow—but Destroyer Gray is one of Dodge’s most popular colors, so I’m in the minority. This notwithstanding, you would think with Destroyer Gray being one of Dodge’s most popular hues, they’d keep it on the boil. Nope. We can only infer as to why. After the close of production for 2019 model-year Chargers and Challengers, Destroyer Gray quietly disappeared on those cars.
Apparently, folks liked Destroyer Gray a lot more than Dodge bargained for, as it’s one of the most widely searched colors on the interwebs. We like the original thinking behind Destroyer Gray: it both imports the gravitas of Dodge’s big performers like the Hemi, Scat Pack, and Hellcat, while giving owners a bit of a camouflaged head start on law enforcement (one Mississippi, two Mississippi, three Mississippi … ). Destroyer Gray paint is clearly something I could’ve used to avoid the last speeding ticket I got, but that can’t be the reason for the sudden interest in Dodge Destroyer Gray.
What Does Destroyer Gray Look Like?
Once upon a time, in 2016, the closest thing you could get to Destroyer Gray was Granite Crystal Metallic Clear Coat (what my next-door neighbor calls Raider gray, the color of his Scat Pack) and Billet Silver Metallic Clear Coat. Unlike Destroyer Gray, both have metalflake in the color coat, with Granite Crystal noticeably darker than Destroyer Gray, and Billet Metallic appearing noticeably lighter. Initially, the trend in non-metallic medium gray paint was all the rage with European performance machinery (Audi’s Nardo Gray comes to mind) and American manufacturers understandably went down the same path. The muted color and understated non-metallic hue exuded high-end European luxury performance, so why not try it on a muscle car, just like Detroit did during the first go-round with muscle cars? Destroyer Gray simply looks high-end.
Does Dodge Still Make Destroyer Gray?
Dodge Destroyer Gray was first offered in 2017 on the Dodge Charger, Challenger, and Durango. It was available on all trim variants for the 2017, 2018, and 2019 models, but then in 2020 Destroyer Gray disappeared for everything except the Durango. Why is this? We’ve always known about the limitations of the paint shop at the Brampton, Ontario assembly plant (the only source for the Charger and Challenger). When it was set up for initial production of the LX platform for the 2005 model year, the press hailed it as a big step up for Daimler-Chrysler, and Brampton’s paint shop was one of the standouts.
Why Is Dodge Killing Destroyer Gray?
Quality, however, comes at the cost of variety, and changing out paint colors between metallics and non-metallics is a hassle that requires extra complexity; it’s messy and expensive. When Dodge began adding some of the exciting boutique colors that bubbled up from customer clinics at the annual Spring Festival of LXs (Sinamon Stick, Frostbite, Gold Rush, Hellraisin), they would’ve had to orchestrate some difficult paint shop changeovers throughout the year. We reasonably suspect Destroyer Gray was a casualty, and not really that bad a trade-off to this color-centric eye. The Durango, however, is built at the Jefferson North Assembly plant in Detroit, and perhaps there was an argument to be made for keeping Destroyer Gray on the Durango for its different customer base. So does Dodge still make Destroyer Gray? The answer is yes, but only on the Durango. [Note to Tim Kuniskis: On the behalf of fans, could you please add Destroyer Gray to the list of SRT Jailbreak colors?]
Is Smoke Show the Same as Destroyer Gray?
2020 Dodge Challenger and Charger in Smoke Show.
When the 2020 Dodges hit, the non-metallic color Smoke Show was introduced. Fans of Dodge performance products generally note that this gray tint is lighter and a tad on the blue side compared to Destroyer Gray, and other than its polished clearcoat has an uncanny resemblance to gray primer. Smoke Show might not be the high-impact color Dodges are famous for, but the name is high-impact and conveys the hooligan nature of these potent performers. Is Smoke Show the same as Destroyer Gray? No, it’s distinctly different and you would probably not mistake the two, but Smoke Show is the spiritual descendant of Destroyer Gray, just turned up a notch in brightness and with the smallest drop of pastel blue added (note: you probably won’t be as invisible as you would with Destroyer Gray!). Rather than kill Destroyer Gray outright, the Dodge color and style department tweaked it just a bit for a more positive response. Quite understandably, it couldn’t take on the same name without causing confusion, so it’s called Smoke Show.
Still on the fence about Destroyer Gray and Smoke Show? Check out the gallery for more photos!
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Keyword: Why Is Dodge Killing Destroyer Gray?