The Black Car I Had to Have (That I Never Wanted)

I’ve always said I’d never own a black car. Too hard to keep clean, too serious, too “executive” for me. When I imagined finally getting an EV... something I’ve wanted since high school (Blog: Me and My Mach-E), back when the Chevy Impact hit the news and rewired my brain, I didn’t picture it wrapped in black paint.

I pictured something unique. Something futuristic maybe. Something that said, finally.

But life has a way of handing you the right thing wrapped in the wrong skin, kinda like those right opportunities that feel like the wrong time. 

My MKZ Warmed Me Up

Before the Mach-E, was my MKZ Hybrid. Navy blue,  nearly black in the shade, and easily the darkest car I had ever owned. It was comfortable, good on gas, and more "adult".

The MKZ introduced me to electric in small doses. It floated through traffic silently at low speeds. It made me appreciate the rhythm of regenerative braking. It showed me what it feels like to drive a car that isn't begging you to feed it gasoline every few days.

It was the bridge between “I want an electric car someday” and
I’m absolutely ready for one now.

I didn’t realize it at the time, but the MKZ softened the jump. I learned to keep a dark-colored car clean. I learned that a hybrid wasn’t a compromise... it was training.

The Black Car I Couldn’t Avoid

When the Mach-E finally hit my radar in a serious way (another blog about me getting over that it is technically a Mustang coming later)

I didn’t go looking for a black one. But the right deal, the right trim, the right condition, and the right moment collided… and that car just happened to be black. I nearly got a red one, never wanted a sport car color daily driver. I nearly drove three hours away to get a white one, but white SUVs... not my style and deal fell through anyways.  

Then I saw the black one, close to me, all the options, but I hesitated — and then it became obvious: this is the one, just wrapped in the wrong paint. 

What shifted? Black didn’t feel boring anymore. It felt intentional. Quiet. Confident without trying, not flashy but not boring. It made the whole car look like it had nothing to prove; which, honestly, mirrored exactly where I was in my EV journey.

For a guy who said he’d never own a black car, I fell for it immediately.

Full-Circle EV Moment

In high school, I was that kid who knew the specs on the early EV prototypes, I got to tinker on a 80s Fiero converted to electric, who followed every blip of progress in battery technology, who assumed the world would be full of electric cars by the time I learned to drive. I was on the high school electric vehicle team, and in college I joined the solar race team. I always thought I would be an early EV adopter. 

It took decades longer than I expected.

I finally made the jump fully, confidently, and it happened in a way I never would’ve predicted: not with the bright, futuristic EV I imagined growing up, but with a black Mach-E that felt grounded, present, and entirely mine. Technically according to the BMV a station wagon... ha. 

The car I had to have, in the color I never wanted.

Funny how that works...