Green Cars for St. Patrick’s Day!

It’s been said that there’s only two classes of people: those who are Irish, and those who wish they were Irish. Today, everyone is Irish, so we at the ClassicCars.com Journal thought we’d celebrate some of the better greens from the 1960-70s. This is somewhat of a sequel of Greens That Don’t Suck, a homage on the polarizing greens from the same era, with the below colors being hues that are bound to spread Irish cheer among the folk.

Don’t see your favorite green here? Tell us about it in the Comments section below!

1969 AMC Big Bad Green
During the middle of the 1969 model year, American Motors introduced three Big Bad colors for the Javelin and AMX. All featured a monochromatic look with painted bumpers, but in 1970 the bumpers returned to chrome and the hues were expanded to other models. Big Bad Green (code P4) was the first of the bright greens to appear on the market, with several to follow into the 1970s, as you can read below.

1970 Plymouth Limelight/Dodge Sublime
This High Impact color (code FJ5) was introduced only for the 1970 model year, then reintroduced in 2019 and 2023 when Dodge’s marketing department dug deep in the archives. It’s the brightest green among the High Impact colors – “FJ6” Sassy Grass Green/Green Go that appeared midyear 1970 and carried over into 1971 (and returned for 2015 and some years after that) was bright but darker. FJ5 sears the eyes and may be an acquired taste, but it’s not tacky.

1971 Ford Grabber Lime/Mercury Bright Lime Green
Ford offered this color (code I) for Mustangs and Cougars but not Torinos and Montegos. FoMoCo also felt it would be right at home on the Ford Maverick and Mercury Comet, plus the Pinto (though known as Pinto Lime). It has more yellow than the above Mopar color so don’t let initial appearances deceive you into thinking they’re the same. It was replaced in 1972 with the similar-yet-different Bright Lime (code 4E), a name that was shared with Mercury.

1971 Ford Grabber Green/Mercury Competition Green
Maybe Grabber Lime is too bright for you, yet green is your favorite color and you don’t want one of those ugly earthtone greens. How about this one? While 1970’s Grabber Green/Competition Green (code Z, seen as the lead image of this article) has as many detractors as fans, the 1971 color (also code Z) is a metallic similar to Chevrolet’s Rally Green from 1969 and, perhaps, more to the liking of a leprechaun.

1971 Chevrolet Lime Green/Pontiac Tropical Lime/Oldsmobile Lime Green/Buick Lime Mist
Nothing fancy here – code 43 was simply a bright green available on many cars from General Motors. It’s not some sort of dayglo remnant of the psychedelic era but, rather, just a green. A very green green, if you will. Code 43 announces its arrival without appearing like a Mopar. If you like what you see so far, try to find a photo of one with a white vinyl top and prepare to be amazed.

1972 Chevrolet Spring Green/Pontiac Julep Green/Oldsmobile Radiant Green/Buick Heritage Green
Oh, what’s this? Another four-leaf clover of a color? Color code 36 was popular on a number of GM products in 1972 and worked well on a number of applications: compacts like the Nova and Ventura II, F-body Camaros and Firebirds, and most mid-size models. Doesn’t it look like it would work nicely on a full-size car? Sorry, not offered.

1973 AMC Blarney Green
How can we have a list of greens celebrating St. Patrick’s Day without mentioning Blarney Green? Code F1 was available from American Motors in 1973 and appears to have been available on all its models save Jeep models. It leans more towards the above green from GM, so Blarney Green has flexibility to appear at home on many different models without making a grand statement.