I can't quite see "not to have many color combos to support on small sales
volume." Support how? Supporting a paint color consists of giving each paint
manufacturer a slip of paper with a formula, and printing a label to stick in
the trunk, but they had already done that for world sales.
I think what he meant is dealing with the ability of a dealer to make
all the "available" colors genuinely available. If it only comes in
black, no one can complain about the lack of a silver model on the
lot. Now I realize that my parents may not be your average car
shoppers, but they've bought two new cars in their lives and
availability of "available" paint colors played a role in both
purchases. In 1979 my dad bought a FIAT 131. He wanted it in red
(which was in the brochure), with a sunroof and nothing else, but the
dealer in San Diego told him he'd have to special order it. After
several weeks of waiting, the dealer said his red car had been lost
in the distribution channel, and he'd either have to take a different
color or wait another several weeks. My dad ended up with a tan 131
with a radio that he didn't have to pay for. In 1986 my parents
wanted a white Volvo 240 wagon with a (black, not chrome) luggage
rack, third seat, air conditioning, and heavy-duty floormats. There
were several white cars on the lot, but none with that set of
options. After some haggling, they ended up with a white car with a
black luggage rack and AC, but they got a free automatic
transmission, and had to take the car back a week later for the
dealer to remove the radio and install the third seat. And then they
had to go to another Volvo dealer to get their heavy-duty floormats.
To me, this explains why power windows, AC, and leather were standard
on USA GTV6's and why interior and exterior color choices were so
limited.