If you have a ’67 to ’69 Pontiac, chances are your car’s original paint color is code-Q, the famous Verdoro Green.

In fact, in ’68, more Pontiacs were painted Verdoro Green than any other color.

What made this Olive Green-like color so popular?

The answer is an ashtray, or rather John DeLorean’s wife’s reaction to an ashtray she acquired in Spain. She told her husband, who was Pontiac’s General Manager, her fondness for the color. That’s all it took. Before long, Verdoro Green had become Pontiac’s most common color, at least for a while.