In 2018, officials in Turkmenistan decided to ban all black cars from the Central Asian country’s capital. The highly unpopular measure had some citizens waking up to find their cars missing. It wasn’t long before it became clear that the vehicles had been towed to a parking lot. The only way for the citizens to get their cars back was to sign a document that obligated them to have the vehicles repainted white or a similar color. Auto body shops seized the opportunity to increase a full-car paint job from $500 to $1,000 and up. The government has never made an official statement about exactly why the new law was enacted, but it’s believed that white is the favorite color of President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, who is a big believer in superstitions and believes the color white brings good luck.
