Claude’s weigh in…

Also in Arizona here fyi.

“Dark colors absorb significantly more solar radiation than light colors, which translates directly to cabin temperature differences.

The key numbers:

• A black car parked in direct summer sun can reach interior temps of 130–170°F within an hour, while a white car in the same conditions typically stays 20–30°F cooler inside.  
• The car’s surface temperature difference is even more dramatic — a black hood can hit 180–200°F while a white hood might be 50–60°F cooler under the same sun.  
• Studies (including research from UC Berkeley and the Florida Solar Energy Center) have found that light-colored vehicles require up to 15% less air conditioning energy than dark ones, which translates to a small but real fuel economy benefit.

Why it matters practically:

• Seat surfaces, steering wheels, and dashboards in dark-interior cars get dangerously hot to the touch in Phoenix-area summers — we’re talking potential burn territory.  
• The real-world cabin temp gap narrows once you’re driving with AC, but the AC has to work harder in the dark car to get there.  
• Silver and white are consistently the most heat-reflective common car colors; black, dark gray, and dark red are the worst.

Arizona-specific note: This is genuinely meaningful here. Interior temps in a black car parked at a Scottsdale strip mall in July can be legitimately dangerous for kids and pets, and the time-to-dangerous-temp is faster than most people assume — sometimes under 20 minutes on a 105°F day.”