Temperature and Color

We've all heard it!

• "Oh don't buy a black car, it will be too hot in the summer!"
• "You're going to be hot if you wear that black shirt today!"
• "My car has a black interior, it will be hot to get into!"

I think you get the point! So now, after reading Mary Stuart's, Launching the Imagination, I am utterly confused about the cooling and warming effect of colors. In reference to the term temperature in chapter 2 Stuart states, "Try leaving six colored squares of equal value on fresh snow on a sunny day. By the end of the day, the warm-colored oranges, reds, and violets will sink into the melting snow, while the blue and green squares will remain closer to the surface" (p. 44). My confusion pertains to black's ability to absorb heat while blue' and green have an inability to absorb heat in comparison to the warmer colors (orange, red, and violet) that do absorb heat. I know that was a mouthful. However, how can black (due to my experiences) and orange (from the statement in the book) both have the same effect of absorbing heat? If a black square was placed on the snow, would the black shade absorb the heat like our cars and clothes do? Or would the black only absorb the heat without letting the heat transfer to the snow below? Is black a warm color or a cool color? I think I will test my questions in comparison to the warm colors in December when I have fresh snow available to me.