(written before yesterday’s all red car post…) By now you all well know my proclivity for white cars, although I admit it works better on some than on others. But the statistics don’t lie: white was the top color in 2012, and took over from silver a few years back. Why? you might be surprised:
Blame it on Steve Jobs, whose white Apple products brought in a sea change from all the silver cell phones and such that were once so dominant. As was silver paint on cars.
I will very safely go out on a limb and say that that white is undoubtedly the top color on the the hottest new car of the year too, the Tesla S. White makes up 23% of new cars sold in the US, and 24% in the world.
And black is the second most popular color, both on the Tesla S as well as all new cars in 2012. A spokesperson from DuPont says that “white and black are seen as denoting status”. So that explains why I’ve liked white cars, ever since 1972. I’m so desperate…
But fear not, lovers of colors; yellow is up to number eight.
And green is number nine. (silver, gray, red, blue, and brown/beige take number 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7).
By the time one gets to number ten, it’s less than 1% of the market, so everything else gets lumped in with it, like this Techno Pink Spark. So will it be pink for you?
My wife loves black and white, so anytime we get a new car it is either black or white. The lone exception was fifteen years ago when I deliberately chose dark red for the Saturn since that color complimented everything else in our lives.
My used cars have been whatever they were. My current ride is that ridiculous dark brownish gray found on everything Honda, Toyota or Saturn. My neighbor has the near exact color on her Civic. It’s a non-color requiring extra caution since you are almost invisible on the road, driving a color that looks like the road.
White is clean, cool and neat. Now that fender gaps are a thing of the past, white is possible. Also, remember rust? Did you really wanted a white car that began rusting the day you bought it? White cars didn’t work during the rust years, right? Back then, the color of the rust could be seen through the paint if it was white before the rust actually perforated completely through. Poo-colored rocker panels, anyone? So white is a color for cars in our slow-rust and non-rust era.
I work in a high rise. Next to a window. Looking out right now at the parked cars, I see the world most boring colors. Nothing interesting. The only color out there is a shade of red and a shade of blue on a few. In a world of neutral colored cars. I’m not even seeing a shade of brown – no golds or beiges either.
BORING!
We should have guessed that a guy who goes by VanillaDude would like white cars. 🙂
Ha!
To me, nothing looks better than black for most sports cars, Truck/SUVs and even normal sedans. Its sexy on sports cars, intimidating on trucks and “dignified” on sedans. White is a close second. However for some reason on a small car like a Spark or a Fit, black (or white) just looks bland and even a little cheap. Maybe that perception started from the original economy car, the Model T. Small cars just need some color for personality!
I have a soft spot for yellow sports cars. My Dad’s ’70 Opel GT was a light shade of yellow, and it looked much better in that hue than in darker colors. The GT definitely wasn’t able to pull off red. Chevy has offered some really nice yellows on Corvettes, too.
White is very much dependent on the particular car and trim. On a highly optioned model where there’s more body color trim, or any luxury car really, white just adds to that luxurious look (think BMW 7 series in white, or a fully loaded SUV like a Suburban with nice wheels done in white). But on lower trims, or economy cars, white just makes them look like fleet vehicles. Think white Focus SE, or F150 XL. In white they look like the electric company owns them, whereas a bright blue or black lower trim level doesn’t look so cheap.
Completely agree on this. I’d add that with the relatively recent commonality of color matched bumpers and trim (including on base models and cheaper vehicles) has made white cars look far better today than they did in the past (up to at least mid 1990’s). Back then rubber bumpers, side mirrors, other bits really looked crummy on white cars… with the side-effect of making black the most attractive choice! As pointed out, the color matched trend hasn’t entered the entirety of the market (think fleet f-150s, as pointed out) and white still looks crappy on those vehicles.
My favorite example of the color-matched-bumper-improves-white-color effect is the first Volvo S-60. They did a mid cycle refresh of the bumper/trim. In white and other light colors, the new version benefits greatly.
I have the opposite opinion – white looks best with black trim to play off.
Maybe not doorhandles and mirrors, but well-styled contrasting black rocker panels and something interesting done with the taillights – the non-ST Focus hatchback carries off white really well and it’s the only color that looks good with the dark gray 17″ alloys.
I have always liked white cars.
Despite popular opinion to the contrary, it is actually the easiest color to keep and appear clean.
I have never had a black car. Far too difficult to keep clean.
As long as it is well waxed and dirt doesn’t imbed itself into it.
I’m pretty sure Mercedes Benz only offers four colours these days (!)…..because whenever I visit my local dealer’s lot, it’s a sea of white, black, grey and silver cars…!!?! It amazes me how “conservative” are the tastes of the average new-car buyer, especially on high-end models. Really, is there anything more predictable than a silver Mercedes?? It’s like Ben Stiller’s rif in Flirting with Disaster, about “white Tauruses” in the parking lot..!! “White” equals “rental car”….or emergency vehicle….
And don’t get me started about the paucity of interior colours available these days…. Surely, people would pay extra to obtain some sort of “custom” interiors, featuring a relatively full palate of tones. Hey, whatever happened to white leather, with a contrasting colour for the dash and carpeting…..especially in convertibles…?!?! How can anyone live with a convertible with black leather…..or worse, grey cloth…. Ya gotta live a little….
Not just color, what happened to nice cloth interiors?
Making the headliner always white and the dash and door tops always black makes some sense, I’d prefer a red interior done that way than everything but the turn signal stalks in red (I think early Westmoreland VWs had color keyed stalks, btw). I could even deal with always-black carpeting.
But why can’t I have blue velour seats?
As a boss of BMW / MINI, Volvo and Mercedes dealerships I can tell you @Marlin66 that it doesn’t matter what colours the manufacturers could offer – customers will choose black, gray, silver or white.
If I saw a navy, burgundy red or green car – it was a reason to open a bottle of scotch 😉
That’s the sad reality…
As one who once owned a car in an unusual color, I really think some customers order black/white/silver because they’re thinking “I’ll get raped when I go to trade this thing in neon lime green or screaming yellow.” Which is the same reason why I think some enthusiasts avoid manual transmissions in their daily drivers, and why air conditioning is now standard or almost always ordered, even in cooler parts of the U.S.
Another reason why I tend to stick to more common colors: It’s much easier for me to find touch up paint and to fix minor chips, although I may be unusual in that I often do that task myself (I trained as an artist, and paint on canvas as a hobby). In fact, I tend to shy away from metallics for the same reason, although that’s getting to be more difficult as even blacks and whites often come in pearls or metallics these days.
The local new car dealers had a one-stop shop last weekend by having 1000+ new cars at the mall.
Curious about a Dart (but having no intentions to purchase), I talked to a Dodge salesman. He said people want the whites, silvers, and grays. While there are more vibrant colors available on Dodge’s, they don’t sell very quickly.
It’s a shame I could walk 300′ to Sears and get a new refridgerator in more pulse quickening and vibrant colors than I could a car. Expedience seems to have trumped style.
I wonder if this isn’t exaggerated. I think if a car is available with a number of options packages, the dealers worry that once the buyer narrows a choice down to a model and option package, there might be only one or two or three cars on the lot that match the buyer’s preference. And of the only ones are in an “objectionable” color, they’ll lose a sale. And while black and white and gray may not be the first choice of most, they’re probably the least likely to kill a prospective sale.
I suspect how the US car market is mostly OEMs pushing inventory to dealers fuels this. If we had more of a order your new car how you want it model we would see more interesting colors and more options choices.
However given this impulsive instant gratification MO of many car shoppers we a limited slateof options in the 3-4 most popular colors.
Well, at least from what I have seen, leasing and financing schemes have largely restricted most sales to dealer’s stock. Some will look around for a car for you but beyond that, no ordering. In the old days, you got a loan from the bank or credit union and made your deal with the dealer. Now so much F&I is done on site they usually require you to select from in stock merchandise.
Ian – in my response above I was talking about european BMW, Mercedes or Volvo dealers that don’t usually sell cars from their stock – we normally build cars to order and it doesn’t change a bit. Customers still want grey, black, silver and white.
On recent X3, X5 the trend is opening a gap for beige or brown, but regular sedans got mostly standard black-grey-silver-white.
You said it! Mrs. PRNDL HAD to have the metallic blue washer/dryer. (Gotta admit the choice has grown on me.)
Now that stainless steel appliances are the rage, is it the time to bring back the Delorean? Doc Brown wants to know.
I am SHOCKED that brown/beige is all the way down at 7. Out here in the great Midwest, it seems like it ought to be number 2, right after white, given how many beige cars are on the road here.
I’ve never liked white. Too dull, like a box of generic saltine crackers. Or a refrigerator. You can buff and wax it all you want but it will still look dull. And feminine.
Black is my color. Hard to maintain but it has so much more depth and shine than white.
My Subaru is an unusual shade of blue called Marine Blue Pearl. No boring colors. When you lease you often have to take the crap that is offered but lucky to find this even though it looks like a Honda Accord.
The top picture looks like an insurance company ad, I keep expecting “Mayhem” to come by and sideswipe all the parked cars.
+1 I want to see “Mayhem” drive a Semi Tractor.
My current DD (2013 Beetle TDi Convertible) is black with beige top and interior, which looks really classy, but is a bear to keep looking clean, especially since I commute in from farm country with tractor mud and lots of potholes to contend with.
Its predecessor (2000 New Beetle TDI coupe) was white, which regular readers know I decaled as Herbie.
Before that was my ’64 Type I Beetle, black with red interior. For some reason, I don’t remember it as being particularly hard to keep looking clean, but then we lived in Atlanta then, and perhaps the roads were cleaner.
The wife has been through a succession of Dodge and Chrysler minivans – blue/teal, dark metallic red, metallic red and the latest is dark green.
My farm trucks always seem to end up blue (powder blue on the ’69, dark blue on the ’95 that just got replaced by a dark blue ’99).
White was the number one color on Chevrolets all through the 1960s, until gold finally edged it out in 1970.
I liked white cars back in the days of chrome and stainless trim, then came to hate it during the era of matte black trim. Since we have re-entered the monochrome era, I like white again, though it has not usually been my favorite.
My father was “mister white car” for most of my life, with only a few being in color, mostly during the 70s. My Honda Fit is white for the strange reason that if we wanted the black/beige interior (rather than the black/gray) on a Sport model, there was one color available – you guessed it, white.
White outside for reduced summer heat and night time visibility. Black inside for reduced glare. No brainer!
3 reasons why white has been popular color for decades: Fleets, fleets, fleets.
All those commercial fleet white vans, police cars, pickups, you name it, pad the numbers for white vehicles.
Should count retail sales color numbers to see what people are actaully buying.
Ah, poor White. Loved (or at least wanted more) and maligned.
I had a 69 Cougar and it was Polar White aka Wimbledon Ford White (slightly creamy) not the refrigerator white seen today. White cars I think of: the original Corvette, Thunderbolts (and the whole “body in white” basic). Shelby GT 350, Hurst Olds/300, etc.
Anything looks sexy in Black. White is classic, it looks great on a clean and pure design like a 63 Riviera or Continental.
Well, what people are buying these days is white, if I’m any indication. Bought my first ever white car in ’09, a Chaste White 97 Miata (LOVE that car). And my second, a Candy White 2012 Jetta. The current trend of smaller gaps and less use of black trim has really worked to make white look expensive.
I find white cars a little on the dull side. I prefer a dark blue or even black. I just think that they look a little classier. I know that they are very difficult to keep clean as even dust can become an eysore but when they are clean, boy do they look clean. Darker colours also are far more reflective than even the cleanest white car.
The Tesla Model S looks pretty good in white. I’m growing obsessed with that car.
Not a fan of white, though it looks elegant on small sports cars like Mazda MX5s. For me it is because I grew up in a very remote and hot mining town in northern Australia where about 75% of vehicles where white Toyota Landcruisers. White tends to keep the car a bit cooler and shows dust less. Strangely enough, in a town of less than 20000 there were also 3 boat-tail Buick Rivieras and a Maserati Bora…none of these were white!
When selecting my new Civic, I had an agonizing choice between white & a lovely dark metallic blue. But I chose white for no other reason than that I don’t get a 1st-degree burn from it in the AZ sun, & it’s more durable.
My DD is dark emerald green metalic almost black at night the Minx is Cameo blue/white top traditional scheme for that model I have a white Superminx and a red Corolla on the way I guess I dont prefer a colour any will do
Yes! I’m in a minority (green-car lover) AGAIN!!! How can I be normal when I am almost ALWAYS in a minority?!
P.S. The green Bentley is seriously SEXY!
Subject cars the Papal entourage? Can you say “Pope’s Prius” five times fast?
It must be something in that… My new 2012 Passat company car is black and my fun-car – 1994 Saab 900 Convertible is… black as well.
Maybe that’s why I want so much a dark navy Passat and silver Saab with blue roof? 😉
Here they are… Black all aroud us… 🙁
And the sweetheart… 😉
The flagship is black, the Mazda dinghy is Copper Red, which I love. I’m actually somewhat obsessed with anything remotely orange, couldn’t tell you why. I want a “project car” to paint in this smashing Ford hue:
In Japan, white has been the most popular color for private cars for many years. Perhaps it has something to do with the hot and humid summers there.
It’s also the Japanese racing colour, like green for Britain or blue for France.
Just replaced my silver-gold car with a white one. White shows off the design lines similar to silver, it also plays well with silver or black trim. Excellent contrast to the red tail lights.
My weekender is black. Classy as hell, a bitch to keep clean.
I think maroon and medium-dark blue are also pretty cool as long as there isn’t too much glitter in the paint.
I bought my current wagon at one year old and 14K. At the time white was not my first, second or even fifth choice, but it’s grown on me. In 2010 I spent Labor Day weekend putting on bright red pinstripes, which greatly improved the looks, in my opinion. It contrasts well with the black lower cladding.