It’s Official: Most People Buy Cars In Stupidly Boring Colours
Variety - they say - is the spice of life. But try telling that to buyers of new cars in the UK. According to data released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) for UK car registrations in 2015, white remained the most popular colour choice for the third year running, this time with a 21.4 per cent market share and an increase of 2.2 per cent compared to 2014.
To make matters worse, the next most popular colours were just as boring - black is in at number two with a 19.4 per cent share, and grey placed third with 15.6 per cent. Combine the lot, and you get 56.4 per cent. Chuck in silver, another dull choice, and you get 67.6 per cent. So, this means the majority of new car buyers go for really boring colours.
The reason is unclear. Perhaps it’s a lack of imagination, something to do with the fact more interesting shades are paid options or maybe it’s concerns about resale value, but whatever the cause it’s frustrating. Particularly when paint technology is so good these days, giving you a wide range of weird and wonderful colours and finishes to choose from.
It’s not all bad news, though. More interesting colours are continuing to rise in popularity. Orange - for instance - only made up 0.7 per cent of cars registered last year, but it’s experienced a 25.7 per cent increase in popularity.
Hopefully this trend will continue, and break up the sea of white, black and grey…
Growing up on a diet of World Rally Championship highlights and lengthy Gran Turismo 2 sessions, a life in cars was as good as inevitable for Matt.
Comments
I buyed a new car and I choosed black. Cuz I like black! :)
It kind of makes sense that people buy neutral colors, it is safer for the resell value
I went for red because I got the last FR special edition coming into the country and it happened to be red, then again I did want it in red.. hmm
In Arizona white/silver is extremely common due to the heat here in the summer. Major temperature difference between a light color car and a dark color car in the time it takes to do your grocery shopping and whatnot.
Choosing a dull color because it will have more resale value is stupid.
Neutral colors are less likely to cause attention and less likely to get you pulled over. Neutral colors also go well with other colors, making combinations easier to pull off with the interior for a better looking car.
Its a myth that bright colors get pulled over more than white cars.. Somebody had a done a research on this recently and guess which was the color that got pulled over the most… White !!… Not sure what the sample size was because the pool of white cars is definitely larger… But ya its a myth..
I think I know the answer to this . There are two theories that support it:
Theory 1 - Many people choose white as it puts less burden on repairs and insurance as it is easy to get hold of white paint and is comparatively cheaper than others.
Theory 2 - Most people tend to be formal and as a result choose white over many other possible colours as it is discrete because…. yeah, they are boring.
Also, white works well on some cars too. Like the LFA.
White also tends to not get as hot as other darker colors
And white is supposedly more visible at night, helping to avoid crashes. (Source: My parents, who have one white and one gray car). But then, I’m pretty sure my bright red Miata is pretty frickin’ visible.
Mmmhhh yes! My daily is candy white, so veryyyyy expensive to repair
And white looks so good when it gets muddy :D
I think white really brings out the body lines in cars too.
Especially modern ones.
It’s easy, people think that other colours make the car unreliable. But I want a tangerine scream focus 😍
Speaking as a vehicle painter, i hate fancy effect colours. Colour matching and application is becoming a nightmare, as some manufacturers are phasing out standard solid colours and replacing with 3-stage pearlescent and candies. Sure they may look cool, but repair can be almost impossible in some cases.
white is boring?😛
LFA…