Colour and the motor car

Compared with decorative paints - which are dominated by brilliant white, magnolia and 'natural' shades containing little organic pigment - automotive colours are strong and bright. Preferences do drift and there are national differences. A very high proportion of American cars are metallics, often containing only a little colour. The deep reds and blues we see in the UK are rarely seen across the Atlantic.

However, even in Europe there has been a drift away from bright colours. Although reds (about 20-25% of the market) and blues (about 15% of the market) have retained their share, sales of yellow, orange and green cars have declined, while white, grey (usually metallic) and black car sales have increased, notably in the large car market such as Mercedes and BMW.