When it comes to autos, white is the new white.
Automakers in North America offered more white cars than vehicles in any other colour during the just-completed 2012 model year, according to the automotive coating division of PPG Industries.
The paint company said 22 per cent of the 2012 cars painted white. That compares to 21 per cent last year. White stole market share from black, which fell to 19 per cent this year from 20 per cent last year. Silver held steady at 20 per cent.
Americans just don't seem to be into cars with dynamic colours, according to the 2012 model year build data collected by PPG. Red is nine per cent, blue seven per cent and green two per cent.
But that hasn't stopped PPG from offering up some interesting colours for consideration by the industry for the 2014 model year and beyond, such as Al Fresco, a green-tinted silver, or Glacier, a grey with a blue tone.
When it comes to luxury cars, 33 per cent were painted grey. Red was the most common colour for sports cars, at 19 per cent. Orange gets almost no love. It did best in the compact car and light truck segments, but even then tallied just two per cent.
Despite their affinity for white, American car buyers aren't as conservative as their counterparts abroad. In Europe, 23 per cent of the cars built during the last model year were white and 21 per cent black. In Asia, 23 per cent were white and another 23 per cent were silver.
