The color of dull cars

Why the most popular car colors are also the most boring

Over time, the color of the car has become dull

This graph shows how dull the car colors have become over the years.

What one might be wondering is that automakers offer a full palette of colors.

While the vast majority of car buyers simply opt for things that are basically off-color.

Most cars, trucks, and SUVs on the road are as monochromatic as a 1950s TV show.

So that it is estimated that 25.8% of all vehicles on the road are painted white.

This is based on a review of over 6.1 million models in use.

Black, which is essentially a combination of all colors, is second only to white balance, which is defined as the absence of color.

Along with gray and silver, these can be found adorning more than 78% of all vehicles on the road.

With the most popular colors in all 50 states and each of the nation's major metropolitan areas being white or black.

We've certainly come a long way from the days of muscle cars and roadsters,

when colorful rides made previously expressive cars stand out in a sea of ​​bland sedans and station wagons.

If anything, it's a throwback to the days of Henry Ford's original Model T, which, as the saying goes, could be any color as long as it was black.

So how did the nation's color choice become so soft? Isn't this idea outstanding for attracting potential thieves or car movers?

Or is it a lack of creativity on the part of car buyers that automakers and dealerships more or less follow prevailing preferences?

"White's popularity can be attributed to the fact that it is one of the easiest colors to maintain," explains Carl Brauer, exec utive analyst at iSeeCars.

Because it is a common color for fleet and rental vehicles, white is popular in the used car market.

Black remains a popular choice for car buyers, [while] consumers may prefer gray and silver.

Because they are practical colors, but they are a little newer than white and black.

According to iSeeCars.com, these are the 10 most popular car colors in the United States, with applicable percentages of the country's fleet for each:

White: 25.8%
Black: 22.3%
Gray: 18.4%
Silver: 12.1%
Blue: 9.5%
Red: 8.6%
Brown: 0.9%
Green: 0.8%
Orange: 0.6%
Beige: 0.5%

However, a previous study of more than 650,000 used car transactions found that lighter-colored vehicles yielded the highest financial returns at the time of the transaction.

While the bland choices that rule the roads remain fairly neutral in terms of resale value.

The report concluded that cars painted in yellow were worthless when it came to returning the dollar.

All things being equal, it was found that yellow cars depreciated an average of only 4.5 percent over a three-year ownership period.

That's 70 percent less than the average car painted a more neutral color.

"Yellow is one of the least popular car colors with the lowest car share," says Brauer.

It is usually a color for sports cars and other small vehicles that hold their value relatively well.

Because yellow vehicles are so new to the used market, people are willing to pay a premium for them.

Here are the colors it says contribute to the lowest depreciation rates based on a three-year ownership period:

Yellow: 4.5%
Orange: 10.7%
Purple: 13.9%
Red: 14.0%
Green: 14.0%
Blue: 14.3%
Gray: 14.3%
Beige: 14.4%
Silver 14.8%
White: 15.5%

Average: 15.0%.