Canvey Carriage Company on Popular Car Colours

Here at Canvey Carriage Company, we love all things car. This week, we decided to take a look at most popular car colours amongst drivers and why some are more favoured than others.

While they may be less easy to spot in the dark, heat up more quickly in the sun and call to mind taxis and hearses, black cars are eternally popular in the UK. However, silver and blue cars continue to outstrip their darker brothers. A recent survey showed that around 29% of cars on the roads are silver, while 23% are blue.

The same survey also suggested that red and green cars have become less popular in recent years and that there was little difference between the sexes  in terms of car colour, though women were slightly more inclined towards blue and green vehicles.

Black cars are apparently more popular in the North East, while silver is preferred in Northern Ireland.  Yorkshire and Humberside tend towards red, and the West Midlands go for white cars. There weren’t many orange cars but they were more likely to be owned by older drivers in the South East. The higher the social status the more likely the driver was to own a silver car.

Does Car Colour Matter?

Canvey Carriage Company understand that cars mean different things to different people. It is true that the colour of your car can indicate various things about your lifestyle.

Status: Some feel that black or white cars denote status whilst those with orange, yellow or purple cars are trying to be whacky.

Sale: When it comes to reselling the car there are still two clear contenders for most saleable colours – silver and black. Sellers of purple or beige cars may struggle. Various police forces switched to silver cars a few years ago to cash in on better resale values.

Spick and span: One of the attractions of silver is the feeling that it is by far the easiest to keep clean or indeed appear to be clean. Black and white cars tend to show up the dirt.

Safest: Lighter colours are felt to be the safest. Yellow, white and then red topped the poll for safety. In bad light some colours are easier to spot than others hence the importance of using your lights when visibility is poor.

Sanest: A motoring psychologist has suggested that owners of beige or pastel coloured cars are more likely to suffer from depression. The happiest drivers have blue metallic cars. Owners of black cars try to top the pecking order whilst white car owners tend to be distant and aloof. Other psychologists suggest that silver denotes prestige and wealth but has a feminine energy; it is related to the moon and the ebb and flow of the tides - it is fluid, emotional, sensitive and mysterious. It is soothing, calming and purifying.

Suits: Some people argue that a certain colour may suit a particular model of car such as a red Ferrari or British Racing Green older MG. Others accept that more quirky cars (2CVs, Beetles) can get away with more exotic colours.