TROY, Mich., Oct. 6 (UPI) -- Almost one in three 2010 model cars sold in the United States shared at least one similarity: the color silver, an industry study found.
PPG Industries said its latest annual survey on car colors put silver well ahead of the pack with 31 percent of U.S. cars sporting a silver paint job.
It was the 10th consecutive year silver, including charcoal and gray, topped the list. Following silver, the car-buying public's taste has fluctuated over the years, The Detroit News reported Wednesday.
Virtually equal numbers of buyers -- 18 percent each -- chose black or white cars from the 2010 model line-ups. Red was chosen 11 percent of the time, followed by blue at 10 percent.
It was an off-year for green. The most popular color of 1994 came in last with 4 percent of buyers choosing one if its variations.
That was the year silver began to make its move. Silver was at 8 percent in 1994 and 20 percent in 2008. "There's clearly been a significant strengthening of silver's popularity in recent years," PPG manager of color styling Jane Harrington said.
There are also trends within the trends. Buyers of luxury cars rarely choose a flashy color, whereas "If you buy a VW Bug, you might want to brighten it up with a fun color," Harrington said.
