Our Crosstour is in a scintillating shade I like to call Appliance White. And every Crosstour that I've run into on the streets of Los Angeles has been silver or gray, like the model shown above -- a safe sea of neutrals, with not a red, green or blue in sight. Turns out the Crosstour only comes in seven colors and four of them are neutrals -- black, silver, gray and white.
A company named DuPont Automotive takes a look each year at the most popular car colors in North America. White was the most popular shade in 2010, followed by -- you guessed it -- black, silver and gray. Perhaps Honda and other manufacturers are paying attention to consumer preferences and adjusting their color palettes accordingly. In any case, it's a shame there's not more color on the streets.
Does the model that you drive come in a wide or narrow range of shades?
Warren Clarke, Automotive Content Editor @ ~19,600 miles

bkj216 says:
02:55 PM, 03/ 1/11
My mother owns a White Crosstour, and I've seen them in Green, black, red, silver, and my fav, Dark Blue.
mcloffs says:
03:15 PM, 03/ 1/11
I've had two cars that were bright blue ('94 Miata and '99 A4) and absolutely love the color. My current car is silver, which is perfect for a daily driver because it hides dirt so well, but fun cars should be fun colors.
The colors available for the Hyundai Equus might be the worst in autodom — black, gray, silver and white. How drab.
ed124c says:
03:22 PM, 03/ 1/11
My Subaru Outback is beige, with a beige interior-- I like light colors.
New Outbacks come in a wide variety of colors, from white to black, with silver, light blue, dark blue, green, dark gray, caramel, and bright red inbetween. Six of the colors only come with "warm ivory" interiors, and the other three only with off-black interiors.
If I bought a new Outback, I would choose the bright red with the warm ivory. Or maybe the caramel with the warm ivory, or the satin white pearl with the warm ivory. Subaru gives me lots of nice light and bright choices. And all the interior colors are available in cloth or leather, depending on the trim level. I always choose the cloth.
End of Subaru promotion. Thank you for reading.
jeepsrt says:
03:31 PM, 03/ 1/11
I pretty much buy black cars, My SRT8 Jeep was black and my new Jeep will be black, my FJ is Black cherry and my Wife's M3 is Jerez Black. My Corvette is red though.
wjtinatl says:
03:31 PM, 03/ 1/11
Yellow, Red and Black in my garage, I like the primary colors! Love the Toxic Orange on the '11 Charger and Challenger.
ed124c says:
03:49 PM, 03/ 1/11
@wjtinatl: Yeah, I like that color too.
@jeepsrt: Isn't it hard keeping those black cars clean and shiny? I have had my share of black cars, and won't buy another-- unless it is the gorgeous Hyundai Sonata, 6 speed manual, that I saw at the dealer's lot. Wow, and a beautiful beige cloth interior. Mmmm.
kardax says:
03:59 PM, 03/ 1/11
My '09 Honda Civic Si is "Redline Orange Pearl", a darkish orange color that looks very good when clean. It was only available on the "Si" trim of Civics, and only available for '09 and '10 model years. Between the discontinuation of the color and the manual-only nature of the "Si" Civics, this particular combination is extremely rare.
The Honda Fit is available in a brighter version of this color (the Long Term Fit had it).
misterfusion says:
04:27 PM, 03/ 1/11
My 2010 Rogue is my first white car ever, but it's not really Nissan's fault. My wife vetoed my first color choice (wine red), and I vetoed hers (purple graphite)! Being our third choice, white won by default. Fortunately, it's a very attractive pearlescent white, and the paint job is of extremely high quality considering the price of the vehicle.
jeepsrt says:
05:15 PM, 03/ 1/11
"@jeepsrt: Isn't it hard keeping those black cars clean and shiny? I have had my share of black cars, and won't buy another-- unless it is the gorgeous Hyundai Sonata, 6 speed manual, that I saw at the dealer's lot. Wow, and a beautiful beige cloth interior. Mmmm."
It's not too hard, we keep them waxed and luckily in colorado we get enough nice day's in the winter to be able to hand wash them pretty much weekly.
parchisi64 says:
05:20 PM, 03/ 1/11
My cars:
Black 1993 Cobra
Red 1995 Mustang GT
Red 1995 F-150
Red 2011 Mustang GT
I do like red, but only the 2011 was red by my choice. The truck was handed down to me and the 1995 Mustang was the only affordable 94-95 5 speed GT in the area at the time (needed it for a 408 swap)
mercedesfan says:
06:21 PM, 03/ 1/11
My primary car comes in pretty much any color you could ever imagine. As long as you have the means, Designo will gladly fulfill your color fantasy with a special one-off. Me? I opted for black. I personally don't think an S550 should be in a loud color. Restrained just fits it.
My weekend car is in a drab Graphite Grey. I really wanted red, but it is nearly impossible to find an M3 with a manual and the standard rims, so you have to settle. I would have special ordered, but the dealership gave me such a dirt-cheap lease on that particular car I couldn't refuse it.
atomic13 says:
06:27 PM, 03/ 1/11
Is it that automakers are "listening to preferences" or is it that Americans have so few choices these days that those four drab colors win by default? I have had two silver cars, one white, and one horrible champagne metallic. All were not my choice but were the only options in my budget. I will be SO HAPPY to get my new car this year and something with COLOR
rudycantfail says:
06:57 PM, 03/ 1/11
I have wondered if the mild color choices are a balance to Honda's controversial styling.
Black is very hard to keep clean in northeast winters with all of the salt on the roads, btw. I went with white this time, but the crosstour I test drove in tango red pearl looked great.
crzelite says:
09:32 PM, 03/ 1/11
I drive a white Lexus RX400h (primarily) and I have it in "Crystal White Metallic", which is exactly what it sounds like. I test-drove a one year newer (2008) that was in a bright and great shade of red that really appealed to me, but the dealer was charging an exorbitant price that I couldn't take (even for a one-year difference), especially when the dealer I bought mine from was charging about $7000 less. I love the way the white looks though; the first few days after I bought it, I would walk outside before bed and look at it (no joke).
gregbird says:
10:07 PM, 03/ 1/11
Except for metallic black, I prefer "different" colors. I have a Corsa Blue Metallic Kia Forte at the moment. Everyone loves the color, but living in the country causes it to be a pain to keep clean. Especially with neighborhood cats walking all over it. (I hate the paw prints, but there is nothing I can do other than wash it every week.)
bemanix88 says:
07:42 AM, 03/ 2/11
I hate boring colored cars. I drive an orange/copper '08 Honda Fit and love it... I can't see myself ever buying a black, silver, or beige car. White looks good on some cars, and deep gunmetal grey can look nice too. However, I just prefer bright colors.
bemanix88 says:
07:43 AM, 03/ 2/11
I hate boring colored cars. I drive an orange/copper '08 Honda Fit and love it... I can't see myself ever buying a black, silver, or beige car. White looks good on some cars, and deep gunmetal grey can look nice too. However, I just prefer bright colors. I'm planning on getting a red MX-5 next.
ptcdawg says:
07:59 AM, 03/ 2/11
I like Black/Silver or White cars. Black is my favorite. I've had a few bright red ones..they tend to draw cops.
csubowtie says:
11:58 AM, 03/ 2/11
I have a WRC Rally Blue WRX, my '75 Chevy PU hot rod is going to be Viper Yellow, and my '03 S-10 is white. The only reason my newer truck is white is because it was the only one I could find with the bigger engine and a 5-spd. I dream of painting it Sunset Orange or whatever that GM color was called, they had it for 'Vettes and a few other cars. I hate boring colors, but it goes with a lot of peoples mindsets these days. Everybody is buying for resale value. It's like all those home design shows where people buy beige houses because they are easier to sell in the future!? Who cares, buy what YOU like, not what will offend the least number of people.
northsparrow says:
12:00 PM, 03/ 2/11
Where I live I would choose the color that looks best with salt stains because washing a car 3 times a day all winter is not a realistic option.
johncuth1170 says:
11:58 PM, 03/ 2/11
I love having a car that's a bold color. Current car (Mazda) is cuff-me red - would have went with dark-cherry if it was more cherry and less dark. Previous car (Honda Accord) was (unfortunately) dark green. Car before that (Alfa 155 Cloverleaf) was bright red and before that (Ford Sierra Sapphire RS Cozzie) was royal blue with an amethyst tint.
I'm very disappointed in the color palettes being offered by today's auto companies - except it seems for muscle cars - their style depts must be run by a bunch of beige-ists.