Dubai: Is your car passionate? Adventurous? Ambitious? Spirited?
To answer this, take a look at the colour you have chosen for the vehicle, says a psychologist.
"Obviously, a car itself is none of these things. It's the owner's own perception of himself or herself that is reflected in the colour of the car," says Nandita Varma, who likes to describe herself as a "life coach".
Going by that evaluation, a majority of car-owners worldwide like to see themselves as either powerful or as technological wonders!
Only two percentage points separate silver from black as the leading vehicle colour globally, and black's popularity in key automotive markets outside North America is substantial, according to DuPont's 58th Global Automotive Colour Popularity Report.
White and grey are tied for third place, with grey's popularity increasing three percentage points from last year's survey. Red, the only non-neutral colour in the top five, is increasing in popularity, taking the fifth spot on the global colour popularity rankings.
"Black represents power. Silver represents technology. Red is for passion. White is for purity, virtue. And grey — well, grey is a neutral colour between black, white and silver — so you can draw your own conclusions," Varma said.
In what is probably the first promotion of its kind in the past five years, Dubai-based Trading Enterprises is offering up to Dh15,000 off the price of red and white Honda cars and SUVs.
Does that mean very few people in the UAE see themselves as passionate or virtuous, leaving these colours to languish in a showroom?
Varma laughs and says: "A lot would depend on what shade of red or white we are talking about. A red that is not passionate enough may not be popular, and the same with a white that is not virtuous enough."
Globally, 6 per cent of cars sold are red, ahead of colours like blue, brown/beige, green and yellow/gold, according to the DuPont report. "Our annual global colour analysis allows DuPont to share insights into colour trends with automakers as they're planning future vehicle designs," said Nancy Lockhart, DuPont's colour marketing manager.
