Car buyers like to paint it black

Black is the new black, or, more accurately, the new silver, when it comes to choosing a car colour.

Motorists seem to be agreeing with pioneer Henry Ford, who once famously said customers could choose any colour 'as long as it's black'.

Asked in a survey, carried out by yesinsurance.co.uk, the majority of 4,000 motorists said if they were able to buy a car tomorrow they would choose black.

Silver was second, followed by red, then grey and then white.

Silver is currently the most popular colour for new cars, but the survey suggests black could soon replace it in top spot.

Paul Purdy, of yesinsurance.co.uk, said: "The results are interesting, because they measure the preferences of motorists who may not be in a position to buy a new car today, but who may well be in the market for one within the next few years.

"Silver has been the most popular colour for new cars for a number of years, but this research indicates that black may soon jump from third to first place in the table of most popular colours."

Silver cars accounted for 762,000 sales in 2005, according to the latest figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, followed by blue (543,000), black (479,000), grey (272,000), red (171,000) and green (60,000).