New cars in the U.S. are painted in dull grayscale twice as often as in 1996 — and the color palette keeps shrinking

America’s roads are turning into a monochrome wasteland. New data shows that the share of new cars painted in shades of gray, silver, or white has nearly doubled since 1996, rising 47.3% to dominate the market.

In 1996, white was the top color at 22.1%, followed by red at 20.1% and black at 14.2%. By 2025, grayscale hues—led by gray—have exploded in popularity, with gray alone jumping from 3.6% to 22.9% of new cars sold, a 528.4% surge.

Black has also surged to 23.4%, making it the second-most popular color behind white, which remains on top at 22.1%. Blue, once a strong contender at 9.1%, now accounts for just 9.1% of sales, barely holding onto third place.

Every other color in the top 13—red, green, brown, beige, yellow, gold, and purple—has seen its market share shrink since 1996. The only color to gain ground was orange, which inched up from 0.2% to 0.3%.

The shift reflects a broader cultural drift toward uniformity, mirroring the disappearance of once-iconic design elements like Wendy’s solariums and Pizza Hut’s red-roofed restaurants. Despite evidence that bold paint colors can boost resale value, grayscale dominance persists, leaving the automotive landscape looking increasingly drab and homogeneous.