How many doors does it have? Is it domestic or foreign? How big is the engine? Did you get the extended warranty? How’s the gas mileage? Does it have all-wheel drive?

These are not the questions you will be asked when friends and families, and even strangers, hear the news that you have left economic caution to the fates and bought a spanking new car.

No, the first question, every single time, is: What colour is it?

There are any number of theories about the psychology of car colours, about why we pick the colours we pick, and what it says about our personality — and even what it means when you don’t care what colour your car is, which is shockingly true of some people, though we will never understand why.

When I recently bought a new car (a 2011 VW Tiguan, a beefy little SUV my affection for which is best left to a separate confessional), I test-drove the model I wanted in dark blue because that’s what they had on the lot.

Loved the car, hated the colour. So I ordered it in black, because black is the best colour for a car, right? And because my last car was black and because I fancy myself all broody and dark-hearted and introspective and wanting to look more edgy and cool that I could ever hope to be, hence the black coat, black scarf, black turtleneck, black boots, black purse, little black dress.

And black car.

Anyway, the black Tiguan arrived, but before I could take it out for a test-drive, I found myself wandering the lot, among the other Tiguans, and colours, the Alpine Greys, Reflex Silvers, Wild Cherrys and White Golds.

And then I saw it. Candy White. Fresh and pure and clean. White. A snowdrift on Pirellis. White. The opposite of black.

And before you could say white was my new, well, you know, the polished black Tiguan patiently awaiting my possession suddenly seemed heavy and sad and so not me.

“I’ll take the white one,” I said.

The paint experts who track such things, along with car buffs who love to discuss the sociological implications of car colours, will tell you that silver has long been the universal hue of choice.

Black, white, red and blue are perennially popular, too, but not so much green. And brown? Word is that it’s making a comeback, though no one can remember wanting to drive a car the colour of dirt.

It’s hardly a shock that the colours we surround ourselves with are chosen because, in a way, they represent us, from our clothing to the window trim on our house to the shade of our automobile.

That’s because colour taps into the visceral, and reflects image and mood and changing tastes — and even pessimism or optimism, in the economy or just in our personal life — and its choice also says something about one’s confidence and personality. Paint your house pink and that says something about you, probably the same thing your neighbours are saying. Drive a metallic orange car and that says something, too: probably that you need a haircut.

The experts say that if you own a silver car you are the calm, collected type. Black is about confidence and power. Yellow reflects happiness, while dark grey is the colour of stability. Blue means you are cautious and loyal, green represents conscientiousness, and red is racy and rebellious.

And white, well, it reportedly proclaims a detail-oriented person, the kind of driver who’s neat and careful and maybe, oh dear, critical.

The 58th annual edition of the DuPont Automotive Color Popularity Report, published last December, reported that silver remains the world’s most popular car colour; 26 per cent of all the cars in the world are painted silver, with black tailgating in second place at 24 per cent.

But there are changes afoot.

In North America, the report noted, white now leads the way, accounting for what the institute calls a 21-per-cent “popularity” share.

The salesman where I bought my bright white car said there are definite trends, and one of the most popular colours today, at least for Volkswagens and at least in these parts, is in fact dark grey. Colour is so important, he says, that he’s lost customers because he couldn’t get the right coloured car delivered in a timely fashion. And buyers tell him they pick a colour because it makes the car look elegant, or rich.

In my case, forsaking black for white wasn’t that hard to figure out. I am neither rich nor that elegant. But I am, increasingly, an optimist.

You get older, you see things differently.

sfralic@vancouversun.com