We spend a lot of time picking out the cars we want to buy. We find makes and models that we like, research the gas mileage, take test drives and check on dependability and resale values.

Interactive: What Colors Say About You

When it comes to colors, though, who really knows why we choose what we choose?

While a cigar is sometimes just a cigar, color choices can also have a subconscious meaning, and it seems that North Americans' collective feelings are changing.

According to the DuPont Global Automotive Color Popularity Report, for the first time this decade, white has overtaken silver as the most popular car color in North America.

White was the color of choice for 19 percent of all car buyers in 2007, according to DuPont, knocking silver off of its 21st century reign.

DuPont has been issuing its annual report of auto color trends for 55 years. This year, for the first time, DuPont also issued a midyear report, which was released Tuesday. The midyear report did not rank the colors again, but gave updates on trends that automakers have been seeing so far this year.

According to the update, white and silver continue to dominate.

"DuPont sees (white's popularity) as being driven by the customized offerings, especially with white pearl," said Karen Surcina, color marketing and technology manager at DuPont. "White pearl is a specialty process. It has three coats. Most colors have two coats, so it is a specialized process."

Why Silver Ruled

Silver's dominance until this year has been perceived by experts as being related to its association with technology.

"All the things that were going on with technology in the late '90s -- the sleek, clean, cool, high-tech look -- it really translated into what people were looking for in their cars," said Kate Smith, who started the company Sensational Color. She works with corporations and individual clients by helping them select colors that will elicit a favorable response to their products. "So, as all colors that we are attracted to do, it plays off of our emotions and our story about ourselves."

But what seems to have happened with silver is that its increased in popularity eventually made it less cool.

"As silver became popular, it became an increasingly safe color," said Surcina. "In times of concern, it no longer represented fresh and new. It represented a comfortable color for people."

All of the most popular choices in North America fall into the neutral category of white, silver and black. Fourth on the list, at 13 percent, is red. Blue and gray tied for fifth, at 12 percent.

Vibrant Color Comeback

Vibrant colors had fallen off during silver's reign but now seem to be making a comeback. DuPont's midyear update showed that blue has been gaining in popularity this year, especially clean, water-like blues.

"A few years ago, we were starting to see chromatic colors come back, and those are more true, vibrant colors, such as red, and blue indicates that as well," said Surcina.

But as much as people in North America seem to prefer the neutral colors, other areas of the world prefer them even more.

In Europe, for example, the No. 1 choice in 2007 was black, overtaking silver. Nearly 75 percent of all color choices in Europe fall into the neutral category, compared to 65 percent in North America.

Black cars, according to "The Color Answer Book" by Leatrice Eiseman, send a message of empowerment and an appreciation for the classics.

"Traditionally, people have thought of black and silver and gray as, 'That's the color my car is supposed to be,'" said Smith. "It makes sense. I think (Europeans) are often a little ahead of us as not having such a disposable lifestyle. Money and the environment, all those things we are now taking a different view to, in Europe, that's a lifestyle."

In Japan, nearly 80 percent of all color choices were neutral, and they were also the entire top 80 percent.

"The interesting thing is, when you think of Japan, you think of flashy lights and a lot of activity, but their car choices are certainly in the more neutral vein," said Surcina. "They have always been much more trended toward the neutral category."

One thing that sticks out on the Japan color choices is the "other" category, which includes vibrant colors like purple. In all other regions, "other" ranks no higher than 2 percent, but in Japan, it is 12 percent.

Smith said she believes this is a result of a generation gap in Japan.

"I think that 'other' gets back to younger people in Japan, where you will see a lot of interesting use of color and a lot of interesting designs, like things coming out of anime, and costume-like dress," said Smith.

Automakers use DuPont's study as one way to predict future trends, and Surcina said she believes that as globalization grows, there will be more similarities in car color choices around the world.

"One of the things that we understand as an industry is the globalization of color, and so vehicles that are being produced on that continent aren't necessarily just being sold on that continent any longer," said Surcina. "And so the automakers are working to develop a palette that can be sold worldwide."