CAR buyers are said to choose vehicles that reflect their personality. In Britain the colour may also reflect the national mood. In the late 1990s Britons bought cars in bright primary colours, perhaps mirroring the optimism of the early years of Tony Blair’s New Labour administration. In the following years, as the economy ticked along steadily, they went for sensible greys and silvers. As economic hardship followed the financial crisis, sentiment turned darker as black cars predominated.

The popularity of white cars is harder to explain. Once so unpopular that police forces stopped using them because resale values were so low, white cars go hand in hand with Britain entering new territory when David Cameron’s coalition government starting making inroads with policies that reversed the country’s gloomy mood. Or perhaps draining a car of colour is another way of not making a firm choice. At least the reversion to black is easier to comprehend, as the haplessness of Theresa May’s government and worries over Brexit have darkened the outlook for Britain’s drivers.