RED, WHITE, AND GRAY WERE HIT CAR COLORS OF '88

Red, white, and gray may sound a shade less than patriotic, but American car buyers were loyal to them as their favorite colors for automobiles in 1988, a survey by Du Pont Automotive Products showed Wednesday. It predicted that the trend toward brighter and lighter shades will continue in the early '90s, with teal and aqua blues gaining in popularity.

According to the survey, 20 percent of compact cars were purchased in bright red last year, followed by about 17 percent of white autos and 11 percent that were medium or dark gray. Among larger cars, white was the choice of 17.4 percent of car buyers, while red autos were purchased by 14.8 percent and medium gray cars by 12.7 percent.