Pictured: Leyton Cooper

White is in the fashion fast-lane among Wolverhampton car buyers, according to a major used car retailer which has just completed an analysis of shifting colour preferences.

ACF Car Finance, which has a showroom in Willenhall, thinks the new trend towards white could be a fall-out from computer giant Apple's pristine new white iPods and iPads.

But although sales of white cars increased by up to seven-fold in 2011, the new chic shade still has a lot of catching up to do says Leyton Cooper, divisional group buying manager.

Less than one percent of sales in the period were white, compared with the evergreen favourite shades of silver (25 percent of sales), blue (25 percent) and black (21 percent).

However, the top trio of colours did fade slightly in popularity in ACF Car Finance's survey, and recorded an average of 10 percent fewer sales.

Colours gaining ground, in addition to white, include beige, gold and orange.

Although colour trends come and go, Leyton says, white may yet prove to have staying power.

"White doesn't show chips and scratches as readily, and is more forgiving than darker shades if you haven't been able to get out with a bucket and sponge for a while," he says.

"White cars can also be more economical to run because they reflect the sun's heat, rather than absorbing it as a darker colour does, meaning the air conditioning is used less," Leyton points out.