I own a berlina black but will admit that it was my second choice for color, after sebring silver. (My personal preference is towards non-bright colors, although the early red cars with black top look very nice.) The early sebring silver cars with the black top (adding later-model polished 7-spoke oem wheels) just look right, in my opinion. I went ahead and got the black because it was an automatic and was available. If I hadn't bought the black car then, something would probably have come up while I was waiting and I wouldn't have gotten an NSX at all. I went ahead and bought it before I talked myself out of it and ended up without an NSX.
The berlina black color soaks up all the light shining on it and hides the sculpted details of the car. It is a b***h to keep clean and really only looks great immediately after it is washed or at night. A black car that is driven regularly will show every little scratch, swirl mark, and rock chip. Even though I park in a condo parking garage at home, I drive my car way too much to keep it clean enough to always look great. I do not plan on buying another black automobile again, ever. Sebring silver is just the opposite. It shows the details of the car, is probably the easiest color to keep looking clean, and hides those little scratches, swirl marks, and rock chips. To me, silver is always the right color choice for a car. It looks elegant but is very practical. I can't think of any car that doesn't look better in silver.
After a couple of years of owning my black car I ran across a nice silver automatic for sale in another state and almost bought the silver and put my black car up for sale. That is how much I like the silver. I can't believe that Honda replaced sebring silver with brooklands green. In the end, I decided that since I had ironed out most of the issues (coil packs, leaking cam plugs, bose stereo, rear glass and trunk struts, non-retracting antenna, etc.) that usually affect these cars, I would keep my black car and be happy. It is still a sharp-looking car overall, runs great, and is a pleasure to own, plus it is paid for.
Ultimately, I would recommend that you hold out for the right sebring silver car. If you really admire the sebring silver, as I do, it will be worth the wait. You won't be totally satisfied if you settle for your second choice.
As my closing argument, I submit the following photo. Drop-dead gorgeous. To my taste, THE most beautiful car ever made, period. Just looking at the picture increases my heart rate and makes my palms sweaty. I haven't had that kind of reaction to a car since my Dad said no to the red and black Dodge Challenger when I was fifteen...
It is as true today as it was in 2000 when this question was first posted.
