By Carleton Varney- Special to the Palm Beach Daily News

Keep color rolling on the roadways of America, I say.

Next time you are taking a spin or a happy trip across the state — from Palm Beach to Naples, perhaps — or during a scenic drive on A1A, take a count of all the vehicles painted black, cement gray, beige or some other color you might just as well call “mud.”

Then reflect on the car colors of yesteryear.

I grew up in the 1950s, when the highways of America were filled with bright and happy hues. You might see a sky-blue Thunderbird, a hunter-green Packard, a bright-red Chevrolet and some other make with designer colors, perhaps a combination of salmon and cream, or turquoise and white.

The colorful cars of yesterday still can be seen on the streets of Cuba. I recall my last visit to Havana, where one could ride in colorful cars of the 1950s, thanks to longstanding trade restrictions. Mind you, the cars were often a bit rickety, as parts to recondition them were not easy to secure.

Last season, I was a judge at the antique car show at The Greenbrier resort in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. I was tasked with selecting the top vehicle of beauty, inside and out. As I looked at the cars, all bright and beautiful, I examined the exteriors and interiors. The seat upholstery and the materials on the dashboards and steering wheels were all so happy, creative and interesting.

But, of course, my eye gave top marks for color — and there was lots of it on the leather and dashboards.

The winning car was a Ford convertible in aqua blue with cream seats, red carpeting and a paneled dashboard that recalled the look of a light-pine library.

Vintage cars can give you lots of decorating ideas for a home today. I certainly don’t recommend you take any ideas from the interiors of most of today’s vehicles, which are all gray and beige and, well, you know.

I hope car manufacturers in America, Europe and Japan will one day wake up to the idea of using color and textures in their designs. How I would Iove to see more color!

I own a red Volkswagen Beetle, from which I shall never part. Recently, I looked at a new car for a friend, who had asked for some color advice. The color selected was a hunter green with a champagne convertible top, along with champagne leather seats and vivid tomato-red carpet.

Of course, the dealer explained that the color changes meant repainting the vehicle — and that would add to the cost, as the car was only available off the floor in dreary colors.

Alas! The world seems to be getting drearier and drearier, color-wise. But I plan to keep rolling out the idea that color means happiness, whether on roadways or in a home.