I hear you on that, I once was a passenger in a car in the UK with an American friend in the countryside who attempted a U-turn and suddenly thought he was back in the US and almost had a head-on collision with a car coming the other way....fun times.
I disagree, grey is perfect, it goes with our weather. Also, unless they put the steering wheel on the right side of the car i'd have to think hard about getting one.
Not a bad idea, I have done the same recently, somehow driving in London with a 20mph speed limit in a lot of zones doesn't really warrant gear changes, it's really lame when cyclists overtake you on the road.