I think both white colors look amazing and serve the curved body very well. But to keep it beautiful, you must dedicate some effort in keeping it clean. This depends on your definition of 'clean', as well as your environment (mud/slush/love bugs/...).
I keep hearing people say that it's hard to keep a white car clean. When I was a kid, it was my responsibility to wash my parents' cars, both of which were white. When I would pull them out of the garage, they would look white. When I finished, they looked brighter white!
Unless you live in an area that has very dark dust/soil, my experience both in Texas and in the SF Bay Area is that dust, pollen and water spots tend to be virtually invisible on a white car. Of course, darker stuff will show up, but that seems to be less common.
I did a little experiment by walking through the parking lot of a large company near my work. There were lots of metallic gray cars (I was looking for ones as similar to Dolphin Grey as I could find), and lots of white cars. Upon close inspection, the white cars and the gray cars had roughly equal amounts of dust and grime on them, but from a distance, it was no contest. You could see the dust on the grey cars from 10 feet away, while the white cars just looked white.
I also agree that white on the Model S is a very pretty color. It accentuates the sensuous contours well. Assuming that panel fit is good, I think it will be a knockout. (The white does tend to emphasize any oversized or uneven gaps, though.)
Now, all that said, I still think Dolphin Grey is
gorgeous, especially with the Carbon Grey wheels on the Performance models. So, it's a tough call for me between Dolphin Grey and Catalina White. They both looked super at the Get Amped event.
Black is a completely different statement. Looks best if kept shiny, too.
My friends and I all agreed at the Fremont event: the Model S is absolutely, positively stunning in black. It is an utter beauty. The only reason that I would avoid it is that I have never seen a black car that looks good on the street. I parked next to a black Bentley at the grocery today, and I'm sure that car gets hand washed and detailed. You could still see little flecks of dust on it, and (I think) some fibers from the microfiber cloths they probably use to detail it.
Pictures of the Dolphin Grey were a revelation to me. Wow. Best match for the Carbon Grey performance wheels. Should keep the beautiful look even with a certain amount of road dirt on it. Well, no performance for me, though.
Yup, agreed as I said above, although see my comments about dust.
There's a thread about powder coating wheels here on TMC. That's an option if you like that look. Just get the wheels you can get, and have them coated. It's not that expensive, according to somebody who has had it done on another car.
