Considering that many people paint right over the fuse & breaker boxes in their apartments, the manufacturers probably see no sense in "wasting money" putting out multiple colour lines.
The breaker box (about 30 or 40 years old) in my mom's 1949 apartment building is encrusted with coats of paint so that the catch is jammed and the door doesn't swing down fully.
The door to the old fuse box in my 1940s building is also encrusted with paint. The electricians turned it into a junction box (with the stupid door still swinging wide open so you can see the wires) when they wired in the new breaker box with additional 20 amp service.
The General Electric-brand breaker box in my flat is still its factory grey but I've been in other apartments where the residents -- including my friend across the hallway -- have just painted RIGHT OVER the silly thing (obscuring the labels and everything)!!!
In my friend's defense, though, she moved in and the place was already painted, so I can't accuse her of painting the panel door. But when she decides to repaint I guess there's no choice but to paint over the existing paint....
[This message has been edited by SvenNYC (edited 10-17-2003).]