Changing color of multiple ojects at once?

[Matthew Hagerty]

Is there a way to easily change the color of many objects scattered 
throughout a model?  Obviously I know I can multi-select the objects and 
modify the properties, but there are a lot of little objects all over 
that make up the overall color of the model.  Plus, when I import the 
model into my scene file, I don't want to be digging into the model 
hierarchy.

I was thinking about maybe a texture that simply sets the color, but 
what would happen when I want to import more than one of the models in 
my scene and have each a different color?  Is there a better way?

Thanks,
Matthew