:):)hi,can someone tell me the dif. between shale and champ. and what years had shale and what years were champ.also what is color of top of dash,doors and panel behind seats on looks to be 04-05.looks like these areas changed to black 06 and up? i'm a newbie looking for a car and all the light ints. look gray on the car sites. Thanks, AL

Great question Al,

Depending on which brochure you hold in your hands, (or look at online) colors (exterior and interior) can go by several interchangeable names. For the XLR, the three main interior colors are ebony, grey, and shale/cashmere. There's also an ebony/shale two-tone that was used in different model years, that featured shale door panels, ebony upper door sills and trim plate behind the seat, with a shale waterfall (the big piece of plastic directly behind the seats. The cashmere interior name was used in later years, but I've never been able to tell if it's much of a different shade from shale.

Anyone out there notice a difference in the two?

Shale looks really nice when new, but takes a lot of care to keep it looking good as it starts to really show dirt after a few years.


Shale/Cashemere and ebony interiors were available in all years. Grey was a little harder to find, but it's out there. (It has also been called Titanium.)

Wood trim varied in color by year and model (base or V.) There were also shale interiors with grey dash pads, but usually, the dash pads are black whether the interior was ebony or shale/cashmere.

If you really want to get a good flavor for the different combos through the years, check out XLRs for sale on eBay. There are plenty of great hi-rez pictures taken by sellers that will show the many variations. Do be aware that the color names may be wrong. Ebony is usually referred to as black, and shale or cashmere as tan. This is even more true with exterior colors, which are usually called out as red, blue, silver, etc, rather than Crystal Red Tintcoat, Xenon Blue, Platinum. . .

You're right, many of the ebony interiors look grey when photographed under powerful flashes.

Don't feel bad, it's pretty confusing.

Oh, as an afterthought, if you want to take a crash course in all things XLR, (okay, many things) I highly recommend John McCormick's "XLR" book. Lots of cool pictures and trivia as he traces the development of the XLR from concept to reality. Amazon probably has some and they appear on eBay from time to time.

CCC :seeya

Great question Al,

Depending on which brochure you hold in your hands, (or look at online) colors (exterior and interior) can go by several interchangeable names. For the XLR, the three main interior colors are ebony, grey, and shale/cashmere. There's also an ebony/shale two-tone that was used in different model years, that featured shale door panels, ebony upper door sills and trim plate behind the seat, with a shale waterfall (the big piece of plastic directly behind the seats. The cashmere interior name was used in later years, but I've never been able to tell if it's much of a different shade from shale.

Anyone out there notice a difference in the two?

Shale looks really nice when new, but takes a lot of care to keep it looking good as it starts to really show dirt after a few years.


Shale/Cashemere and ebony interiors were available in all years. Grey was a little harder to find, but it's out there. (It has also been called Titanium.)

Wood trim varied in color by year and model (base or V.) There were also shale interiors with grey dash pads, but usually, the dash pads are black whether the interior was ebony or shale/cashmere.

If you really want to get a good flavor for the different combos through the years, check out XLRs for sale on eBay. There are plenty of great hi-rez pictures taken by sellers that will show the many variations. Do be aware that the color names may be wrong. Ebony is usually referred to as black, and shale or cashmere as tan. This is even more true with exterior colors, which are usually called out as red, blue, silver, etc, rather than Crystal Red Tintcoat, Xenon Blue, Platinum. . .

You're right, many of the ebony interiors look grey when photographed under powerful flashes.

Don't feel bad, it's pretty confusing.

Oh, as an afterthought, if you want to take a crash course in all things XLR, (okay, many things) I highly recommend John McCormick's "XLR" book. Lots of cool pictures and trivia as he traces the development of the XLR from concept to reality. Amazon probably has some and they appear on eBay from time to time.

CCC :seeya

you did such a good job on that quest.can you describe the diff.in nickel silver and gold mist also is gold mist the same as goldstream used in 08? thanks,AL

Don't know of any nickel silver XLRs. However. . .

In 2004 & 2005, a gold-colored XLR was produced under two names, Shale and Satin Nickel. Satin Nickel appears to be more of a tarnished, subdued golden color. (It's also my personal favorite.) In 2006 & 2007, the color (which was similar) name was Gold Mist. In 2008 the XLR sported Goldstream Metallic. Some good hi-res photos from eBay may help describe the various shades. From what I remember when seeing it in the showroom, Gold Mist was a bit lighter in shade than Satin Nickel.

Light Platinum also goes by Light Tarnished Silver. Some of the XLR's exterior colors are applied to other GM models, but use different names. I'll look through my collection of XLR brochures and compare the paint chips to see how Goldstream Metallic, Gold Mist and Satin Nickel compare.

CC :cheers

Don't know of any nickel silver XLRs. However. . .

In 2004 & 2005, a gold-colored XLR was produced under two names, Shale and Satin Nickel. Satin Nickel appears to be more of a tarnished, subdued golden color. (It's also my personal favorite.) In 2006 & 2007, the color (which was similar) name was Gold Mist. In 2008 the XLR sported Goldstream Metallic. Some good hi-res photos from eBay may help describe the various shades. From what I remember when seeing it in the showroom, Gold Mist was a bit lighter in shade than Satin Nickel.

Light Platinum also goes by Light Tarnished Silver. Some of the XLR's exterior colors are applied to other GM models, but use different names. I'll look through my collection of XLR brochures and compare the paint chips to see how Goldstream Metallic, Gold Mist and Satin Nickel compare.

CC :cheers

sorry i meant to say satin nickel,i have since seen on cadillac site the 2011 esclade in gold mist,looks like my choice for ext.color is satin nickel-black w/cash.BUT i don't like the brown/taupe dash,door trim.have 93 allante and i think it's same color dash? we'll keep working it around,it's all good.thanks,AL

Don't know of any nickel silver XLRs. However. . .

In 2004 & 2005, a gold-colored XLR was produced under two names, Shale and Satin Nickel. Satin Nickel appears to be more of a tarnished, subdued golden color. (It's also my personal favorite.) In 2006 & 2007, the color (which was similar) name was Gold Mist. In 2008 the XLR sported Goldstream Metallic.


CC :cheers


I have previously owned a Satin Nickel and I don't feel like it had any gold in it at all. It had a purplish tint to it. It looked a lot like brushed silver hardware at Home Depot.

I have previously owned a Satin Nickel and I don't feel like it had any gold in it at all. It had a purplish tint to it. It looked a lot like brushed silver hardware at Home Depot.

i got to see a satin nickel,had to drive from ri to ct(50 mi) and your right no gold in it,looks just like the household accesories.sooooooo i traded my 93 allante for it!!!!/shale int. 30k mi,2 owners,i'm waiting to pickup next wk,it's an 05.thanks,Al::cool:thumbs