Convertible, luxury car, or sports car? Or, all three? How do you define a Cadillac XLR, or how would you explain it to a Martian visiting the Earth to decipher American vehicles from the 2000s? The seller has this gorgeous 2004 example posted here on craigslist in Fairview Park, Ohio, just west of Cleveland, and they’re asking $18,000. Here is the original listing, and thanks to T.J. for the tip!
The XLR is an unusual car. Sadly, we likely will never see anything like this from an American manufacturer again, now that it’s all-SUVs-all-the-time when it comes to “luxury” rides. I argue that the shift to SUVs is directly related to cell phones, which relates to inattentive driving and the feeling of safety that comes with driving a 5,000-pound blob so you can text, chat on the phone, make a sandwich, put on makeup, and otherwise do anything but drive your damn vehicle. Not that I’m bitter.
This was still the era when American car companies were creating super interesting models in the 1990s and early 2000s, when Dodge Vipers and SRT-10s, Chevy HHRs and SSRs, and many other concept-to-showroom vehicles were regularly showing up on the streets. Now it’s mostly about cramming as much technology inside our vehicles rather than thinking outside the box to come up with cool or ugly or unusual, or beautiful designs. “Just give me a 28″ screen so I can watch cat videos as I drive, I couldn’t care less what my SUV looks like, just so it’s all black, with black wheels and illegally tinted windows.” YEAH!
The XLR was made from 2003 for the 2004 model year until the end of 2009, and they came in this one body style. I’d try to create a Photoshop four-door version, but it would probably look like a Cadillac CTS. Some reviewers said the beautiful interiors were a bit lacking in the wow factor, having Chevy TrailBlazer-like leather, and not an overwhelming amount of German quality materials and design. I argue, who cares about that? You’re driving what is basically a slightly-detuned luxury Corvette with a Cadillac Northstar V8 engine, a hydroformed structure, and more than enough luxury inside. Plus, the retractable steel hardtop goes down so you have a convertible as well. It’s hard to go wrong here, at least until you break a taillight lens.
Under this millionaire Bruce Wayne-approved Batshield is Cadillac’s famous 4.6-liter (278.6-cu.in.) OHV V8 with 320 horsepower and 310 lb-ft of torque. It roars through a five-speed, rear-mounted SL50-E automatic, sending power to the rear wheels on this Bowling Green-built luxury roadster. With just 32,125 miles, this XLR is said to be in excellent condition, and Hagerty is at $18,900 for a #3 good-condition example. This looks like a relative bargain, and eventually, the XLR will be a very desirable collectible car. Have any of you owned or driven one?
Now there’s another favorite-the modern Cadillac that harked back to the day when they once were considered a performance Machine. Class act.
Wonder what this would’ve been like with a 6 spd stick? Hmmm..
Good eye, TJ.!
Keep throwing those curveballs, Scotty-that’s your signature.
Now you’re talkin’ Nevadahalfrack! A manual in an XLR-V maybe?
Oh YEAH!!!! Excellent call, Scotty👍🏻
I had a 2006 CTS-V with a 6-speed. While it was sporty, the clutch was very hard, and in-town driving was rough on my knee. It took the joy out of regular driving. It was a blast when you wanted to drive it like you stole it. It was a sight for people to see me putting my Caddy sideways, lol.
I drove one back in ’04 and was pretty impressed. Despite the Corvette chassis underneath, it was more of a grand tourer and less a corner-carver than its fiberglass cousin. Only problem I had with it concerned the key-fob its driver had to have nearby (as in a pocket) before the starter button did its thing. I had a photographer friend drive it home and left another car. He called, stranded, a little later.
Aside from that which was my fault, I dug the XLR. One word of advice to the next owner: find a pair of taillights and pay whatever you have to in order to have a spare set. They are unobtanium, rarer than the classic Upside-down Airmail stamp. And probably more expensive.
I agree about the tailliights. I wonder why an aftermarket company hasn’t made those yet? Or, some sort of crazy 3D printer that can do plastic lenses?
Gets the nod to join the cars that you can get your chair and a cold beer and just sit and look at.
I 100% agree with that, Bob. I’d just sit and look at this car and enjoy the fact that I own something this beautiful, cool, fun, fast, and nice. I didn’t see this color as being available in 2004; that’s the biggest thing that threw me on this one.
Interesting commentary Scotty on today’s drivers, driving conditions, and automotive landscape. I agree that it is unlikely we will see something like this, at least in the near term. I assume the manufacturers simply can’t make a business case. As close as they can get would be a reskinned current model (think 2002 T-Bird) which is then criticized for being too close to its base vehicle.
That said, I think a Mustang-based Lincoln coupe might be fun.
Good Grief Scotty!!! Slot cars, Oliver tractors, snow mobiles, whats next???? Yepper, beautiful drop top Cadillac XLR. ( As Rick Hunter used to say….” Works for me….”)You struck so many chords with me on this write up which I enjoyed very thoroughly. I actually like the newer 2 seat T birds. The Chevy SSR ( A LOT) These, the Saturn and Pontiac two seaters ( Solstice and Sky) The PT Cruiser, don’t even get me started. I signed up with Chrysler to get literature on them before they came out. I wanted a dark blue one with a 5 speed and that wonderful cue ball shift knob BADLY. And I mean badly. The HHR was another one too. Back during those years when I was younger and my kids were little there was so many new cars and trucks I liked and wanted, but just simply couldnt afford. What happened???? You’re so on the money with everyone having an SUV and texting and watching You Tube videos and oh……. By the way….. You forgot to mention shaving… Don’t laugh, I’ve seen it…… ok, my response is becoming the size of War and Peace over here. But everything you said, you truly struck a chord with me. I spend quite a bit of time on the road. I average around 4500 miles every 4 weeks local within 2 to 3 states. And you see so much wackiness. Everything is indeed a grey or black SUV. Its quite sad really. Scotty I enjoyed this very much. Also, totally agree with Nevadahalfrack, a 6 speed would be so much fun. Just hope nothing happens to those tailights.
Square on, Dave-and one of the reasons I retired earlier than planned. Was driving across on I580 across Washoe Valley (the windiest place in northwestern Nevada) when I looked over to see I was being passed by a hoopdie Excursion, the driver steering with her knees! She held her cereal bowl to her chin and shoveled it in while looking at a small laptop open on the passenger side of the dash.
Safe Travels, Dave. Vaya con Dios.
Yikes Nevada!!! I thought people were bad in the NY NJ PA area. Thats really bad. I just try to give a lot of space but even then, its not enough. I’m not in a spot to retire just yet, but my wife really wants me to sooner rather than later of at all possible. Safe travels to you as well.
-Dave
Shaving… I’m old enough to remember the mid 50’s when Remington electric shavers were advertised on TV showing a 12 volt cord for car use…
My only reservations are with the Northstar. Had a gorgeous 1997 Sedan de Ville years ago and when I couldn’t get heat anymore going into winter since a head gasket was going I got like $250 for it at the junkyard. We’re there improvements to that motor by 2004?
I had an 07 DTS with the Northstar which I drove to 150k without serious issues. So yes I think they fixed the head gasket problem, but I don’t know when
Beautiful car, but what scares me is parts, and being able to take it to a shop, should something go wrong. About ten years ago I brought a 2000 Crown Vic to my local mechanic, and he told me he couldn’t work on it because he had to upgrade his diagnostic system. He explained that he had to spend 20k for the new program dealers put out, and the new system always dropped the older cars out. So, this means it has to go to a dealer $$$
6 speed 🤔…. I am surprised that one of those custom shop didnt get a wrecked Corvette with a 6 speed manual pull the parts and computer stuff and put it in. I bet if someone did they would make money doing the conversions. I seen one in burgundy, tan interior Chrome wheels. It was beautiful.!! The price is very fair. Again its getting hard to get parts and computer hook up to fix issues. I was never crazy about the Northstar engine. Way too many problems on the early ones. I don’t know about the 04 Northstar. I hope they fixed them before installing in this ride. I remember when they were new they costed ….. two arms,one leg and a ear! 😂 Good luck to the next owner 🐻🇺🇸
I had a 1993 Eldo touring coup with the Northstar and then a 2000 DeVille touring sedan also with the Northstar and never had engine problems. This car is a Cadillac not a Corvette or Ferrari where you would want a six speed, Cadillacs are about Luxury. Just sit back and enjoy the beautiful smooth quiet ride.
Wasn’t this supposed to be Cadillac’s answer to the Mercedes SL?
-Another Dave
Lol. True story. My wife used to read the Dr. Seuss book, “Too Many Daves” to our kids when they were little.
-Dave
yes, I’m thinkin “ ’04, nawh.”
“This is when the 2, 300 SL became SL 5, 600. So,
well into AMG’s deeper dive of all things 100 inch WB
Daimler. No, no comparison.”
-Not Dave
I have an ’05 SL600. But it is in the same camp as this Caddy. Parts are hard to come by, and dealers won’t even touch it because their mechanics are too young to know how to work on them. I hope the Caddy’s roof isn’t hydraulic.
The roof is hydraulic. That’s why Tyler Hoover was surprised that the XLR-V that he bought for only 10K had a fully functioning hardtop.
PRA4SNW That’s always the nagging thing with my SL600…Will a hydraulic line decide to go and not be able to close the roof.
Crown, that is happening right now with my wife’s ’05 Crossfire Convertible. It isn’t hydraulic, I’m 90% sure. It is electrical related and I’ve gone through a bunch of diagnostics trying to locate it. There’s just too many damn places for it to fail.
I have read that the diagnostics charges at a repair shop can run in the thousands, so I am trying to figure it out myself before going that route.
I have always wanted an SL500 but have been scared away by the part/repair cost. But, even going cheaper with the Crossfire is still a trail by fire. Going German (Crossfire is a Mercedes SLK in disguise) will always be costly.
For now, we are using the manual tool to raise and lower it, but it is a pain the butt, and my wife won’t do it.
My boss back in the day bought one the first year. It was gorgeous. Being his Sales Mgr I immediately thanked him for a new company car. Let me ride in it once but never drove it. He still has it today sitting in his garage, another barn find I suppose.
Time to go visit him and give him a hint.
The XLR-V was sadly not available with the manual trans – but that, to my mind would have been a success. I bought a 2004 CTS-V which my son still drives and enjoys.
It’s a great grand touring cruiser. I agree with the find a spare set of taillights comments and would add, learn how to adjust the top operating mechanism as I’ve seen them get slightly out of whack requiring a little ‘push or nudge’ to close properly with the little side glass set point.
Just did a search on EBAY for a 2004 Cadillac XLR taillight. OMG!! You guys were right, outrageous $$.
Scotty u nailed it!
“5,000 pounds blob, text, chat, sandwich, make-up,…illegally tinted windows”.
Beautiful car that stopped people in their tracks at a gas station in Florida when the car dropped its metal top! Maybe not the standard of the world back then but it sure looked it in black!
If you want to get there fast, buy a Covette. If you want to get there with class, buy a XLR.
I saw one of these during a road trip this summer. The young driver was driving it very irratically and I passed hm several times, so I got a good look at it. It was well-used and never taken care of. I was kind of surprised by that.
Tyler of Hoovie’s Garage just bought a hooptie XLR-V for only 10K and surprisingly, everything works. One of his better buys.
Gone, gone, gone! Someday, I’ll own one of these I hope.
Once again late to the thread (I batch download 2 to 4 weeks of threads and read them when I have time).
A small correction to the author – the XLR roof panels are not steel. Both the front and rear roof outers are SMC (sheet molded compound, same as the Corvette body panels, colloquially referred to as fiberglass) bonded to the structural inner panels which are die cast magnesium. I was employed by CTS, the supplier of the hardtop asm, from the tail end of the alpha (first prototype) build thru the build of “saleable” vehicles as the engineer for the roof panels, qtr glass, tonneau panel and the decklid. I left CTS for a competitor just before vehicle launch to be the project engineer for the Solstice topstack).