It's stainless, not aluminum. It can discolor with lots of very high heat cooking, but so can any metal around high heat cooking. Pro style ranges deal with that all the time. It's a sign of love. My GE Cafe has slight discoloration around the 18K burner, but I didn't buy it to be pretty and never get used. I bought it to be able to do a decent stir fry and it does that. Black stove tops are a PIA to keep clean. 5 minutes after you've cleaned them, they are dusty and need wiping down again. It's worse than owning a black car, because your car doesn't get grease smears on it. Slide in ranges can have a stainless trim piece at the back or a stone piece at the back. It will depend on the look you desire.

I have a similar one, the GE Profile PP962SMSS. I have to say, unfortunately, that I don't like the black as much as I liked the black w/gray speckles of our old range (also a GE Profile). It seems more difficult to clean and any spots are pretty noticeable. Cooking wise, it's OK. It heats things in a reasonable amount of time (nowhere near as fast as induction, though!) When I was shopping (2007), it was the only reasonably priced electric cooktop that I could find with both a bridge element for my griddle and a warming element. I couldn't sell induction to my DH b/c (1) our pots & pans wouldn't work on it, (2) he thought it was too new (it wasn't...it's been used here and in Europe for many, many years), and (3) it cost too much back then (prices have dropped significantly over the last few years). He's starting to come around now b/c I have a habit of overflowing pots and when food "cooks" on the cooktop, it's an extra effort to clean (it has to be scrubbed). This is an issue for all radiant electric cooktops, not a GE-specific issue. As to GE in general, my past experience has shown that GE makes good cooking appliances, so-so refrigerators & dryers, and not-so-good DWs & clothes washers.

Hello all, No I did not end up with the GE Cafe fridge. If you all have read reviews, NO refrigerators have good reviews as far as reliability. I ended up with the Samsung 4-door, French Door, Food Showcase (which is the door-in-door feature). I had time to watch prices since we were in renovation and the Samsung was $1,100 cheaper than the GE Cafe for the same amount of space and I got a couple extra features like the water bottle that is in the left door and refills itself automatically. I thought that was a dumb feature, but now that I have it, I see I use it a lot! It's much faster to pour the water from the pitcher if you are filling up a larger bottle or pitcher, than to wait for the little water filler on the outside of the door. And it was my hubby who wanted that 4th door---which is the drawer right above the freezer. I wasn't sure but I love, love, love that! It holds all our cheese, yogurts a few cans of pop or water, and if I have a half a lemon or something like that, which would normally get lost in the fruit or veggie bin, I just pop it right there in the front so it is not forgotten about! The only complaint I have is that the ice maker takes up room in the top left side of the fridge. You don't have this with the GE. But we got the big 28.7 cu. ft. one and we keep a lot of food and have had no issues with space. As far as reliability, since ALL brands seem to have bad reviews, I figured the best thing I could do is get the most extended warranty possible. So I got the Citi Visa which adds 2 years to any warranty (yes---that's a feature of the card!) as long as the total warranty period is not longer than 7 years. Bought it at Home Depot along with the 5 year extended warranty which was around $295 I think, and then Citi will extend the warranty out two more years to SEVEN years! If a fridge is going to be problematic, I figure it will do it in the first seven years. And they will repair but will replace if they have to come out more than 3 times. So I figure I saved about $1300 including taxes by choosing the Samsung over the GE Cafe. As far as my GE Cafe range and microwave, yes I have loved them both so far! Had the range about 6 months and the microwave about 4 months. I got them both in stainless. Someone asked how far it sticks out from the cabinets. I can see about 3/4" of the black side of the oven sticking out beyond the cabinets and then of course the entire oven door sticks out beyond that. I don't mind the handles sticking out beyond that. It seems normal to me. I love having the double oven and the convection feature, although for 95% of the things we do, we can use the upper oven. There is planty of space fo almost everything including a cake or a deep casserole dish. I use a lot of cast iron so that is good, but I had some old Revere Ware stainless that I thought I could use. They are all good except the ones that have copper bottoms and they won't work on this stove. The microwave is a microwave! Haven't used the convection feature on it yet. Anyway, I would recommend both appliances although they are a bit pricey. They do look great in the kitchen!

@Martha Lucas it’s the only Cafe appliance I have. When we first moved in (almost two years ago) we bought a dishwasher and counter-depth fridge, both from Bosch, in their Black Stainless. Last fall we were finally ready to upgrade the stove to induction, and we ordered the Cafe Matte Black, which is very close in color (can’t tell the difference unless they are up next to each other). Eventually, though likely several years down the road, I like the color enough that we’ll probably get the vent hood, and wall oven if we rejigger the kitchen to allow for one. The floor model you saw, I wonder if it had just been through the wars with people messing with it? Dunno. (if you’re in driving distance to western SC and want to visit mine, you are very welcome!)