Nah... I think it's smoke...... The top two definitely look like smoke and the bottom one is just the camera not being able to deal with the amount of sun being reflected.
Very keen observation Blackbeauty. The color is a result of the road surface reflecting off the side. Thought it looked granite like mine.
Upon further review, I notice that the emblems on the side are pre 06, and granite wasn't available until the 06 model year.
The call on the field stands, Bootzon is charged with the timeout.