2005 Chevrolet SSR

Was it a pickup, was it a car? Was it a day to day commuter, or was it a hot rod? It was all of that...and more. Chevrolet's SSR, which stood for " Super Sport Roadster"  in case you never knew, were produced between 2003 and 2006. They were a retractable hardtop convertible pickup truck. They were based on the long-wheelbase of Chevy's Trailblazer EXT's platform, featured "Retro" styling and a steel retractable hardtop designed by American Specialty Cars. The production model was based on the Supersport Roadster Concept Car that was shown at the 2000 Detroit Auto Show. The SSR was introduced for its market debut in a 60 second television advertisement that first appeared on New Year's Eve 2003, featuring the Steppenwolf song "Magic Carpet Ride."

The 2003 and 2004 models used General Motors' Vortec 5300 engine, which was a 5.3 Litre 300 hp V8. It ran a 0 to 60 mph time of 7.7 seconds, with a 1/4 mile time of 15.9  at 86.4 mph. The 2005 SSR used the 390 hp LS2 V8 that was  also found in the C6 Corvette and Pontiac GTO, and also offered a 6-speed Tremec manual transmission for the first time as an option. For the 2006 model year, the LS2 engine featured minor modifications that boosted its output to 395 hp with an automatic transmission, and 400 hp with the manual transmission. GM badges were also added to the SSR.

The 2004 model sold below expectations with under 9,000 sales at $42,000 each. Then sadly, GM in December of that year announced five weeks of layoffs at Lansing Craft Centre, the factory that made the SSR. On November 21, 2005, GM announced that it would close the Craft Centre in mid-2006, spelling the end for the SSR. The final SSR, a unique black-on-silver model was built on March 17, 2006. An estimate of 24,150 SSRs were produced in total. Of the total production, 24,112 were available for sale to the public.

Other little nuggets of info: The SSR was used as the pace car for the 2003 Indianapolis 500. Also, an SSR was entered in August 2011 in the Bonneville Nationals Speed Trials on the salt flats in Utah. The entry was controversial in that they intended to run in the mini modified pickup class. An illegal modification had been made to the front valance on the truck and they were allowed to run for time only. Nonetheless the truck proved uncompetitive against a much more aerodynamic GMC Sonoma that took the record in the C/MMP class and set it at 219.3 mph, a full 26 mph faster than the SSR could run.

I was given the priviledge of using a 2005 SSR for a weekend a while back. Not only did it give you the feeling of driving a souped up old school pickup, but it was fast and very agile. I was a fan immediately. Unfortunately, I only got to cruise with the top down for a very brief period due to a very rainy weekend, but it was still awesome. If it wasn't for the fact that I had waaaayyyy too many bills to pay at that time, I'd probably be the owner of that very SSR today. But, someday all the bills will be paid...then, watch out...