SSR Podcast

Love the SSR's style. Great look. Love the improved pricing. I'd leap on one *IF* you trimmed at least 500 lbs, and added AWD.

The Colorado starts at 3300 lbs, the Z85 4WD is 3600 -- and the SSR at 4700!?!? The thing looks great, but feels like a tank (you could get a hernia lifting the hood), and it handles like a truck (with a big motor). A diet would radically alter that.

The convertible hard top makes it a practical all season car (with style): the lack of AWD and tires makes it summer only.

So like many GM cars, I look at the SSR, and go, "So close". You almost had me.

I love the two tone. Hopefully the front spoiler and rear wing will retrofit the 03 models too! When can we expect to be able to purchase those accessories from GM? A lot of us SSRfanatics are craving upgrades like hood props that are gas struts, spoilers, rear wings, console bling blingage, etc.

In regards to the heavy hood. Please keep it the way it is! I have seen pictures of wrecked SSR's and the heavy metal this truck has been made of appears to have saved many an SSR owner from serious injury. The heavy hydroformed steel in the SSR is one of the main reasons I purchased one in Nov. 2003. I have never had more fun in any vehicle ever.

Not to throw a monkey wrench in the works, but I don't see any SSR's in NY and was wondering if it sells well.

Ed, safety is a function of both weight and design (as well as agility). You can make things lighter and safer (to a point). Some things heavier are more dangerous. I'm surely not advocating turning it into a death trap, or an Aveo (in mass). But trimming 500-1,000 lbs off a 2 1/2 ton sports truck isn't quite the same thing.

Remember, you're a happy buyer. (I'm glad for you/Chevy). There are lots of you out there. But there are lots of people that aren't buyers, and GM needs to ask why or how to attract them even more. (Broaden the appeal).

I doubt making it sportier would lose you, nor would increasing milage by a little (which a diet would mean), and I would bet it would mean gaining others/new customers. The same with AWD, making it a little more functional and all season, would convert it from a truck version of the vette (and a 3 season car), to a daily all-season driver --thus broaden the appeal. Everyone in the snow-belt can only use it (practically) as a summer/3rd car. It's a beautiful truck -- but I, and others like me, want just a little more practical to go with it.

David: The tires for the SSR are in fact all season tires, and believe it or not, I have raced it a good bit in local autocross events. Everyone gets a charge out of seeing her at the track too. It corners surprisingly well, even though she dips pretty steep into the turns, there is no tail spin, like on the vettes. MY SSR is in fact, my "DAILY DRIVER" and has been since Nov. 03. So far so good. I even drove it to Niagara Falls, across NY state to Maine, and on to tour all of Nova Scotia and not a lick of trouble and a ton of fun. I have also driven it in winter in Pittsburgh to visit family, and to be quite honest, it handled better in the snow than just about anything else I have driven up there, including my previous SUV's and others. It has a huge trunk which is pefect for travel, unlike many other sports cars/trucks. Even the king cab vesions of many of the trucks out now don't have as much storage as this truck in many ways. True, some in the snow belt areas drive theirs in only the nice months, but there are even more of us driving them all over the place all the time and having the time of our lives. Thans for making my auto fantasy a reality GM! I waited six long years for you guys to finally build that SSR and you did it right.

http://edobermeyer.com/novasoctia.html
You can view the journey on the above link.

The SSR is a great looking truck, but has a limited market – convertibles, especially 2 seat ones will always have a limited appeal. Why not offer the SSR in a hardtop version with a moon roof option. The space the folding top takes up could be used to increase interior space and provide extra storage areas or an area for mounting subwoofers. It would make the SSR much lighter and cheaper, allowing more buyers to consider it.

There is the option of an Extended Cab or Crew Cab version, but it would be difficult to retain the styling that makes the SSR what it is.

A Panel Van/Sedan Delivery version of the SSR would really open up the market, and since the SSR is based on the Trailblazer SUV platform it could be done quickly and at low cost. Adding a high roof 50’s style Sedan Delivery body with 5 Passenger capacity would give the SSR a great combination of style and utility. The high roof would make entry/exit to the rear seats easier than current SUV’s without the “minivan” look. Using Extended Cab style doors would retain the side styling and would only need glass in the side doors for driver/passenger visibility. A variation of the Trailblazer EXT rear doors could be made to look acceptable and would retain better body stiffness. The rear doors could be the standard double doors, a one piece hatch, or “Dutch Doors” similar to the Astro.

This model could ignite a whole new market segment within the mid-size truck based SUV market. It would offer buyers an extremely good looking, versatile platform to customize to their style. A slammed SSR panel with a 7.0L and 20” chrome alloys would be totally gangster.

A model starting in the mid $20 thousand range with the 4.2L I-6 would open up the youth market to this vehicle, and could be offered as a 2 seat Panel Van. It would make the ultimate surfer vehicle with a fold down passenger seat, secure cargo area and cool looks. A Panel Van would also be an attractive alternative to companies that need to deliver products and services but want to differentiate themselves.

There could even be a 6 Passenger (all captain chair) or 7 passenger version offered on the existing length body since the higher roof would allow a more upright seating position. An AWD option would also be easy to do and prove popular in cold climates and for West Coast drivers looking for the coolest ride to the ski resort. Adding an IRS would allow a lower stance and floor height and with some 9-7x tuning could be a good handling vehicle. Hopefully we will see some variations of the SSR that will turn this solid “single” into the “Grand Slam” that it can be.

hm what a nice retro-styled design :)
(i think it reminds 70-80es trucks)

Bob: How much longer do you think GM will build the SSR? There are all kinds of rumors flying around, it would be nice to hear the truth from someone like you who really knows, right? I would hate to see such a beautiful creation like the SSR die.

Add another vote for a ssr styled suv. i think it would have a wow factor and should be able to bump up sales enough to justify the ssr's continued existence.

I like the SSR, but two things are against it. First, every road test I've read said how poorly it handles due to the weight and being built on an SUV chassis. Secondly, the price is $10,000 to $15,000 higher than it ought to be. It will never be a sales success unless it is priced at $30,000 or less. It is a niche vehicle and there isn't great demand for an expensive two-seater pickup. Even the $3100 price reduction for 2006 is not even close to where it needs to be. Who is making the decisions on the pricing and what are the sales expectations? For the kind of money GM has been asking, a Corvette doesn't cost much more and would hold its resale value better. I'll keep my '87 El Camino.

Still the newly introduced roadster is not as kool as ferrari. I own one. :D

Thank your for building the SSR. I have an 05 Aqua blurr and I love it. I'm sorry to see the last one built 03/17/06, but at least I get the joy of owning one. Hope you continue to keep us in parts and maintenance for as long as we have them. As for me, I plan to have my "Betsy Blue for a long,long time.

This truck has proven to be another GM flop in every way. Its heavy-handed and insensitive design treatments insult the intelligence of consumers. This thing is another last-minute stab at grabbing a piece of the retro pie, but once again, GM is the last to ride everyone else's coattails of innovation and style, and then does so poorly. We know what you were shooting for, but you missed badly. This should have been another concept that ended up in the GM boneyard, not a desperate release in order to simply "get another vehicle out there." It would be a ripoff if it only cost $15k new, let alone $45k. But these are just numbers; (why not put msrp at $200k and give a "deal" at $20k sale?)now they can't give them away. This company is a mess, and is desperately throwing crap at the masses in order to find people who are equally as desperate to keep them in business. GM sells more cars than anyone in the world? Well, McDonald's sells more hamburgers than anyone. Quality and pride is another issue. GM is the fast food of the automobile industry, who has been dead since 1969. RIP (rust in pieces).

The last saleable SSR sold for $113,000 so guess they're not giving them away yet.

$113,000? We must be talking about different cars, unless you're a GM sales person. In that case, an SSR is worth a half a million, and has 2500 horsepower. But the real world fact, outside of years of the big GM discounts, brainwashing and propaganda, is that any individual who made the fatal error of buying an SSR, and any dealer who is stuck with an inventory, would hug you if you gave them $25k (used) or $30k (new) for one (just go to Kelley Blue Book or get a quote anywhere).
Any true stock dyno test will show close to 260 hp and 294 lb-ft of torque at the rear wheels (I own a dyno at my custom shop and watched many heart-broken and empty-walleted customers walk away in disgust after seeing their SSR's real numbers). One "proud" owner even told me, "Let's keep this between the two of us," shook his head and left in his 4700 lb. "investment"). 260 RWHP is absolutely sickly for a 5.3L engine (not to mention its own weight it has to try to carry around), and a far cry from what GM claims, which is 395 bhp (how can they keep getting away with that?). $113,000, you say? GM may want you to join their sales force!

I definitely agree with Jim Skelly. The El Camino had class, was priced right, and holds its value ten times over SSR. It's hard to even mention them in the same sentence. I'd hang on to it too, Jim!

The longer you keep these things, the less they're worth (much like a Cavalier).

"I'd bail out of Betsy Blue,
Before she buries you."

Bob McDorman purchased the last saleable SSR and yes, he did pay $113,000 for it.
Betsy is paid for, has an extended warranty and She'll be with me for a long time. Then my kids can fight over who gets her.

Bob McDorman's no Warren Buffett. He may have made the ultimate bad investment, this side of GM stock. Janet, good move on the extended warranty. You'll need it. I think your kids will actually fight over who doesn't get Betsy. The transfer of title will cost more money and time than the car will be worth (I hear they're now using these cars for anchors on ocean-going freighters).
It's evident that GM people are easily amused as long as they're within the confines of their comfort zones, and will obviously buy anything that says GM. This makes the engineers' jobs easy and unchallenged. And it shows ("Doing it right is no excuse
for not meeting the schedule."
(Plant Manager, Delco Corporation). Why am I so bitter? Some people have to work in this country, and can't just churn out junk, knowing that they have mind control over their "loyal," (i.e. lazy, uninquisitive, no-imagination, unadventurous, etc.) customer base, and they'll sell whatever they tell this zombie market to buy.
And it would be refreshing to see some money put into the vehicles instead of flashy marketing pushed in everyone's face every five seconds. When someone insults me by repeatedly shoving something trite and inconsequential in my face and wants me to give up my hard-earned money for it, I tend to turn the other way. It's something we need to do more of if if we ever want our vehicles to be competitive again. Don't be such an easy target. Force auto makers to please their customers with ingenuity. Buying a joke like the SSR just tells GM, "It's okay to make junk. You know how low I set my standards. I'll buy anything you manufacture, so take a break, cut some costs, maximize your profit margin. I want your company's executives to live like kings. I really don't expect much out of this car or my next one that I buy from you."

The SSR is a fun machine. Built for a good time. No longer in production, it still is a looker and fun to drive. I own a '06 - a great ride.