Anybody who thinks General Motors doesn't take risks should take a good look at the Chevy
SSR. The retro-styled
SSR had the body of a pickup, but with none of the benefits of good hauling or towing capacity. Instead, it offered up style backed by a V-8 engine. However, the tepid performance of the 2003-2004 years, early build quality problems, a high price and its overall impractical nature conspired to tank sales, and fewer than 25,000 were ever built.
SSR stood for Super Sport Roadster, yet when introduced it was available only with a 300-hp 5.3-liter V-8 connected to a four-speed automatic. There was nothing super about the performance, which at 7.5 seconds to 60 mph could easily be beaten by many family sedans from stoplight to stoplight. The truck-based chassis was also heavy, which caused handling to feel lazy.
By the 2005 model year,
Chevrolet fixed most of the problems that affected the
SSR. A 6.0-liter engine put out 400 hp when connected to the optional six-speed manual transmission, and interior quality was improved as well.
Chevrolet also sharpened the handling. However, it wasn't enough to overcome the initial negative first impression, and although the
SSR was now truly quick (0-60 times were closer to 5.5 seconds), the public still stayed away.
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