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2004 Chevrolet SSR
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| Back to the future with a classic look |
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| Updated |
Jun 10, 2004 22:25:48 |
| Rating |
 16 ( -5 -31.25% ) | | Author | Sue Mead |
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Description:
2004 Chevrolet SSR
Writer's Notes
2004 Chevrolet SSR Specifications
Base price: $41, 670 (includes $625 destination charge)
Engine: 5.3-liter V8 (300 hp @5,200 rpm, 331 lb.-ft. @4,000 rpm)
Transmission: 4-speed electronically controlled automatic with overdrive
Wheelbase: 116 in.
Length: 191.4 in.
Width: 78.6 in.
Height: 64.2 in.
Head/hip/legroom: 40/51.3/42.1 in.
Curb weight, lbs.: 4,760
Fuel economy: 15 city/19 highway/17 combined mpg
Safety equipment: Dual airbags, ABS; four-wheel disc brakes
5 questions about the 2004 Chevrolet SSR
What is it, what does SSR mean, and who will likely buy it? The SSR is a 2-door convertible pickup, with retro-styling, and a retractable hardtop. The General expects that buyers of the all-new SSR-Super Sport Roadster- will be 90 percent males, with a household income of $90-95,000.
How does it handle? The SSR had plenty of power, a quick ratio steering, and good brakes. Built on the underpinnings of the TrailBlazer (32 percent), it's motivated by a new, aluminum block version of GM's 5.3-liter V-8, which has 300 horsepower and 331 pound-feet of torque, matched to a four-speed Hydra-Matic transmission, with traction control. A Torsen Traction Differential on the rear axle transfers power to the rear wheel with the most traction. The only complaint? A stiff ride.
What is its best feature? It's mouth-watering eye candy to those who wax nostalgic for 50's styling.
What are its dimensions? SSR rides on large, low profile tires (Goodyear 255/45R-19s in front, 295/40R-20s rear) with a 116-inch wheelbase that is three inches longer, four inches wider, with one inch more front track and 2.8 inches more rear track than the standard length TrailBlazer.
How fast does the "top stack" hardtop retract? The hardtop lets the air blow your hair in 18 seconds, and it takes 22 seconds to get it back up, when you see the rain clouds moving in.
Comments or suggestions about this review? Send an e-mail to: editor@autobytel.com
Autobytel Inc. operates the popular automotive websites Autobytel.com, Autoweb.com, Carsmart.com, and Autosite.com.
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Milan, MI -- Tuning the radio dial to an 'golden oldie's' station, I depress the throttle and, with an exhaust note borrowed from the Camaro SS, I steal away from GM's Proving Grounds, located in the rural countryside, only a bit more than a stone's throw from the wellspring of the U.S. auto giants, in Detroit, Michigan.
Milan is charmingly different from the hustle and bustle of Motor City, and, yet, make no mistake about it--this is The Land of Cars. The locals here are used to new cars being driven past their barns, corner groceries, and small white churches. Even so, this car is different. It seems like everyone I pass takes notice. Many crane their necks. More than a few offer a wave or a smile.
Top-down through the flat farmlands, the wind swirls my hair as my mind slowly scrolls back through the decades, flipping the pages of time like flipping the pages of a juke box. Tunes and vrroooms. I feel like I am driving the past. Five decades back. Cruisin' to the hot rod rumble.
In fact, I am driving the past. The brand-spankin'-new Chevy SSR is a "heritage design", mimicking styling from 1947-52's, but comes with a host of the modern-day technologies and safety features that a pickup can carry in 2004.
But, more than that, the SSR- the world's first and only convertible sport pickup truck- brings open air driving, V8 power, a bed to put your hay bales in too. Part roadster, part convertible and part pickup, this new vehicle has a unique style that may not appeal to everyone, but is sure to have heads turning, when it hits dealer lots later this summer.
SSR, the moniker for Super Sport Roadster, is at the heartbeat of Chevy's plan to refresh and rebuild its stable of trucks, a plan which includes the addition of the all-new SSR, the Colorado (the largest mid-size pick-up ever to be built by the brand), new Silverado 1500 Crew Cab models and the segment's first hybrid propulsion pickups. Having posted record SUV and truck sales in 2002, this popular GM division seeks to continue that success.
Its vertical stiffness is rated better than most convertibles, and weight distribution is evened out through creative placement of the battery in the rear of the vehicle - which also helps preserve the front styling.
Crossover models that marry the capabilities of more than one type of vehicle, including the Chevy Avalanche and Cadillac Escalade EXT, have been a key part of The General's growth and success. As a result, GM is adding even more crossover models for '04 in the Cadillac and Chevy stables, with SSR representing one of the most radical designs ever to cross segment borders.
The exterior styling is nothing short of unique. The front end recalls the rounded, snubbed styling of classic 1940s pick-ups, with a sculpted hood and circular headlamps. The grille is trimmed in chrome and sits above an air dam that curves into a smile. Integrated fog lamps sit in the body-color bumper.
From the hood to the B-pillar, SSR looks like a bubbly sport coupe, but its design defies categorization behind the B-pillar, where the pick-up cargo bed meets the storage compartment for the convertible roof. The roof, actually a 'topstack,' or retractable hard top, is moved in and out of place by a switch on the dash.
When the top goes down, the panels slide and stack in a compartment between the passenger cabin and the pick-up bed. This means that the bed capacity stays the same whether the top is up or down, and the storage compartment is flush with the rest of the body.
Rear wheel wells flare into wide wings, like those on a classic hot rod truck. Round taillights are placed prominently in the back of the flared fenders. Front wheels are 19 inches, while rear 20-inch wheels create4 a crouching, sport car stance.
The powerplant in this roadster truck is a new aluminum version of Chevy's small-block 5.3-liter engine. Delivering 300 horsepower at 5,300 rpm and 331 lb.-ft. of torque at 4,000 rpm, this motor is matched to a four-speed automatic transmission, with a torque converter clutch and rear-wheel drive. Engine innovations include new quiet-profile pistons, which are polymer coated to reduce noise and vibrations. Estimated fuel economy is 15 mpg in the city/19 miles per gallon on the highway.
The SSR cabin is a 'twin-cockpit design' used by Chevy in several other vehicles. A brushed metal cross bar cuts the dash in half horizontally, echoing the chrome accent bar that slices across the car's exterior front end. The dash is clean and spare, with an aluminum-look trim and the same round shapes as those found in the headlamps, taillamps and exterior door handle divets.
Audio controls are hidden behind a cover to help keep the dash spartan. Climate controls consist of three simple knobs placed in the middle of the dash, and gauges are round and rimmed in chrome. The steering wheel features brushed metal spokes and audio/climate controls, and the center console, trimmed in a bold contrast color, holds a storage compartment and a stick-and-ball metal shift lever.
The SSR's body-on-frame construction is made stiff and solid by seven crossmembers instead of the usual four or six. Its vertical stiffness is rated better than most convertibles, and weight distribution is evened out through creative placement of the battery in the rear of the vehicle - which also helps preserve the front styling.
Front independent and rear multi-link suspension systems combine with rack-and-pinion steering and a standard traction control system, with a Torsen differential closely related to that of the Camaro providing extra support during tight cornering and heavy acceleration.
Safety equipment includes airbags and four-wheel disc brakes with standard ABS and Dynamic Rear Proportioning.
Although SSR has a bold new design and a respectable powertain, it is not yet clear whether customers need - or, more importantly, want - a roaster-like truck convertible. In an effort to build excitement around the new crossover's launch, Chevy has created an ambitious marketing campaign for the first 25 saleable SSR models, dubbed the Signature Series. Time will tell if the SSR's campaign and capabilities are enough to capture buyers' imaginations and their checkbooks.
--Top Left Photo Courtesy of Chevrolet North America
--Top Right Photo by Sue Mead
--Story by Sue Mead
Sue Mead works as a photojournalist and features writer for more than two dozen publications. She has written for Parade, Popular Science, Open Road, the Road & Track Buyers Guide, Men's Journal, Popular Mechanics and Diversion and she has worked as an auto editor for CNN/fn. Sue has co-driven in two of the world's toughest off-road races, the Baja 1000 and the Paris-Dakar Raid. She attended four Camel Trophy adventures for Land Rover North America and has participated in several long-distance adventure drives. She recently completed her first book, "Monster Trucks and Tractors" published by Chelsea House. Sue lives in New England. |
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