Okay....let's get down to the nitty-gritty. I and many others contend that if the hood scoop and 17" wheels were available on Z/28...so few people would have bought a 4th gen SS that it would be nothing but a historical footnote today.

Would the SS even need to exist if those features were available on Z/28?

For those with SS's....did you buy it for it's SS name, or to get a Camaro with hood scoop and 17" wheels....regardless of name?

 

Well, I think the point is moot, since other than a few suspension tweeks, the 17" wheels and hoodscoop/spoiler were really the only differences.

So, if the Z28 had these, speaking strictly of what WAS offered on 4th gens, there'd have been no point to the SS.

Really, considering how many Camaro SS's Chevy sold, and for the little difference there was between the two, they must have made a decent amount of $$ by offering the SS.

 

To the very end it was still just an option package on a base Z, not a totally new model.

I think most people wanted the ultimate Camaro, and that required the hood and wheels. Did they care a whole lot about the rest of the stuff? I don't know. I know a lot of less-knowledgable buyers surely bought it under the impression that the ram air and exhaust actually did increase HP from 305 to 335 or whatever the given year's difference was. It was just a marketing ploy IMO, the actual power difference was much less, on the order of 10HP, but only the die hards would know.

EDIT: You can figure it probably added $1000 profit per car. SS was about a $3300 option package IIRC, and the individual parts themselves could not have been more than 70% of that at cost.

 

I wanted an SS sooooo bad. But to tell you the truth, if the Z28 had the hood scoop and wheels, then I dont think there would have been a need for the SS...

 

i dont know how accurate the build numbers are on the main page but they have listed a total of around 10,000 SS's built for the year 2002 at 1000 dollars a car that is 10,000,000 dollars profit of one option i dont think they made that much off the SS

 

I can honestly say that I bought an SS for the name and history. Call me "old-school", but SS just feels special to me personally when it rolls off the tounge. Much like Z/28, the SS name conveys a certain attitude (not counting the current Monte Carlo and Silverado ) that just appeals to me.

-Mike

 

Enthusiest will tell you they bought it for the heritage and notariety. Others will say they bought it for the aesthetics.

 

17" wheels and a hood can be bought through the aftermarket or from SLP. A person who was in it for the looks alone could have done that to a z28 while saving $$$ in the process. So it couldn't have been those options alone. I think it being the top model had alot to do with it.

 

As I understand it, the original 4th gen SS's '96 & '97, were upfitter packages from SLP, basically a Camaro version of the Firehawk. For '98 and up, Chevy took it on themselves, contracting some of the work to SLP, as well as allowing SLP to add content directly via the Y2Y RPO. It had to be called something other than/in addition to Z28 and SS fit pretty good.

When I ordered, I simply went for the everything package ... name was not a factor.

 

I wish they kept calling it Z28/SS. At least Z28 would've been somewhere on the car. Would it have been that much to give the Z28 the credit it deserves and make a new emblem?? Every1 coulda been happy that way.

 

If the Z/28 had a hoodscoop, 17" wheels, and taller spoiler I would have bought a Camaro.

 

SS327, SS350, SS396, SS427 that's why I got mine. You guys are too quick to look past the SSs own heritage. I hope when it comes back they make a true Z/28 and a true SS (6.5L) to keep both camps happy..

 

I bought the SS because of the name and the extra flash. A lot of people don't even call my car a Camaro, they call it an "SS". The name "SS" seems to have more meaning with non-enthusiasts.

 

I plan on getting one, both for the looks and the prestiege. But I am also an old fashion hot-rodder, where 90% of what I do is on cars that were made in the pre-computer years.
But, when I do get an SS Camaro, I'll still call it a Z28, because on the Camaro it is only an option package and not a dedicated platform. Now if it was more of a truly special or different package, (such as the new Cobra) then I would say an SS has its own acknowledgement. Because all SS Camaro's are still "Z28's" with a special option. Instead of being a considerable difference between the two.

So on the one hand I look back on the SS heritage and name that was put not only on the Camaro, but Chevelle (El Camino), Impala, etc. And correlate the correct usage of the SS badging simply because of the sheer speed/power capabilities of the stock platform.
But then if you compare it to the difference between a Chevelle and a Chevelle SS or Camaro RS and a Camaro RS/SS from Gen. 1, then you (I) would have to acknowlege that the rite to carry an SS emblem does not exist. Not enough change from base platform.

Either way, I'd still get an SS.

 

I basically think the SS is to the Z28 what the RS is to the V6 camaro...I just dont think that there is enough of a difference in performance to justify a new model... but I have to admit, that the SS does have a winning ring to it and the apperance aspects of it shine the camaro in a new light. I love the SS and hope that if they keep it around in the next gen, that it should have a noticable performance upgrade as opposed to the Z28