http://www.autoweek.com/cat_content...._code=06087168

Also, it appears that SSR sales are abit behind projections.

 

weren't they only going to make 10,000-14,000 a year?

Right now they are on track for over 10,000

 

First impression: a bland looking copy of a competitors product which has been around long enough to be getting boring.

 

....

 

Kind of looks like a PT Cruiser has been giving a new Durango "love lessons".

 

GM better kiss its a$$ goodbye with styling like that. At the end of it, looks like only Cadillac, GMC, and Pontiac will have survived this assault on design.

 

these round of pics dont look as bad as the previous ones.

 

I think it will find a market. A lot will depend on how they package the interior space management utility.

I think it's rather silly to compare it to the SSR ...one is a hopefully affordable space machine with heritage styling ...the other an overpriced "look at me" roadster that lacks performance. I have yet to meet someone that would not ante up the couple of extra bucks for a Corvette when confronted with the SSR price tag.

 

Whats the point of the dotted lines all over it? If anything, they bring more attention to it. They dont really hide anything or distort the lines. Hmm. Anyways, I agree with ckt101

 

i can't believe they are gonna produce that?!
that thing is hideous, imo just like what i think of a competitors product that has been around too long

 

I also think it's silly to compare the two, but for different reasons.

The SSR is a "TOY". It has no real practical use beyond cruising. It's much like the Plymouth Prowler, only with a much bigger trunk, a much higher pricetag, and much more horsepower. The HHR is a "crossover" mini-mini van like the PT Cruiser, that's going to have a very practical use.

It will no doubt do well. Not as well as the PT Cruiser (still selling well above it's initial 80,000 per year target), but well enough.

 

Correct me if I'm wrong but didn't the Prowler actually cost much more than SSR while it was in production? A $60,000 price tag seems to stick in my mind....

 

No. Prowlers stayed in the low to mid 30s.

The Viper ran around the upper 50s lower 60s till the late 90s.

 

yup, Prowler started out in the mid $30K's and in the last year of production the cost about ~$42K

I don't have production #s but I beleive they made about 2,000 Prowlers a year. SSR production is over 10,000 a year.

 

1999 Plymouth Prowler

...

Type: Front-engine, rear-wheel-drive, two-passenger roadster

Price: Base, $39,300; as tested, $42,000 (including $700 destination charge)

Engine: 3.5-liter V-6; 253 hp at 6,400 rpm; 255 lb-ft torque at 3,950 rpm

EPA fuel economy: 17 mpg city/23 mpg highway

...

By Anita And Paul Lienert
Detroit News
Published 06/16/99
Next Review

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The Prowler was 39,300 (base) and 42 as tested in 1999. The sticker of a new SSR is, what, 41,995? In 2004? I'd say that makes them pretty much spot on equal in my book. Certainly not a "much higher pricetag" by any means...