All I can say is that the SSR showed some uncharacteristic product ***** from GM. If nothing else, for that alone, I give them lots of credit.

 

I'm happy that they gambled...but unfortunately, judging by the 4-5 that have been on the local dealership for atleast a year and a half, I say it was a failure.

 

I would consider it a high-priced failure, but if you could pick a used one up cheap in the next few years Im willing to bet its will be worth alot in the future.

 

I wonder what might have happened, had they gone forward with different versions of it. I think a fixed roof, LS2, six speed...for low 30's would have been irresistible to many. Kurt Ritter also said publicly that panel truck versions were also planned.

 

Failure.

It wasn't a "must have" vehicle like they thought it would be, it didn't sell, it was too expensive.

It was the perfect answer to a question no one even thought of asking.

 

Does that mean that the prices would go down after a bit? I'd buy one in 4 or 5 years, maybe.

 

ditto.. I think it may have been initially better recieved, if it had the 400 hp LS2 at launch, because that gave it a healthy shot of performance it needed.. else it was just a wierd truck/suv/roadster combo that was not very fast, nor pratical..

I don't think people appreciated the nicer interior (at the time at least), the power hardtop convert, and the supposid manufacturing challanges to get the fenders right..

Also, I never though the old style trucks had enough general mass draw..

I hope GM takes a different gamble in the future.. Like taking a hot performance car, sticking a LS7 engine in it, with radical perf and body changes and offering it to the public..

 

Cool truck, but it was too expensive, didn't have enough HP at first (and first impression is everything) and wasn't truck like enough (needed a real usable bed and 4,000+ tow rating)

Giving it the 6.0L from day one, even if it was the LQ9, offering a hardtop verion at the Lightning price of $32K, and lowering the convertable version by $4000 would have made the truck a much bigger success. I could have also liked a real bed with factory spray on... and who know, maybe AWD could have been offered on automatic models.

Otherwise the truck did ok and I give GM credit for taking the risk.

 

I guess the ls2 costed too much? That would of made for some great competition in the $15-18k car/truck market. Alot of young folk would of went for that. Having the ls2 was a great idea in it, but that pretty much the only thing that made it desireable; the looks weren't that great for that car.
The retro designs on it also weren't that great. Maybe someone who grew up in the 50's/60's would like the car better. I don't know, maybe one day we will see a manufacturer go forwards instead of backwards.

 

See, thats the thing.. The interior and the power hardtop convertable alone should have immediatly catipulted the SSR to an accepted value of 35k+. But it didn't. Thats why it failed. People percieved it as too costly, for not enough performance or lux.

 

Its a shame, it was a cool truck, but obviously just too much money.

 

Kudos to GM for building it.

I guess it just didn't appeal to enough of the kind of people that could afford it.

 

The SSR was a neat concept that shouldn't have went any further than that. Alot of issues come to mind when I think about it. Too heavy (It was a truck), not enough power (first year), and the number one factor (IMHO)price was too close to a C6 Vette.

If I was able to afford an SSR, I would bypass it, and pinch a few more pennies for a C6.

Corvette Base: $44,490
SSR base: $39,890

 

[Flame suit ON]
Sucess. SSR despite being sold in REALLY small numbers AND having costly options such as the retractable hard top, most likely MADE money! Because it shared its roots with a high volume core product. Also the insanely high price point means it likely made a lot of loot for GM when one eventually did sell. Perhaps if a panel version were made it would have been more popular and better recieved BUT it still sold and made money. That is all that matters.

 

That would be the case it the damn thing sold.
The local dealership I bought my Z28 from STILL has an 04, and an 05.

On paper GM stood to make money, but since dealers are paying to advertise, and the SSRs aren't selling, I can't see how you're thinking is correct.