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NASCAR Chevy SSR Pacecar
On Display @ '06 NAIAS

An American Revolution - What are you smiling at?
Click on the image for a high resolution image suitable for printing as a poster

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A view from behind the wheel

Aftermarket & Performance News

MagnaCharger Announces Radix-SSR Intercooled Supercharger!

Though the 5.3L V-8 that comes in stock SSRs is certainly not anemic, the unit-body on frame construction means that the SSR is not exactly a featherweight. Many owners have been interested in performance upgrades. How about a blower that adds 100 HP and 100 ft-lbs of torque at the rear wheels? Magnuson Products and their MagnaCharger line has announced the Radix-SSR intercooled supercharger kit for the SSR. Based on an Eaton supercharger mounted 180º from normal to optimize the intake path, the Radix-SSR is a completely engineered package with everything needed for installation and it all fits under the stock hood. The kit even includes a new cast aluminum intake manifold that replaces the OEM nylon manifold. For ease of mind, MagnaCharger offers an optional 3 year/36,000 mile powertrain warranty. For more details, click here for their press release.

VaraRam Gives SSR More Oomph!

If the MagnaCharger supercharger kit is a bit more than your budget can handle, you might consider a high performance air induction system. VaraRam, makers of high-performance air induction systems for Corvettes, Camaros and other GM products is developing an induction system for the SSR along the lines of their highly regarded VR-1B ram air induction system for the Corvette. In some applications the VR-1B can add up to 40 horsepower and 33 ft.lbs. of torque. VaraRam already makes their VR fuel injection throttle body velocity stacks for all GM GenIII V8 equipped cars from 1998-2004 so they have a model suitable for the SSR. VaraRam claims as much as a 23 ft.lb. increase in torque for the 2004 5.3 L GM V-8.

Latest News

Lansing Craft Centre/ASC Facility to Close in March
Is the SSR Dead??!!

General Motors has announced that the Lansing Craft Centre, production facility for the SSR, will close permanently in mid-March, idling about 400 workers.. ASC's satellite plant across the street will also close, with approximately 180 ASC employees affected.

In spite of these announcements, Chevy has still not officially killed the SSR. Even though sales have been too slow to justify a production line, the SSR has worked as a halo vehicle. According to surveys, GM has sold almost 80,000 full size pickups due to showroom traffic generated by the SSR. In a retail business, the SSR would be considered a successful loss leader.

Though GM has not officially announced the SSR's fate, ASC officials have implied to Chevy SSR Forum that the SSR is all but dead. "Whatever you can do to start a 'Save the SSR' movement would be appreciated", an ASC spokesman said.

GM's Restructuring Threatens SSR's Future

Slow sales aren't the only thing threatening the SSR, a vehicle thought to be Chevy's halo vehicle and styling DNA forebear only four years ago. In late November 2005, GM chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner announced a massive restructuring plan for the struggling giant automaker. The plan involves the loss of 30,000 manufacturing jobs andthe closure of nine North American assembly, stamping and power-train facilities by 2008. The cutbacks involve about 9% of the GM global work force.

One of those nine facilities is GM's Craft Centre in Lansing, Michigan, where the SSR is assembled. The Craft Centre is across the street from an ASC facility that prepares subassemblies for the SSR. ASC is now on the sales block and that facility may also be endangered. The plant employes about 400 workers and is expected to close mid-2006.

After a six week hiatus in October and November to allow inventories of the SSR to work down to levels suitable for market demand, the Craft Centre workers were brought back in early December. However, the plant will be idle again for most of January, GM announced.
Click here for more on this story.

Factory Two-Tone Paint Now Available.

New for 2006, Chevy announced that the SSR will now be available in a new exterior color treatment, a two-tone paint scheme consisting of Smokin' Asphalt and Ricochet Silver that give your SSR a custom-look from the factory. The scheme splits the car horizontally, from the hood cut line and into the body feature line around the cargo area, and appears to be based on the SSR Diamondback Coupe shown by ASC (see story below). The process yields a very smooth transition between the two colors that are then clear coated. The two-tone scheme is available in both Asphalt/Silver and Silver/Asphalt.

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The two-tone paint scheme is carried into the interior with color-keyed interior components that match the vehicle's upper color. With the popularity of street rods and custom choppers, the two-tone paint give the car a custom appearance. For 2006, Chevy has also added Pacific Blue Metallic as an available color bringing the number of available exterior colors to six.

ASC Opens '05 NAIAS with 500HP SSR Diamondback Coupe

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The 2005 North American International Auto Show in Detroit opened with a press conference from American Specialty Cars, Chevrolet's development partner on the SSR. Featured at the press conference was ASC's Diamondback SSR fixed roof coupe, highlighting the firm's OmniCarbon™ carbon-fiber manufacturing process. The Diamondback is lowered two inches and features body color running boards with molded in side exhaust pipes. ASC took the carbon-fiber hood look popular with the import tuner crowd and took it just about as far as it can go. From the hood to the coupe roof to the decklid, every surface from the beltline up on the Diamondback is made from carbon-fiber. Considering that the stock SSR's retractable hardtop convertible roof is one of ASC's signature products, using a fixed-roof SSR to highlight the OmniCarbon process is a bold move. Removing the roof and it's mechanism meant that the back edge of the new roof had to be mounted six inches towards the rear of the car, giving the Diamondback's roof a much racier line than the stock roof, and also gave room for a storage area behind the seats. Click here for more on this story.

Chevrolet Introduces HHR, A PT Cruiser Fighter With SSR Styling

At the 2005 Los Angeles Auto Show, Chevrolet introduced the HHR, the so-called 'Heritage High Roofline' vehicle, essentially a small minivan built on the Cobalt platform and intended to compete with Chrysler's PT Cruiser. The styling of the HHR reflects broad influences from the SSR, as will most new Chevrolet products in the near future.

SSR News

New Accesories for '06

Chevy has announced several new dealer-installed SSR accessories designed and engineered by GM. They include a bright hood blanket that mounts on the underside of the hood and features the SSR logo, as well as two storage options for the cargo area: a cargo organizer and soft side-saddle storage bags. The side-saddle bags, one for each side, are secured to the side rails are are easily removed. Also removable is the cargo organizer that attaches to the cargo area floor tracks.

Other new SSR accessories include: satin chrome and bright chrome sill plate covers; satin chrome pedal covers; vehicle care kit; reversible cargo area mat and a SSR vehicle cover. Returning accessories include an engine cover insert, cargo area strips available in all factory plus satin chrome) and a cockpit windbreak. Vehicles not originally equipped with auxiliary gauges and factory running boards can be upgraded with dealer installed versions.

Other accessories and accessory packages include: an auxiliary gauge package (volts, delivered torque, exterior temperature), a body color package, which adds the exterior color to SSR's auxiliary gauge package, engine cover insert and cargo area strips; a body color package with running boards; and a windbreak.

Barbie & KFC Show SSR Product Placement Success

Barbie's New SSR
photo credit: Daniel Acker / Bloomberg News

Not content with just using the Chevy SSR as a halo vehicle for their entire line of cars and trucks, Chevrolet is using "product placement" to get the sport pickup and the Chevrolet brand in the public eye. KFC is using the SSR in its current ad campaign promoting their "classic but modern" new boneless Original Recipe and Barbie is not just dumping Ken but also her famous pink Corvette and replacing it with an ultra-violet SSR with a built in CD player. Click here for more details.

SSR Panel Truck in Pipeline?

Recently published sketches show a sedan-delivery or panel truck version of the Chevy SSR. It's a natural progression on the styling of the SSR. When Chevy SSR Forum contacted ASC, a major vendor for the SSR that would probably be involved in any variations on the SSR, they had no official comment. Click here for more details.

Signature Series Auction News

As announced, Chevrolet has started to auction the first 25 production Chevy SSRs, known as the Signature Series SSRs. The initial results are promising, with vehicles selling for well over base manufacturer's suggested retail price (MSRP) of $41,995 , and one SSR, VIN #2 sold for over $137,000. Click here for full auction details.

Chevrolet's "American Revolution" Campaign Spotlights SSR

"An American Revolution" is Chevrolet's theme for a 20 month advertising campaign to support its launch of 10 new Chevy cars and trucks and the Chevy SSR will have a starring role in that campaign. The introduction of all that new product is an integral part of Chevrolet's plans to reclaim market leadership by increasing sales to 3 million units per year. Click here for complete details.

Chevrolet's Future 'Styling DNA' SSR Based

The 'high tech retro' take on the "Advance Design" Chevrolet pickups in the late 1940s and early 1950s exemplified in the Chevy SSR, will be the backbone of Chevrolet's styling DNA for the foreseeable future. Click here for complete details.

New ChevySSRForum Feature:

An Owner's View
Chevy SSR Forum has arranged with the owner of one of the Signature Series SSRs [#17 of 25] to share his experiences with our readers through this online diary. Click here to share all the joys and surprises of SSR ownership.

A look inside the Chevy SSR
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Gibson Custom Shop honors the SSR
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SSR Stars in Chevy Ads
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