Chevrolet SSR - Definition

The Chevrolet SSR is a convertible pickup truck produced since 2004. The truck is based on the large Chevrolet TrailBlazer's platform but features "retro" styling and a steel convertible top designed by ASC. The production model is based on the SuperSport Roadster concept car shown at the 2000 Detroit Auto Show. An early-production SSR was the pace car for the 2003 Indianapolis 500 auto race.

The 2004 model sold below expectations with under 9,000 sales at $42,000 US$ each. Citing a 301-day supply of SSRs, General Motors in December of that year announced five weeks of layoffs at Lansing Craft Centre, the factory that makes the SSR. The model includes General Motors' Vortec 5300 engine, a 5.3 L 300 hp V8. Performance, while impressive, was not spectacular at 7.7 sec to 60 mph with a 15.9 sec/86.4 mph quarter mile run. The 2005 SSR uses the 390 hp LS2 V8 also found in the Corvette and Pontiac GTO.