2005 Chevrolet SSR in Taylorville

We froze our tails off in a 2005 SSR during a Michigan December so we could give you the lowdown on the upgrades that Chevrolet granted its sweet-looking but poor-selling retro roadster truck. Chevy didn't give us an SSR without a heater, mind you: we just dig convertibles, and the SSR's nifty tri-fold power hardtop is too cool to resist.

During our maiden SSR voyage to the 2003 Indianapolis 500 (August 03:78), we weren't impressed with its power, but said "it is probably fast enough" to be a boulevard cruiser. Not many people want a slow $41,995 cruiser, though, and sales were disappointing, with a 301-day supply as of December 1 (which prompted GM to halt production at the SSR-factory in Lansing, Michigan, for five weeks of the first nine weeks of early 2005).

For the SSR's third model year, Chevy finally woke up and added 390 hp and 405 lb-ft of Corvette power and an optional manual transmission. Also new is retuned steering, revised exhaust routing, the addition of a dead pedal, an optional mp3-capable stereo, and more.

The host of "Tool Time" would grunt about the 30 percent more horsepower and 22 percent added torque that the '05 SSR picks up from the Corvette-sourced LS2 6.0-liter V-8. With the new Tremec six-speed manual 'box, the 4760-lb SSR will blast to 60 mph in 5.3 seconds and through the quarter in the 13.8s, more than two seconds faster than the '03-'04 models. The new four-speed automatic is about two-tenths slower than the stick, but still gives the acceleration you'd expect from a "Super Sport Roadster." We'd be pretty pissed if we had an '03 or '04 model, however, because the '05 price increased by less than $500, and you'd have a hard time selling an underpowered, used SSR with such a surplus of the fast ones dormant on dealer lots.... Read full article