Tag Archives: 2005

Overview:
This week I tested the 2005 Chevrolet SSR Super Sport Roadster. Now this is Retro! As I mentioned this is a series on pickup trucks and technically this is a pickup.

If you are into hauling fur coats or other soft things it won’t scratch the beautiful fine polished wood runners in a bed of plush carpet. Ok, so it’s a hot rod, retro back to the mid 1940s through early 1950s and reminds me of my 1946 Chevy half-ton pickup.  

It is therefore near and dear to my heart because it made delivering the Los Angeles Times to 420 homes in the Monterey Hills above South Pasadena, CA every morning in my teen years a joy. Old timers would tell me the torque of that 6-cylinder would pull a house. I never tried it, but it had no trouble in the hills. Anyway, this SSR brought back fond memories of rising early, tying papers and tossing them to a thankful bunch of folks. They must have been thankful, because I never had a complain, even when the paper I launched from my little red truck became a missile that found its way through a window or milk bottle on the porch. Wow, that dates me, eh? Ok, so that was a long time ago when Ador Farms still delivered bottled milk in the late 1950s.

I can’t remember now what the mileage was on that straight 6 engine, but I’m sure someone out there will tell me. My guess is that it was about 15 mpg. After I rebuilt it, it probably did worse. Remember those older cars. That was when you could actually turn a screw to change the idle or fuel mixture on the carburetor. Today gas is metered out to the cylinders with fuel injectors and carburetors are archaic. But for all its simplicity the old technology worked nearly as well as today’s modern electronic ignition and fuel injection. Perhaps we shouldn’t expect gigantic leaps in mileage numbers in only 60 years. Or should we? Shouldn’t consumers demand more from a society who put a man on the moon in 8 years. Thanks JFK.

General Info:

Parts – USA

Assembly – United States

Class:  – Pickup

Cars:  – Astro, Avalanche, Aveo, Blazer, Cavalier, Cobalt, Colorado, Corvette, Equinox,                 Express, Impala, Malibu, Monte Carlo, Silverado, SSR, Suburban, Tahoe, Trail Blazer,      Uplander and Venture.

Handling & Performance:

A dream to drive. Comfy and cozy and faaaast as 390 horses push this pickup down the highway.

Styling:

Retro says a lot and of course a picture is worth a 1,000 words. And one would never guess you’d buy a pickup truck that magically becomes a convertible at the touch of one button. And the designers have done a marvelous job is moving from the old look to a modern, sleek rendition of the past. They have struck a chord or two with lots of people as I learned from those who stopped me to talk about the truck that transforms the past to the future. At Home Depot in Palmdale, a retro couple visited and reminisced and I felt good about this one of a kind bold statement from Chevrolet. Thanks GM.

Fit and Finish:

Excellent.

Cost:

Big price tag. But then, if you rebuilt a ’46 to ’53 Chevy pickup, it would cost more. And even if you could design in a convertible hard top the cost would be outrageous. Chevy has done it all for you and far cheaper than you could ever do it. So if that is true, $50,000 would be a bargain. I’ll take two.

Conveniences:

Very nice. And the convertible top is a touch of genius.

Consumer Recommendation:

If you want “Different” and can afford fifty grand for a Sunday driver I recommend this radical retro truck. It takes you back in time and then launches you into the future as you watch the hard top magically disappear.

The Competition:

There are no competitors in my opinion. This is a unique remake of the 1940s and 1950s Chevrolet pick up trucks. You’d have to go to a Custom Rod show to see the likes of this truck. It is alone in the production market. I suspect when I saw it as a concept vehicle in 2000 I didn’t expect it would ever become a production vehicle. Thanks to Chevy huevos it has. Bravvvv-O!

Good News:

It’s a magical trip down memory lane for the older, and simply a lovely work of art to all who love an adventure in driving something different. It is fast and very fun to drive. The plush bed is elegantly covered in a hard tonneau cover that is flawless. This is one of the special vehicles that inspire an automotive love affair.

Bad News:

A little pricey and hard to justify if it is a truck you need, low fuel economy.

Standard Equipment:

6.0 liter 390 hp V8 engine, 4-speed auto trans, limited slip differential, independent front suspension, 16:1 power steering, stabilizer bars, tuned shocks, trailer provisions, 19” front and 20” rear aluminum wheels, dual air bags with off switch for passenger, side air bags, 4-wheel ABS disc brakes, remote keyless entry with theft deterrent system, retractable hardtop, power heated mirrors, removable hard cargo cover, stereo with CD/MP3 player, air conditioning, power locks for doors and cargo cover, power windows, cruise control, tilt steering wheel, leather seating and 6 way driver and 2 way passenger power seats. Options: the version I drove upgraded the MSRP by $4,460 for memory seats, homelink, heated seats, in-dash 6 CD Bose sound system, cargo area trim with wood, 6-speed manual transmission (I recommend this), auxiliary gauge package, special paint (beautiful aqua blur metallic) and GVW rating at 6,050 lbs.

Gas Stats:

13 City and 20 Highway MPG.

Pricing:

MSRP $42,430.

Overview:
Ok, back to reality and responsibility after a series on pickup trucks. This 2005 Chevrolet Cobalt 4-door sedan isn’t the first in a series of economical cars to contrast with the gas guzzling trucks I just completed, but I will touch on a lot of fuel-efficient vehicles because the inevitable has happened.

Gas is pushing $3.00 per gallon and that ain’t good. Government says they will start exploring for new domestic fields. Helllllllooo, are they stupid or what? Is this gas shortage a surprise to these yokels or what? What do we pay our elected officials such high salaries for? Boy I don’t want to get my blood boiling but this is ridiculous. In fact it has been said we have 30 years of fuel in the Alaska reserve. I think it’s time George Bush et al, start the flow going to the pumps. By the time we start another war and need the oil we will have developed another energy source, like hydrogen or solar power. In any case it will be a good incentive to do JUST THAT. If we can put a man on the moon…  

In the meantime, until you write your congressman about freeing up some of the national oil reserves, the only immediate way to beat the cost to you personally is to downsize the cars you drive. Few, around the country, can take Metro rails and most of those folks are in New – York – City. The rest of the country has become dependent on personal transportation and that is never truer than in California.

In the 1940’s special interests, namely the oil and rubber companies, pushed mass transit right out of California because it was more profitable for them to encourage personal autos for transportation. Now cities encourage spending billions to rebuild mass transit because all of the freeways in California and other major metropolitan cities have developed into giant parking lots. What a mess Charlie Brown.

I have discussed fuel alternatives with engineers and you may have read about the European diesel approach to achieving better fuel economy. We discussed how American Car makers are opposed to that in principal. In fact Forbes Magazine recently ran a cover story about how GM is gambling big time on Hydrogen powered vehicles. I believe that will change, but the jury is still out. These guys could be smarter than I give them credit for.

In the meantime buying more fuel-efficient vehicles is the responsible thing to do. Voting with your purchasing dollars is the only way to fight back. Letters are circulating to boycott certain oil companies, but that is only a temporary fix at best and more likely an empty threat. The real problem is the rest of the world is beginning to demand increasing amounts of crude. China will be the major player in pushing fuel prices through the roof as we direct more production to that country.

Presently wages in China are $.60 to $.90 per hour so more production is bound to go there. That will push them and other underdeveloped countries to use more oil as their labor pool is utilized. That in turn will push the cost of gas in America up to world prices over $4.00 per gallon. You can take that to the bank Lucy, and while you are there, withdraw a lot of money to pay for the $100.00 fill ups at the pump for a tank of gas.

In contrast to opening my wallet wider I like the option of buying a Cobalt or one of its competitors that get over 30-highway mpg. That is double what you are probably getting from that SUV or Truck or other big V8 you are driving. With that one move, all at once you have cut your fuel cost in half. Secondly the trend will push manufacturers to produce more fuel-efficient vehicles or lose market share.

General Info:

Parts – USA

Assembly – USA

Class:  – Subcompact

Cars:  – Astro, Avalanche, Aveo, Blazer, Cavalier, Cobalt, Colorado, Corvette, Equinox,                 Express, Impala, Malibu, Monte Carlo, Silverado, SSR, Suburban, Tahoe, Trail Blazer,      Uplander and Venture.

Handling & Performance:

Performance is good for a 145 horsepower inline 4-cylinder engine. I remember well my 1963 VW Carman Ghia. We’d go from LA to Las Vegas and all the traffic would pass us going up hill and we’d pass them all going down hill. Well, that is not the case with this Cobalt, but it will struggle and work hard on the hills if you want to keep up with today’s traffic. Face it, they will run you over if you don’t get out of the way. “But ma, I’m doing 80 now…”

Styling:

Plain wrap and clean describes it well. Not a lot of frills on the exterior and the interior is clean and basic as well. That’s a good thing.

Fit and Finish:

Good and perhaps even Very Good for the money.

Cost:

Affordable comes to mind for this family sedan that seats 5. If you want power windows and locks and ABS brakes you can opt for the LS or the LT sedan where those features are standard. It will up the price by $2-5,000.

Conveniences:

When you consider “Affordable” one shouldn’t expect a lot of power stuff like seats, windows and auto air. This is a great transportation car that will get you and the family there in comfort if not elegantly. Face it, when you set the seat it is unlikely you will change it very often. I did miss not having power windows (not available on the Sedan), and door locks are optional. Guess I could live without those too.

Consumer Recommendation:

I was a happy camper with this basic transportation family, seats 5, sedan. Chevy has always been a reliable car and if you don’t require jack rabbit burn the rubber off the tires starts and won’t expect to tow the boat or trailer, this is a great economical family car that is truly affordable. I gotta tell you, I, and I’m sure you have friends with the money to buy any car they want, who are happy owning rather than being owned by their car.

Advertisers will try to convince you to spend 3 to 5 times the money to be a complete human being, but it just isn’t true.

The Competition:

Chevrolet Cobalt $13-21,000, Ford Focus $13-18,000, Suzuki Reno $13-17,000, Chevrolet Cavalier $10-18,000, Toyota Corolla $14-18,000, Pontiac Sunfire $11-15,000, Subaru Impreza $18-32,000, Dodge Neon $14-21,000, Scion tC $16,000, Hyundai Elantra $13-15,000, Honda Civic $13-21,000, Saturn ION $11-21,000, Nissan Sentra $13-18,000, Volkswagen Golf $16-20,000, Mitsubishi Lancer $14-35,000, Suzuki Aerio $13-17,000, Mazda 3 $14-19,000 and Kia Optima $16-20,000.

Good News:

There is a ton of competition in the field, great economy family vehicle, most of the basic needs without the frills that jack up the price.

Bad News:

Light on the horsepower and torque to tow, basic features to some people will be a turn off.

Standard Equipment:

2.2 liter 4 cylinder engine, 5-speed manual trans, power steering, power front disc and rear drum brakes, dual air bags, theft deterrent, battery rundown protection, child safety latch system and rear door locks, daytime running lights, air conditioning, stereo with CD player, reclining front bucket seats, 60/40 split rear folding seat, console, tilt steering wheel and remote trunk release.

Gas Stats:

24 City and 32 Highway MPG

Pricing:

MSRP $13,625.