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It’s one of the most distinctive vehicles ever made, and its owners are quick to tell you they’re more than enthusiasts.
“Oh yeah, we’re fanatics,” said Savannahian Randy Queen. “There is a reason our website isn’t called SSR group or SSR club.” The site is called ssrfanatic.
Some 150 of those fanatics are in town this weekend to share their love of owning and driving the Chevrolet Super Sports Roadster, filling the parking lot of the Pooler Ramada Inn with more than 100 of the shiny, well-cared-for vehicles — the only convertible pickup truck ever to roll off an assembly line.
Not familiar with the SSR? You’re not alone.
“People are always stopping me at gas stations and in parking lots to ask, ‘What is this? Did you build it?’ When they do, I give them the short version of the SSR history,” said Dick Bellville of Clearwater, Fla. “Most are really surprised to find this came off an assembly line in Detroit.”
The SSR is a retractable hardtop convertible pickup manufactured by Chevrolet between 2003 and 2006 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Chevy/GMC pickup truck. Its design was inspired by the early 1950s Chevy trucks, giving it a retro pickup look with the rear-wheel-drive powertrain of a muscle/sports car — think Corvette and GTO.
Fewer than 25,000 were built, giving it an almost instant cult status.
“The Chevrolet SSR has a knack for attracting attention,” wrote Car and Driver in 2003.
The magazine went on to wax poetic, describing the SSR as “part roadster, part truck and part Van Halen — a retro Yankee wrapped in concept-car spandex.”
It also sported a lot of firsts.
“It’s the first truck Chevy designed by computer and the first to feature sequential vehicle identification numbers, or VINS,” said Bellville, the unofficial historian for the group, adding that his 2004 SRR was the 5,054th produced.
“Ironically, the SSR was originally marketed to a 20-40 age demographic,” Bellville said. “But the sticker price, after dealer add-ins, was too high for most of them.”
The inaugural 2003 model carried a price tag of nearly $42,000 before dealer additions. By 2006, the average price was around $56,000.
“And buyers in Canada and overseas were paying upwards of $80,000,” he said.
Those prices quickly pushed the market demographic to the 55-70 age group, which is well-represented at this weekend’s annual rally.
“I think most SSR owners are like me,” Queen said. “I had my eye on it the minute it was introduced. But, practically, I wanted to wait until I was retired and had the kids out of college before I splurged.”
Michael Roe, who came down from Atlanta, said rally attendees hail from as far away as Pasadena, Calif., Maine and Canada. The club has members all over the globe.
“But we’re not really a club,” Roe said. “How can we be when we have no dues, no meetings and no rules? The best way to describe us is we’re a family.”
No meetings aside, the group has a full weekend of activities planned, from a tech seminar, parts-swap meet and tours of Savannah on tap for Friday. Today the group has been invited to do tour laps at Roebling Road Raceway in West Chatham County. A tour of the Mighty Eighth Air Force Museum and an awards banquet tonight will wrap up the formal events.
Meanwhile, members have been queuing up all weekend for tune-ups and other work by SSR owner and specialist Jeremy Formato.
“When Chevy built the SSR, there were a lot of little things that weren’t exactly right, that needed tweaking, and our members have done that over the years, making lots of improvements,” Bellville said, adding that it’s rare for an SSR owner to take their car to a dealer.
Queen agreed.
“Most people here know more about their SSRs than Chevy does,” he said.
ON THE WEB
www.ssrfanatic.com