Chevy Says SSRs R Us
STEVE FINLAY Ward's Dealer Business, May 1, 2003 12:00 PM

If early toy car sales indicate how popular a real vehicle will be, the new Chevrolet SSR should be a hit when it hits dealership showrooms in August.

So far about two million SSR toy models have been sold, a record, according to General Motors Corp. marketers.

Granted, they say they don't rely heavily on toy sales as a predictor of actual vehicle sales. People who buy toy cars for a few bucks are decidedly different than those who buy the real vehicle, in this case a $41,995 blend of roadster, pickup truck and convertible.

Nevertheless, GM marketers are pleased by the play the unique vehicle is getting with the toy crowd. They also note 15 magazines, including Business Week, have featured the eye-catching SSR on their covers. It's the official pace car of this year's 87th Indianapolis 500. It's generating a lot of “buzz” and getting among the most hits on Chevy.com.

GM's hopes for the potential star have less to do with sky-high sales and more with the brand glow a funky new vehicle like the SSR can transmit.

The auto maker plans to produce only about 14,000 SSRs a year. Even if it were a smash, and everyone wanted one, GM would be hard-pressed to supercharge production at its Lansing (MI) Craft Centre, a low-volume facility that relies more on manual labor than conventional auto plants do.

“We could make about 16,000 a year at the Craft Centre, but we want to keep volume controlled,” says Bob Walczyk, SSR marketing manager. “It's never going to be high volume. As cool as the SSR looks, it has inherent limited appeal. It's a convertible, and we never made more than 11,000 a year of those. And it's a two-seater, which turns away a lot of buyers.”

Instead, GM sees the SSR as a fresh “halo” vehicle that will be an “instant icon,” according to Janet Eckhoff, GM's marketing manager for mid-size cars.

“It creates a whole new marketing segment,” she says. “Is it a car or is it a truck? I'm not sure but it is a Chevy.”

Much of the SSR's mission is to buff up the Chevy “bowtie” nameplate with a bold new product that turns heads and turns out 290 hp from a 5.3L small-block V8.

The grand brand goal is to keep current Chevrolet customers interested, land new ones and reconnect with former Chevy buyers, Eckhoff says.

Walczyk says the SSR's demographics are about the same as the reigning sports vehicle in Chevy's lineup, the Corvette. If so, that means the part roadster and part pickup with a retractable hardtop will attract many young admirers who can't afford it yet and a number of Baby Boomers who can.

To help take the Boomers down memory lane and then perhaps detour into Chevy showrooms, GM commissioned Peter Max, a pop icon artist of the “Flower Power” 1960s, to do various posters commemorating the coming of the SSR.

Indianapolis-area Chevrolet dealers liked what they saw at the unveiling of a purple SSR dressed up as the Indy 500 pace car.

“It's an exciting, sexy vehicle with a nice retro look,” says Gary Pedigo, owner of Pedigo Chevrolet, located down the road from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. “It creates an enthusiasm and a bond with customers for the overall brand. It's a hook for customers to think Chevrolet.”

Adds Howard Hubler of Hubler Chevrolet in Greenwood, IN, “Chevy has been looking for a follow up to the Corvette, and this could be it. A vehicle hits a sweet spot when it can appeal broadly to people who like pickups, people who like roadsters and people who like convertibles.”