Camaroz

iTrader: (2)

just dont get pissed when you run into one and it spanks you

demonspeed

iTrader: (7)

Isn't that contradictory? You say who cares because it's a SUV, yet you can't wait to see the Explorer?

Why would they put a 454 in it anyway? They haven't thrown that in anything since 2000. Try a 496.

Oh, and that Corvette SS was a 57, not 53.

PredatorZ

Thanks Outlaw, I'm glad to see some people understand...

Camaroz, yeah you are right, I'm sure the trailblazer can "spank" a great many sports cars. If you put enough horsepower on a golf cart it would spank just about anything too. So I would not be pissed at all if a trailblazer smoked me, its a simple matter of horsepower.... still doesn't make in an SS.

And slvrchr... I cannot change the laws of physics! Unless the wheelbase of the trailblazer is twice as wide as the height of the center of gravity, I seriously doubt it will hang with camaro or bird through any road course, and if it did I would gladly shake the hand of the driver. (after he changed his shorts of course)

02 Camaro SS

iTrader: (4)

He's being sarcastic. Making an Explorer Cobra is as ridiculous as making a Cobalt SS. Just becasue it would be the highest Explorer model offered, it still shouldn't be called a Cobra, regardless of how much HP it has.

Camaroz

iTrader: (2)

Ohhh now i see so what did SS mean all these year's

kenp

iTrader: (9)

Well, the first Super Sport I ever saw was a 63 Impala. I saw some 61's and 62's (Impala's) with no markings and I believe they had a 409 with solid lifters. Never saw SS badging on any '61 or '62. Let's be real about this. Originally, the Super Sport was just a go-fast car. It was the car in the line-up with the most HP and a 4-speed - there may have been some 3-speeds. It wasn't necessarily a sports car at all. That was the Corvette's mission. And, by the way, they all had manual transmissions. Then there were automatic Camaro SS's and automatic Chevelle SS 396's. Now, I never thought the SS badge should go on any automatic, but times changed. It was what people wanted. Now, people want SUV's and cars comparable to the ricers. GM is just doing what they need to do to sell cars. They're puting the SS badge on the car with the most HP in a particular line-up. That's what they did originally and that's what they're doing now. So all of you youngsters who equate the SS badge with Sports car or Camaro need to remember that the original production SS was a souped-up family car with two doors instead of four doors. GM is just putting the SS badge on the souped-up versions of the cars they're selling today. Thare ain't no diff.

demonspeed

iTrader: (7)

Last time I checked they were calling it Adrenalin, not Cobra.

PredatorZ

I believe we are all getting a little off topic. The orginal question comes down to whether we all think that "SS" is getting over used. To answer this question, just look at the top of the page. Just for giggles, lets just say that all the "who cares" are really just "No's" that can't make any definitive decisions, so the no's have 19 so far and the Yes's have 39. I think the answer here is pretty clear.

Go ahead and argue those numbers with me Camaroz... I know you are dying too!

redaddiction

iTrader: (12)

Yes they are.

Camaroz

iTrader: (2)

If you insist maybe get a few "older" people in here and they can shed some light on you like kenp

Argue with that predatorz that's all im trying to say

ArrestMeRedZ

iTrader: (2)

Actually, it didn't even have to be souped up. I believe the first SSs that Chevy produced were minimal packages available on slow 6-cyl Chevy IIs, or the like. How can you "ruin" a name that has meant performance on perhaps 1/2 of the vehicles produced with the package? For the GM corporation, the SS name plate has always been about marketing, not performance.

We are just fortunate there happened to be some good cars with the label. Mid to late 60s Impalas, some Chevy IIs and Novas, Chevelles, El Caminos and Camaros with the right engine package. Even most of these cars that were good at the strip were a pain in the *** to drive on the street, because the suspension wasn't upgraded enough to handle the weight of the big blocks. Drive them on the street, and they would bottom out on the slightest dip. Body roll was horrible, and a VW bug could take them in an autocross.

Compare the 2004 Monte Carlo SS and the '04 GTO, and tell me which car is a performance car?

Note, I leave out the late model Camaro SSs. That's a different story. Great cars, but not because of SLP. They just started out that way.

02 Camaro SS

iTrader: (4)

That's the point. They're not calling it a Cobra because it wouldn't fit even though it's a higher performance version than the standard model, so they're calling it Adrenaline instead. Just like Chevy should use a different moniker instead of SS.

kenp

iTrader: (9)

Never saw any Chevy II 6 cly with an SS Badge except for a few people who stuck the SS badge on themselves. There was an SS Nova model in around '68 or '69 that came out with a 350 and a huge holley 2 barrel and it could set the street on fire, otherwise the SS was a 396 and of course, the 350 SS wasn't quite the car that the 396 SS was. I agree with the notion that the SS was't given any suspension upgrades to give it any handling enhancements at the time the badging was conceived. In retrospect, the SS concept did change and it didn't necessarily have to be the car with the most HP and the Camaro is probably the car that made that change. I've lived around the Cincinnati area the majority of the time and some of you may not realize this, but the Camaro was originally manufactured in Norwood which is right close to Cincinnati, and then because of union problems and probably a need to increase production GM started making them in California also. Anyhow, the Camaro was the first line in the Chevrolet stable that I recall having the SS lable w/o having the most HP. I believe it was in 1969 that you could get a Camaro with an automatic and a 350 in an SS package. At the time, the Z28 still had the 302 and would beat the pants off the 350 and then there were the 396 and 427 Camaros and the Yenko Camaro. So, if you want to get right down to the nitty gritty, the sell-out of the SS badging just may have started with the Camaro line. Now, would I prefer that Chevrolet not put SS badging on SUV's and 4-bangers? Well, that's a big 10-4. But really, there are more important things in life, like mowing the grass and what I'm gonna have for lunch today. And then finding time to drive my SS Camaro around town. And if I were as disgruntled about the SS badging issue as some folks appear to be, why I'd go right out to the driveway and rip the SS badging off my Camaro in protest. I think I might do that today. Maybe I'll find some YUGO badging and put it on instead. Naw, I like it the way it is. The banter on the web site is always a hoot and also informative. Keep it up!

demonspeed

iTrader: (7)

But it's SVT that is the motivating force behind both the Cobra and Adrenalin. They couldn't put Cobra on anything else because it's a sole nameplate for the Mustang. Just like how they won't put Lightning on anything else but a F150. So a SVT vehicle is just like a SS vehicle. Would you all say a Focus or Contour SVT isn't deserving of the SVT moniker even though they are pretty close to tops in their class - let alone tops of the Focus and Contour line of vehicles?

The point of the SS moniker is the be affixed to the top-of-the-line model of the the vehicle in question. That doesn't mean it is ever limited to a RWD V8. What was FWD with a 6 cylinder 30-40 years ago that had any sort of performance? *crickets* Times change, and so does layout and application. These new vehicles can run circles around many of the older cars with much less displacment and the front wheels making all the power. Just look at the 04/05 Impala SS - it is a better performer than the 94-96.

As I've said before, there is no right or wrong to this debate - which is why it's a debate.

02 Camaro SS

iTrader: (4)

You make some good points. But like someone mentioned earlier, SVT doesn't have the same history of the SS name. No one would care about a name being used if chevy did like ford with SVT and dodge with SRT and made some other moniker for these cars. It's not surprising that newer cars can outrun older ones due to newer technology but it still just doesn't seem right putting the SS badge on these cars. If there were no V8 camaros from 96-02 and they made a V6 Camaro SS I would still argue that it shouldn't be called an SS. I know times are changing but when I think SS I think of a loud RWD V8 laying down two strips of rubber with smoke billowing out of the rear fender wells. I guess I'm just gonna have to deal with it.

demonspeed

iTrader: (7)

Don't forget some of us are in our early 20's and have never experienced the muscle car era.

kenp

iTrader: (9)

And now you understand the value of history.

240M3SRT

I think the Cobalt SS does deserve the badge. I dont care if its not a V8. The cars performance speaks for itself and its the new era of sport compact cars that can hold their own, such as the SRT-4...(though SRT-4 is better)

I have a friend with an old El Camino SS that thing is slow as ****. Im sure theres ones that are really fast too.

Thats my opinion, FWIW.

demonspeed

iTrader: (7)

When I was much younger, when I thought of SS, I thought G body Monte Someday I'll have an Aerocoupe

02 Camaro SS

iTrader: (4)

I'm 20 so I wasn't alive during the muscle car era but I think that the history behind the name is that of RWD V8's and I wish it stayed that way