What Happened to the Late Great 01-02 SS?
I got an 01 SS, it's got 119k miles on it and I LOVE the car. I had the tranny and rear rebuilt, it's got lots of suspension mods with the exception of engine mods.
dyno'd @338rwhp and 351ft tq with LT's and Magnaflow cats, ported polished TB and Volant CAIS, I can't complain.
smoked a '14SS a while back right from a dead stop, that was satisfying.
I'm gonna put in either a forged stroked LS2 or an LS3, not sure which yet.
I can't see myself getting rid of it.
dyno'd @338rwhp and 351ft tq with LT's and Magnaflow cats, ported polished TB and Volant CAIS, I can't complain.
smoked a '14SS a while back right from a dead stop, that was satisfying.
I'm gonna put in either a forged stroked LS2 or an LS3, not sure which yet.
I can't see myself getting rid of it.
11 Second Club
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 1,707
Likes: 13
From: New Orleans, LA
From what I read the Camaro died from federal regulations and slow sales.. Gm would have had to do a retool in order to add side curtain air bags and such for the 2003 model year and it just wasn't worth it on that aging platform..
Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 34,661
Likes: 2,592
From: Schiller Park, ILL Member: #317
TECH Senior Member
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 5,798
Likes: 16
From: St.Charles MO
This happens to almost all new affordable performance cars that come out. However the dbag level is no where near the level that mustang owners are at, they are in a league of their own...
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I love 02 cars! I just picked up a 2002 SS LE with 10,000 original miles for 16k. My second fbody and I love it. I think one day the LE's will be worth a pretty penny just because they made only 3,000 of them. And only few are in pristine condition like mine. I sold my 03 Terminator for this car!
Teching In
Joined: Jan 2019
Posts: 14
Likes: 4
Sorry to bring this back up...but... I have owned 3, 2002 SS's. Two T-Tops, one A4 and one M6 plus a M6 convertible which I still have. I also have a 2017 6th gen RS convertible V6 auto. I'd never give up the LS1 '02 M6 vert. It is completely stock, low mileage and is the best sounding, fun to drive car I've ever owned. Plus it gets amazing gas mileage. I drove it from Canada to FL last year and it was flawless... but not the most comfortable or quietest car I've driven. And my passenger endured the cursed hump, even though I have installed a power passenger seat. But if you are doing a local car show or day trip, it's the best. The 6 gen 2017 is a completely different car. Cadillac underpinings and a V6 with the same HP as the 02 SS. Surprising performance, but definitely not on par with an LS1. But if you plan on driving it for a few hundred miles, it's amazing. Quiet. Smooth. A real cruiser. So each has its own merits. But if I could only have one of them... It's the 02 LS1...hands down.
Anyway, I probably shouldn't have revived this one...but now the comparison is 6th gen to 4th gen and a V6 with the same HP as an 02 LS1...so I couldn't resist the temptation to compare.....
Anyway, I probably shouldn't have revived this one...but now the comparison is 6th gen to 4th gen and a V6 with the same HP as an 02 LS1...so I couldn't resist the temptation to compare.....
I'm a 4th gen fan, 98-02, because of the headlights vs. the LT1 4th gens. Yes they do draw looks, mine because of the bolt-in cage, exhaust of Stainless Works catback, auto w/ convertor and 4.56s'. To me the 5ths and 6ths don't look like a Camaro, but I'm glad they were revived. The latest Challengers look like a Challenger, the latest Mustangs look like a Mustang, were the 5th and 6th gen designers asleep/on drugs/bottom of the barrel designers. GM should hire the Mustang designers and let them work on the looks of a 7th gen.
Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 34,661
Likes: 2,592
From: Schiller Park, ILL Member: #317
And yes, I do realize that I have just quoted a 3 year old post, but hey, the thread is active again with relevant conversation so might as well keep the ball rolling.
I bought my 99 T/A new in 1999 strictly due to the LS1 engine. Incredible engine surrounded by a mediocre car.
Later purchased two 02 Z28's and still have one of those.
Came to appreciate the 4th Gen is just as simple as a 3rd Gen and in many ways just as easy to work on. Simple is Good for reliability. Have driven ~700,000 miles in 3rd & 4th Gens over the last 35 years so I feel I know the good & bad very well. I was pretty happy when my 250,000 mile 02 Z28 dyno'd in the same range as a new one
What happened to the 4th Gen was poor sales due to:
Epic fail at appealing to female buyers unlike the 3rd Gen, 2nd Gen, 1st ....and 5th Gen
Plus
Luke warm interest in the1998-2002 catfish Camaro's & Batmobile Firebird styling back in 1998 to 2002
General dislike to the steeply raked windshield
Status had shifted to trucks & suv's
Marginal visibility compared to other cars
Cheap material in the interior
Most of the people that liked the cars when they were new cars couldn't afford them.
GM failed to support fbody with consistent advertising
Extremely disconnected & ignorant sales staff at typical GM dealer
The 1993 4th Gen was basically a half assed reskinning of the old 3rd Gen when a new platform was actually needed.
Later purchased two 02 Z28's and still have one of those.
Came to appreciate the 4th Gen is just as simple as a 3rd Gen and in many ways just as easy to work on. Simple is Good for reliability. Have driven ~700,000 miles in 3rd & 4th Gens over the last 35 years so I feel I know the good & bad very well. I was pretty happy when my 250,000 mile 02 Z28 dyno'd in the same range as a new one
What happened to the 4th Gen was poor sales due to:
Epic fail at appealing to female buyers unlike the 3rd Gen, 2nd Gen, 1st ....and 5th Gen
Plus
Luke warm interest in the1998-2002 catfish Camaro's & Batmobile Firebird styling back in 1998 to 2002
General dislike to the steeply raked windshield
Status had shifted to trucks & suv's
Marginal visibility compared to other cars
Cheap material in the interior
Most of the people that liked the cars when they were new cars couldn't afford them.
GM failed to support fbody with consistent advertising
Extremely disconnected & ignorant sales staff at typical GM dealer
The 1993 4th Gen was basically a half assed reskinning of the old 3rd Gen when a new platform was actually needed.
Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 34,661
Likes: 2,592
From: Schiller Park, ILL Member: #317
Lots of folks complain about this now, in the wake of much newer cars and interior material/design updates, but these cars had pretty typical interior quality for their era and price range. My 1998 Z28 was $20,400 base price, and made as much horsepower (in reality) as a same-year Corvette with only about ~200lbs more weight. At that price-to-performance ratio for the era, something has to give (i.e. interior and accessories won't be luxury level and, to me, that's fine - these cars were built as close as possible to the muscle car tradition, though I guess this was not the popular trend at the time).
Haha....I just had to quote this as it instantly reminded me of the experience I had when purchasing my '00 WS6 brand new. I had already bought a new GM car (Chevrolet) at a different dealer previously and had a great experience, but this was my first time buying new at a Pontiac dealer. Oh my....I must've had the *least* knowledgeable salesman on the floor that day. No point in re-telling the whole experience, but one example of his ignorance was his insistence that T-tops were just a sunroof and operated as such - we nearly lost a roof panel on the test drive. How do you let a member of the sales staff sell new Trans Ams in the year 2000 when they don't even understand the concept of T-tops? LOL.
Haha....I just had to quote this as it instantly reminded me of the experience I had when purchasing my '00 WS6 brand new. I had already bought a new GM car (Chevrolet) at a different dealer previously and had a great experience, but this was my first time buying new at a Pontiac dealer. Oh my....I must've had the *least* knowledgeable salesman on the floor that day. No point in re-telling the whole experience, but one example of his ignorance was his insistence that T-tops were just a sunroof and operated as such - we nearly lost a roof panel on the test drive. How do you let a member of the sales staff sell new Trans Ams in the year 2000 when they don't even understand the concept of T-tops? LOL.
Love the TTop is really a sun roof story Reminds me of the sales man that kept saying "The W6S AirRam is a factory race car."
On the interior, I think it was OK for the cars in the $20k to $24k range ie v6 cars base model Z28 & Formula but not ok for the $25k to $33k cars (SS, WS6, FireHawk etc).
I also recall a lot of import loving friends being shocked after one ride in my TA that the car was rattle and noise free That look of shock at the TA getting 32+ mpg highway was also pretty sweet. The look of disbelief downshifting & going WOT - priceless
In the late 90's the LS1 4th Gen enabled defacto Super Car performance for the masses - basically built GM's parts bin for other cars.
Reminds me of the sales man that kept saying "The W6S AirRam is a factory race car." On the interior, I think it was OK for the cars in the $20k to $24k range ie v6 cars base model Z28 & Formula but not ok for the $25k to $33k cars (SS, WS6, FireHawk etc).
I also recall a lot of import loving friends being shocked after one ride in my TA that the car was rattle and noise free
That look of shock at the TA getting 32+ mpg highway was also pretty sweet. The look of disbelief downshifting & going WOT - priceless In the late 90's the LS1 4th Gen enabled defacto Super Car performance for the masses - basically built GM's parts bin for other cars.
Speaking of ignorant sales staff...
Back in 2003, I pulled into a local chevy dealership in my 1996 collector edition corvette. I'm 19 at this time and this guy maybe a little older than me walks up to me and excitedly proclaims "maaaan you should sell me dat mustang!"
I told him I didn't have a mustang and he proceeds to make things worse by pointing and saying "Dat silver one right there".....
Dude you work at a chevy dealership and you can't recognize your flagship car.... I guess yeah it was a c4 but keep in mind despite it being 7 years old at the time, it was still the previous generation car. With all that said, the place I bought it from was just as dumb. Also a chevrolet dealership, salesman kept insisting it was a 97, had an LT4, etc etc...
Lol
Back in 2003, I pulled into a local chevy dealership in my 1996 collector edition corvette. I'm 19 at this time and this guy maybe a little older than me walks up to me and excitedly proclaims "maaaan you should sell me dat mustang!"
I told him I didn't have a mustang and he proceeds to make things worse by pointing and saying "Dat silver one right there".....
Dude you work at a chevy dealership and you can't recognize your flagship car.... I guess yeah it was a c4 but keep in mind despite it being 7 years old at the time, it was still the previous generation car. With all that said, the place I bought it from was just as dumb. Also a chevrolet dealership, salesman kept insisting it was a 97, had an LT4, etc etc...
Lol
TECH Fanatic
Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 1,367
Likes: 144
From: Woodstock, GA
With 385,000 miles on my TA, every single repair resulted in an upgrade! I've done lots of them over the 20 years of owning it!
That's one way to look at it.
