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It’s not easy to be inconspicuous in a purple vehicle.

It’s impossible, in fact, when the purple machine is a Chevrolet SSR, or super-sport roadster, which bowed three years ago as a concept and is now arriving in production version at dealerships.

SSR is a roadster truck with a metal top that retracts and stacks in hiding behind the seats to transform the vehicle into a convertible with an enclosed pickup bed.

“With an SSR, people will hunt you down,” warned SSR marketing manager Bob Walczyk seconds before a pair of automotive sightseers blocked access to the machine outside the diner.

The SSR is significant in that it calls attention to an automaker that hasn’t been producing many head turners for several years. No one, for example, ever got whiplash trying to get a second look at a Lumina or Venture.

Turning heads is important. Chevy plans a host of new vehicles–a new midsize Malibu sedan and a new midsize Colorado pickup this fall; an extended-length Malibu Maxx hatchback and a new entry-level Aveo sedan in January; a new Equinox sport-utility in the first quarter of next year; the Cobalt replacement for Cavalier and next-generation Corvette next fall.

SSR is the designated magnet.

“A lot of people grew up with Toyota and Honda, and we want to let them know Chevy exists, to come back and give us a look again because we aren’t sitting still and have a lot of new product coming. SSR will bring new people into the showroom,” Walczyk said.

That’s why SSR sports 16 Chevy bowtie logos.

“Make no mistake, we wanted people to know this novel vehicle is a Chevy,” Walczyk said.

To appreciate the SSR, you have to accept what it is and understand what it isn’t meant to be.

“The SSR is style; the Corvette is performance,” Walczyk said.

“SSR isn’t a retro, a fresh design of an old vehicle to re-create the past,” he said, but rather a heritage machine that borrows styling cues from ’47-’53 Chevy trucks to showcase a modern-day retractable hardtop convertible.

And it’s not a modern El Camino, a midsize car with a truck bed. SSR is a truck with a car-like retractable roof.

The rear-wheel-drive SSR is powered by a 5.3-liter V-8 that develops 300 horsepower and 331 foot-pounds of torque, an upgrade from the 290-h.p. and 325 foot-pounds in that same engine that powers the TrailBlazer sport-ute.

Some will say, “300 h.p.!” while others will say, “only 300 h.p.?”

The concept built off the Chevrolet S-10 pickup platform carried a 6-liter V-8 that promised more than 300 h.p. But the 6-liter was steel, the 5.3-liter is lighter aluminum so the 5.3 won out, Walczyk said.

That doesn’t rule out a more potent V-8, he said, noting that like the Chrysler PT Cruiser, a few new features and/or accessories every so often will help keep interest alive in the low-volume sports machine.

“We’re looking at our options and alternatives, and not just engines but accessories, to keep the car fresh,” he said.

As reported (Cars, July 10) SSR is planned for a five-year life cycle. Walczyk said it is working on more limited-volume, niche vehicles, one of which was announced late last week, the 2006 HHR, a compact Chrysler PT Cruiser-size car/truck crossover that’s another heritage model, borrowing its styling cues from the 1949 Chevy Suburban sport-utility.

The 5.3 is teamed with a 4-speed automatic. No manual for now to simplify production and get the SSR to market quickly. Don’t rule a manual out, but it won’t be a clutchless, lever-slapping wannabe, he said.

“If we do an automatic stick, it would be in another series of vehicle,” he said, hinting SSR probably isn’t the last niche vehicle from Chevy.

We tested a Signature Series SSR, one of the first 25 models built that are identical in looks (purple) and content and are being used for promotional, celebrity or racing events before 000001 ends up in the GM museum and the rest go on the auction block for charity–where Serial No. 000002 brought $137,850. This was serial No. 000020 reserved for media testing before auction.

Chevy will produce 3,500 SSRs, including these 25, as ’03s, converting to ’04s in November, and then make another switch to ’05s early next summer. It will build 10,000 ’04s, 14,000-15,000 ’05s.

Regular SSRs will be offered in red, yellow and black for ’03. Add silver and purple for ’04.

SSR is lively and energetic and a blast to tool around in, but if you want to be slapped back into the seat at takeoff and stick like glue into and out of each twist in the roadway, reach for a Corvette.

SSR responds quickly to pedal input, and giant radials (19-inch front/20-inch rear) help the launch. But, as Walczyk noted, style over performance. The suspension is tuned to favor smooth car-like ride over aggressive handling. With SSR tipping the scales at 4,760 pounds–and you feel it in the wheel–don’t expect a light-footed, nimble performer, but rather a vehicle more truck-like when it comes to handling maneuvers.

At 4,760 pounds, the mileage rating is only 15 m.p.g. city/19 m.p.g. highway. A large 25-gallon tank provides decent range between refills.

“If we chose to do a sports car, we wouldn’t have used a truck chassis,” Walczyk said.

SSR rests on a TrailBlazer SUV platform with a 13-inch shorter (116 inches) wheelbase and 4 1/2-inch shorter length (191.4 inches). Sharing platforms as well as about 30 percent of the parts from TrailBlazer (engine/transmission to suspension components) helped bring SSR to market in three years.

The most noteworthy feature, of course, is the power retractable top, which, in less than 30 seconds, rises, separates into two pieces that stack on each other, and lowers into a tiny hiding place behind the cabin seats to take as little cargo space as possible in the bed.

But cargo must be no more than 48 inches long, 39.8 inches wide and 17.8 inches tall to fit in the enclosed bed. The metal tonneau comes off if you need to carry taller items.

A couple gripes. One is wind noise with the top up, though Walczyk said Chevy is working on new seals to fix that. And it’s not easy to reach the power seat controls low along the sides of the seats. A foldable plastic cupholder slips into a slot on either side of the center console, but on the driver’s side blocks your leg from reaching the pedals. Walczyk said Chevy is considering a slim cellphone holder on the driver’s side console, instead. And there’s no spare tire, No place to put it, so there’s a repair/inflation kit behind the driver’s seat.

Base price is $41,370. Four-wheel anti-lock brakes, power heated mirrors, power locks/windows , AM/FM stereo with CD player, air conditioning, power leather seats, cruise control, tilt steering and remote keyless entry are among the standard features.

A preferred equipment group runs $1,900 and includes in-dash six-disc CD player, Bose premium sound system and heated memory seats. There are six dealer-installed options: cargo boxes with lids for the bed at $220 if you leave the tonneau cover off, a gauge package at $310, cargo net holder at $220, satin finish running boards at $745, towing hitch at $235 and floor mats with SSR logos at $85.

TEST DRIVE

2003 Chevrolet SSR Serial No. 000020

Wheelbase: 116 inches

Length: 191.4 inches

Engine: 5.3-liter, 300-h.p. V-8

Transmission: 4-speed automatic

Fuel economy: 15 m.p.g. city/19 m.p.g. highway

Base price: $41,370

Price as tested: $48,270. Includes $5,000 for Signature Series (1 of 25) with Ultra-Violet exterior finish, SSR logos/Signature Series badging, body-color engine cover plate, silver seat and steering wheel thread, body-color auxiliary gauge package and cargo compartment carpeting and wood trim; and $1,900 for preferred equipment group with in-dash six-disc CD player, Bose premium sound system and heated/memory seats. Add $625 for freight.

Pluses: 2002 concept comes to life, and with a V-8 delivering 300 h.p. and 331 foot-pounds of torque, this thing has lots of life. Novel roadster truck with retractable top and cargo bed large enough for two sets of golf clubs. Low-volume vehicle will serve as magnet to get people into showroom to check out at least eight new Chevys coming soon.

Minuses: Trying to go anywhere, anytime without attracting a crowd.