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Chevrolet designers knocked themselves out in creating the SSR, a roadster truck with a retractable metal hardtop and a covered cargo bed.

Trouble is, most observers thought Chevy was going to put a $35,000 price tag on the machine. People would stand in line to get one at that price, but SSR starts at $42,000, plus change, and with a few options you’re within sight of $50,000.

Anticipating a lower price was one reason the days supply of 2004 SSRs reached 300 at one time last year, five times the normal rate. This suggests that the only lines formed to get their hands on an SSR were the cleaning crews to dust them.

General Motors Chairman Rick Wagoner said the automaker was guilty of overproducing in anticipation of huge sales. Limiting production to catch up with demand solved the problem.

Chevy also insists that too much was made of inventory and bristles at suggestions SSR foundered. Chevy said it sold 9,648 SSRs in ’04, just a bit shy of the 10,000 target.

“SSR is a halo car, and the purpose of a halo car is to garner attention for the brand and help sell your other vehicles and SSR did that for us,”Chevy spokesman Joe Jacuzzi said. “Our research shows that with SSR, we sold 22,000 more full-size trucks than we would have to people who said they never would have come into a Chevy showroom without the SSR being there.”

For ’05 Chevy has made a couple changes to put that 10,000 annual sales mark more within reach.

Thanks to Chevy eavesdropping on Internet chat rooms frequented by SSR owners and wannabes, SSR adds a more potent V-8 and a manual transmission for the first time.

If those changes had been made sooner, chances are folks would have been talking about inventory shortages.

Whatever.

For ’05 SSR features a far more energetic 6-liter, 390-horsepower V-8 that delivers 405 foot-pounds of torque for much quicker movement from the light and quicker reaction when you kick the pedal to pass. It replaces the 5.3-liter, 300-h.p. V-8 that delivered 331 foot-pounds of torque.

The 6-liter, however, is rated at only 13 m.p.g. city/20 m.p.g. highway. It escapes a gas-guzzler tax because it’s a truck, not a car.

The 5.3-liter came with only a 4-speed automatic. The 6-liter has an optional ($815) 6-speed manual for livelier getaways. The 6-speed is smooth, with no fighting the lever or hunting for the next gear.

A rumble-tuned exhaust adds to the sporty character as well as driving pleasure.

We tested the ’05 SSR with its 6-liter and user-friendly 6-speed and suspect those chat rooms are a more pleasant place for Chevy to visit now.

SSR is derived from the Chevy TrailBlazer sport-utility platform. There’s some truck-like firmness to the suspension, but you don’t feel like it was chiseled from marble like a couple other halo cars – the Dodge Viper and Plymouth Prowler. SSR suspension is fairly civil in cushioning from road abrasions. And the steering was retuned to react quicker to input and require less effort in low-speed maneuvers.

And top up or down, you can hear the radio without being interrupted by constant squeaks, rattles and assorted racket for which Prowler was famous.

However, there’s one drawback if you opt for the 6-speed. Traction control is offered with only the 4-speed automatic, not the manual.

With its massive 19-inch radials upfront and 20-inch radials in back and a 390-h.p. V-8 under the hood, the SSR can be a little skittish in sharp corners when a film of water or light snow covers the pavement. Don’t look for traction control with the manual for ’06, either.

Most SSR owners aren’t going to be foul-weather travelers, but they have to be prepared if they do venture out.

Other than price and mileage, only gripe is that the outside mirrors are too small.

The test vehicle came with a new finish called “aqua blur,” a $350 option. Depending on the angle and sunlight, the exterior gives off a variety of shades and tones – purple, beige, blue, green or greenish blue. The novel paint might prove a problem if you have to have a shop retouch the body.

The SSR tested starts at $42,430. A preferred equipment group runs $1,900 and adds an AM/FM stereo radio with in-dash CD player and MP3 player that’s nice to have. But the preferred package also adds heated seats. And, as noted, you have to wonder how many are going to take this machine out in weather that would call for heated seats.

One question still to be answered about SSR is how long it stays in the lineup.

“We haven’t talked SSR lifecycle and haven’t discussed the number of years we’ll produce it,” Jacuzzi said.

Whether SSR or something else, Vice Chairman Bob Lutz says GM needs more out-of-the-ordinary vehicles.

“We could use some more unusual vehicles. Impala and Monte Carlo, for example, are sensible, but we need some vehicles with emotional appeal.”

Agreed.

Ford delays: The popularity of the Five Hundred sedan, Freestyle crossover and Mustang sports car have created a problem for Ford.

Demand for optional all-wheel-drive in Five Hundred and Freestyle and demand for the V-8 powered Mustang GT caught Ford off-guard. Consumers will experience some delays in getting one of those models.

“Mustang is jumping off the lots as soon as it comes in,” Marty Collins, general marketing manager for Ford Division. “We slightly increased the mix of V-8s to V-6s when we launched the car last fall, but V-8 GTs account for 41 percent of sales now, yet only account for 18 percent of the vehicles we have in stock. We’re trying to get the tooling in place to produce more V-8s, but it could be the end of March or later before things get better.

“And AWD accounts for 23 percent of all Five Hundred sales, but we only have 18 percent AWD cars in stock. And it accounts for 55 percent of Freestyle sales, but we only have 49 percent AWD in stock,” Collins said.

“The shortage isn’t going to get better in the short term. We get the AWD systems from Volvo [Five Hundred and Freestyle are both derived from the Volvo XC90], and you can’t relieve the problem real quick because it takes time to get the components from another country. It’s a problem not easily fixable for the short term. I can’t answer when the problem may be fixed,” Collins said.

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TEST DRIVE

2005 Chevrolet SSR roadster

Wheelbase: 116 inches

Length: 191.4 inches

Engine: 6-liter, 390-h.p. V-8

Transmission: 6-speed manual

Fuel economy: 13 m.p.g. city/20 m.p.g. highway

Base price: $42,430

Price as tested: $46,875. Includes $1,900 for preferred equipment group with memory settings for seats and radio, heated driver/passenger seats, AM/FM stereo with in-dash six-disc CD player and Bose premium sound system; $895 for cargo compartment trim with wood; $815 for 6-speed manual; $400 for gauge package; $350 for special multicolor “aqua blur” paint finish; and $85 for floor mats. Add $625 for freight.

Pluses: The 6-liter, 390-h.p. upgrade from the 5.3-liter, 300-h.p. V-8 and the addition of a smooth-shifting 6-speed manual. Retractable metal hardtop so you have a convertible with a cargo bed. It’s a model that stands out in the crowd.

Minuses: Hefty price to stand out in the crowd. With its meager mileage rating, when not standing out in the crowd, you stand at the pump filling the fuel tank. Traction control not offered with 6-speed manual so keep your aggression in check on wet roads. The outside mirrors are tiny.

Read Jim Mateja Sunday in Transportation and Wednesday and Friday in Business. Hear him on WBBM Newsradio 780 at 6:22 p.m. Wednesdays and 11:22 a.m. Sundays.