Automotive Reviews
Posts tagged Chevrolet
2005 Chevrolet TrailBlazer EXT
Nov 23rd
With buyers sick of ponderous handling and poor fuel economy heading back to station wagons and sedans, many sport-utility vehicles have responded by becoming more carlike. Crossover SUV’s work hard to have it both ways with softer suspensions and lower bodies.
Not the Chevy TrailBlazer. This big mid-size SUV stands proud as a Truck, with a capital T, and it’s just looking for things to tow or haul. The TrailBlazer soldiers into 2005 with two body styles, two engines and a collection of new safety and comfort features. This is a Truck, after all, so it’s best to keep things simple. More >
2005 Chevrolet SSR
Nov 13th
Yes, it’s real. The Chevrolet SSR started life as a dream truck that combined 1930s styling cues, 1990s hot-rod modifications, and a modern drivetrain. Thanks to overwhelming public approval, the SSR made the leap from show car to showroom, and now it’s one of Chevy’s halo cars. Is it really a truck? Sort of. Think of it as the coolest El Camino ever, and you’ll be on the right track. In its second year on the market, Chevrolet’s big-boy toy gets a new powertrain to give it some serious go power.
No one is going to mistake an SSR for anything else. As if the retro bodywork wasn’t enough, this is also the only retractable hardtop pickup truck on the market. The extravagant curves of the front fenders and grille sweep into a compact, arch-topped cab. Chevy says the design was inspired by the Advanced Design pickups of 1947-54. The bed has a rigid tonneau cover, and the rounded-off tail has circular taillights in the fenders, just like the old trucks that inspired it. Chevrolet’s signature horizontal chrome bar bisects the line of the headlights up front. The SSR’s fender lines are echoed on other Chevrolet products as well, but nothing else has curves like this. The massive wheels, measuring 19″ in the front and 20″ in the rear, are the most overtly modern aspect of the SSR. More >
2006 Chevrolet Impala
Nov 7th
Chevrolet’s Impala is the best-selling domestic car on the market (not counting the Accords and Camrys that are built domestically, of course). Didn’t know that, did you? Given the stunningly outdated condition of that particular car, it came as a huge surprise to us.
Impala SS pictured.
That’s okay, though, because Chevy hasn’t just let the model sit passively on its perch waiting to be knocked off. For 2006 the Impala is all-new, whether the sales figures say it needed it or not. A new face, larger interior, and much-improved ride and performance should make its best-seller status a little more obvious. The return of a V8-powered Impala SS model should reduce the car’s anonymity somewhat, as well. More >