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HAVE YOU SEEN USA TODAY PAPER


ozark66

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Don't we know it, General Motors says. GM's had a hop-up unit for years, run by performance enthusiast Jon Moss. Earlier this year, GM formed the Performance Division, which is supposed to ''bring back great performance and design to GM's nameplates,'' says Mark Reuss, GM Performance Division executive director. ''The group of enthusiasts that comprises our engineers, designers and partners has been busy ever since. With the direction of the different GM brands, they have assembled some truly remarkable cars, trucks and SUVs -- many of which are destined for production.''

 

The SEMA show marks the revival of GM's Chevrolet SS line. That's short for Super Sport, a designation given to rapid Chevy cars of the 1960s and '70s.

 

This go-round, SS badges are on trucks that you'll soon see in showrooms. The '03 Chevy Silverado SS full-size, extended-cab pickup goes on sale in March. It'll sport GM's 6-liter truck V-8, rated 345 hp and snarling through a low-restriction exhaust system.

 

The Silverado SS is lowered, sits on 20-inch-diameter wheels and has suspension changes meant to give the truck a sporty driving character. Chevy plans to announce the price next week.

 

Other SS models under consideration by GM and on display at SEMA:

 

* Chevy TrailBlazer SS, a hopped-up version of Chevy's popular midsize SUV. It would be powered by the 6-liter GM truck V-8, good for 345 hp.

 

That's a big engine for a series of trucks -- TrailBlazer, GMC Envoy, Oldsmobile Bravada -- designed for a narrow, in-line six-cylinder. GM thought the advance-technology six would be so powerful and satisfying in the midsize SUVs that nobody would want a V-8. But for '03, some of those SUVs will offer GM's 5.3-liter V-8 as an option.

 

* Chevy Tahoe SS, a more-powerful version of the full-size SUV. Like the other SS models, it would use the 345-hp, 6-liter V-8 and sporty suspension.

 

It looks unlikely to make production, Chevy says, because of lukewarm response at the SEMA show.

 

Chevy hopes the SS models could exploit the reputation of the brand's high-performance two-seater and put some ''Corvette in other Chevrolets,'' says Chevy General Manager Kurt Ritter.

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The '03 Chevy Silverado SS full-size, extended-cab pickup goes on sale in March.

I find that interesting. Do they still plan to start building them the 2nd week of December? If they start shipping them the begining of January, that puts them on dealer lots sometime in February. Does that sound about right? :)

 

Justin

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Chevy plans to announce the price next week.

Well, they have Thursday and Friday left (unless they work Saturdays there), to announce the price. Or maybe the USA Today guy didn't know what he was talking about. :rolleyes:

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