Every year automobile manufacturers come up with newer, upgraded and better models in order to maximize profits, So in correct words the automobile manufacturers have to win customer’s attention towards the vehicle by the way it looks, drives and feels. Therefore from the very start companies come up with unusual designs every year to capture customer’s attention, some vehicles gets approved by the customer in shape of more sales while the others get neglected with lower number of sales. There are several reasons why a vehicle fails in market; sometimes the vehicle is ahead of their time while other times it may be underappreciated which is mainly because of the competitors offering more for less, however the most important factor in success or failure of vehicle is the exterior, the way it looks. In simple words some cars are terrible in their shapes no matter how much options it has to offer or the engine block under the hood. These cars develop an image of “terrible” in customers mind hence making everyone against the vehicle design, following the trend.
When it comes to automotive failures, even the big companies like Chevrolet experienced their cars failures and rejection by customers. In the year 2003, Chevy was launched a pickup truck named “Chevrolet SSR” in America that failed miserably, this truck possessed the exterior look of “Hot Rod” ride inspired by Advance Drive series of Chevrolet. The Advance Drive Trucks were remodeled after AK series and were more elegant, sleek and strong however unfortunately as much as Advance Series were appreciated in market during 1947-1955, the more Chevy SSR was disliked.
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The Chevrolet SSR (Super Sport Roadster) is said to be the all times greatest flop of last 30 years, its 2-door FR layout was built on platform of GMT386. Initially SSR was introduced with an underpowered 5.3L V8 engine with 300hp on the wheels however due to customer’s complaints and journalists complaining about the slow performance Chevy soon replaced the engine with a newer 6.2L V8 LS2 engine, the same engine that was being used in Z6. The hardtop convertible truck had 2 types of Transmissions available at the time; 4-Speed automatic and 6-speed manual transmission. Following the hot rod trend this truck had a wheelbase of 2,946 mm (116 in), even though the Chevrolet executives were decided to display this truck on Indianapolis 2000 in year 2003 as a marketing strategy for the car but it sold far below the assumptions and estimates. The SSR was introduced in 2003 on special New Year’s Eve in 2003 with the price tag of $42,000 and as per official sales records and estimates only 24,150 units of SSR were ever produced, among which 21,112 were said to be sold in market. Finally due to lowest number of resale’s over the course of 3 years, GM Motors who owns the Chevy decided to put halt on SSR’s production, hence the truck only survived 3 years in market.
What went Wrong?
When it comes to analyzing the failure of SSR there are several reasons and facts that lead to the lowest number of sales; the primary fact includes an ugly shape with curved fenders and damped front. In simple words, no one quite liked the odd shape of truck so it is the exterior that accounts as a major in its failure. Besides the exterior, same is the story with interior that also blamed to be boring just as the whole truck henceforth SSR failed to capture customer’s attention due to lack of attention to its details. The secondary factor that comes in the path of SSR failure is the hefty price tag of $42,000. Vehicles with unfamiliar shapes debut the market often however then, there has to be something more offering in the vehicle in terms of efficiency, low price, more options and whatsoever. Contrary to this the SSR lacked all the good features with a bigger price tag leading to no one being interested in it.
Maybe the SSR was not the Greatest Fail:
While the first years of SSR’s introduction were dark for the vehicle, surprisingly these trucks can be seen at almost every car enthusiasts meet up now. This is because motor heads buy these and modify them externally as well as in terms of performance hence attracting lot of visitors near them with their shiny sleek modifications usually common in stance styled trucks and loud exhaust with a brutal hot road truck look. Contrary to the low number of resale, the SSR goes anywhere in between $25000-$30,000 depending upon miles on clock and condition. Hence the pickup truck with lowest number of sales now stands among the car enthusiasts maybe because the truck was “ahead of its time”.
