ROBERT SHEREFKIN | Automotive News
Posted Date: 12/13/04
SUPERIOR, Neb. -- The showroom at Alexander Motors Inc. here is so small that it can hold only one vehicle. For the past three months that's been a bright red 2004 Chevrolet SSR.
Problem is, dealer Rick Alexander didn't want the $42,245 roadster pickup. And he hasn't found a buyer.
He is not alone. This year, SSR sales through November totaled 8,538 units. That's far below General Motors' original annual U.S. sales target of 13,000 units.
The automaker's backlog of unsold SSRs is even more telling. As of Dec. 1, GM had 7,400 unsold units, for a 301-day supply. Automakers generally aim for a 60-day supply.
.....
Alexander has tried to sell both SSRs on the online auction site eBay, with no luck. He thinks the 2005 model will be easier to sell because it has the more powerful 390-hp V-8, which has 90 hp more than the 2004 version.
.....
The SSR was supposed to be a halo vehicle to generate excitement - and sales - for Chevrolet's other nameplates.
A market study by Foresight Research of Rochester, Mich., predicted that hubbub over the SSR would generate an additional 22,000 sales of Silverado pickups. Several companies paid for that study. One of those companies was ASC Inc. of Southgate, Mich., which builds the SSR for GM.
Posted Date: 12/13/04
SUPERIOR, Neb. -- The showroom at Alexander Motors Inc. here is so small that it can hold only one vehicle. For the past three months that's been a bright red 2004 Chevrolet SSR.
Problem is, dealer Rick Alexander didn't want the $42,245 roadster pickup. And he hasn't found a buyer.
He is not alone. This year, SSR sales through November totaled 8,538 units. That's far below General Motors' original annual U.S. sales target of 13,000 units.
The automaker's backlog of unsold SSRs is even more telling. As of Dec. 1, GM had 7,400 unsold units, for a 301-day supply. Automakers generally aim for a 60-day supply.
.....
Alexander has tried to sell both SSRs on the online auction site eBay, with no luck. He thinks the 2005 model will be easier to sell because it has the more powerful 390-hp V-8, which has 90 hp more than the 2004 version.
.....
The SSR was supposed to be a halo vehicle to generate excitement - and sales - for Chevrolet's other nameplates.
A market study by Foresight Research of Rochester, Mich., predicted that hubbub over the SSR would generate an additional 22,000 sales of Silverado pickups. Several companies paid for that study. One of those companies was ASC Inc. of Southgate, Mich., which builds the SSR for GM.
![[?|]](/images/smilies/icon_smile_banghead.gif "Bang Head [?|]"){kind=icon}
It really is a sad state of affairs for Chevy when someone who is as big of a Chevy guy as I am feels like I wouldn't buy a new Chevy car.
