I got a text Tuesday morning that my silver SS had arrived and was being prepped. I had meetings all day out of town and wasn’t able to get to the dealership until 7:00pm. Because it had been snowing in Central Ohio all day, they had my car waiting inside. I knew I couldn’t drive it that night because I never would have made it out of the lot in the snow on the tires so I just had a good close look at the car, listened to the engine, played with the HUD display, cranked up the stereo and tried the parking assist.
To be honest, on first impression I was disappointed with the styling; the car did look better in person than in the photos but it still had a strong Malibu influence and looked much blander than I had hoped. I’ve spent the last 20 years driving practical, family-oriented sedans, SUVs and occasionally my wife’s mini-van and I was ready for a major change.
That night I struggled to come to terms with what I really wanted in my next car, the fact that the $50K SS looked like a Malibu and some doubts about how the SS would look next to the BMWs and Audis my friends and business associates drove. I had a refundable deposit on the SS and the final sale was dependent to my test drive which wouldn’t happen for a few days until the weather cleared and the road conditions improved. I thought seriously that night about taking a closer look at a BMW or Audi (I wouldn’t consider a Charger or Chrysler 300 and I had looked at and driven a Cadillac CTS-V, Lexus and Infiniti earlier and wasn’t interested in any of them). That night I finally realized I wasn’t looking at the SS to impress anyone, to make a statement or to try and get a drive-on part in the next Fast and Furious move. What I really wanted more that anything was a good looking, great driving Chevy/Pontiac like the ones I always wanted when I was growing up and first driving but couldn’t afford.
The next morning I went back to the dealership to take another look at my SS; they’d moved it into the showroom and were keeping it locked. It actually looked a lot better me seeing it the second time after I’d thought more about what I really wanted from my next car. I had to go back out of town on Wednesday but will be back for my test drive Friday and I’m sure I won’t be disappointed. The SS doesn’t have the dramatic styling I think I might have liked but I do think it’s going to be everything I’ve wanted in this car. It may look a little bland but for me, especially compared to the Charger and Chrysler, it looks fantastic and I know from my recent test drive of a 2009 G8 GXP it will be a great ride.
To be honest, on first impression I was disappointed with the styling; the car did look better in person than in the photos but it still had a strong Malibu influence and looked much blander than I had hoped. I’ve spent the last 20 years driving practical, family-oriented sedans, SUVs and occasionally my wife’s mini-van and I was ready for a major change.
That night I struggled to come to terms with what I really wanted in my next car, the fact that the $50K SS looked like a Malibu and some doubts about how the SS would look next to the BMWs and Audis my friends and business associates drove. I had a refundable deposit on the SS and the final sale was dependent to my test drive which wouldn’t happen for a few days until the weather cleared and the road conditions improved. I thought seriously that night about taking a closer look at a BMW or Audi (I wouldn’t consider a Charger or Chrysler 300 and I had looked at and driven a Cadillac CTS-V, Lexus and Infiniti earlier and wasn’t interested in any of them). That night I finally realized I wasn’t looking at the SS to impress anyone, to make a statement or to try and get a drive-on part in the next Fast and Furious move. What I really wanted more that anything was a good looking, great driving Chevy/Pontiac like the ones I always wanted when I was growing up and first driving but couldn’t afford.
The next morning I went back to the dealership to take another look at my SS; they’d moved it into the showroom and were keeping it locked. It actually looked a lot better me seeing it the second time after I’d thought more about what I really wanted from my next car. I had to go back out of town on Wednesday but will be back for my test drive Friday and I’m sure I won’t be disappointed. The SS doesn’t have the dramatic styling I think I might have liked but I do think it’s going to be everything I’ve wanted in this car. It may look a little bland but for me, especially compared to the Charger and Chrysler, it looks fantastic and I know from my recent test drive of a 2009 G8 GXP it will be a great ride.
