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Introduction
In the early days of full sized, fixed-cap style trucks such as the Dodge
Ramcharger, Chevrolet K5 Blazer, and the Ford Bronco, they were considered
to be station wagons, and were little more than just that. While you would
occasionally see a big wagon with some sporty modifications done to it, they
were never considered to be sporty vehicles. However, with the introduction
of the smaller models, such as the Ford Explorer and the Chevrolet S10
Blazer, as well as the foreign market such as Mercedes Benz and the like, a
new named was dawned for these one-time grocery getters… the Sport Utility
Vehicle. While companies like BMW and Porsche had their higher horsepower
SUVs, at their massive price ranges, they could hardly be considered to be a
part of the same market as the affordable SUVs such as the Ford Explorer,
Chevy Trailblazer, and Dodge Durango. Although Ford and Dodge commonly
offered eight cylinder engines in their SUV, Chevrolet had generally always
stuck to the six cylinder engines in the smaller SUV with the eight cylinder
engines being reserved for the full size SUV, such as the Suburban. This
lack of an eight cylinder engine was cause for a lack of interest from the
performance crowd in the factory engine offerings from Chevy. While Dodge
and Ford were certainly not selling many ultra high performance SUVs, Dodge
offered the Shelby Durango SP360, which had a sporty body upgrade, and a
high horsepower engine, and while Ford did not offer a factory direct
performance Explorer, Saleen Performance, known predominantly for their high
performance Mustangs, did offer a Saleen Explorer which offered the buyer a
high performance eight cylinder engine and greatly upgraded suspension, as
well as a manual transmission. These performance models were unrivaled by
Chevy in the smaller SUV's until now. After years of sitting in the shadows
watching the other eight cylinder SUVs dominate the performance SUV market,
Chevrolet has stepped to the microphone, cleared their throat and let out a
deep, angry growl. That growl coming from the undercarriage of the all new
2006 Chevrolet Trailblazer SS. The SS, which stands for Chevrolet’s Super
Sport line, has been known for decades for ground pounding performance.
With the addition recent of the Silverado SS to the performance full size
truck scene, Chevrolet saw the interest in high performance trucks that they
had hoped for, and they have taken advantage of it in this recent release of
the 2006 Trailblazer SS. The new SS combines the finest in mid-sized SUV
quality and comfort that has become commonly associated with the prior
generations of the Trailblazer, and bettered it, by adding a sporty new
look, and nearly four hundred horsepower and almost four hundred pound-feet
of torque. The Trailblazer SS embodies all of the advantages of a mid sized
SUV combined with the low end acceleration and handling ability of a sports
car, making this perfect for the thirties something family man who wants a
"Go fast" vehicle with the ability to haul the family around as needed.
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