My son and I had nothing to do so we decided to go "window shopping" for cars. First on our list, the ALL NEW Trailblazer SS. It took three dealers before we found one but persistance paid off big-time! Found a dealer in Lawrenceville, NJ that had 3 of them. Black, silver and blue. We took the black one out for a romp with a VERY green salesman. We drove for quite sometime on everything from highways to twisty back roads. I gotta say the truck handled great and ran very strong. Had a great exhaust note even though it only had a SINGLE EXHAUST. That really surprised me actually. It didn't seem to hurt the power, and the sound was sweet so other than not having dual pipes hanging out the back, everything was good. The interior is comfortable and well appointed. Seats were cumfy and offered good support. Black leather with perf. suede inserts looked nice too. Other than the lack of a 3rd row seat, and air conditioned seats, I can't think of much that was lacking. I only mention those options because at a price of $43K it SHOULD be heavily optioned.
Next on my hit parade was a Chrysler 300 SRT-8. The one I took out was a silvery-blue color which at first I thought was "ok" but after looking at it from several different angles, I found myself liking it better than the black one they had. Okay, down to the test drive. The car "feels" big right from the start. I guess because of the high belt line and dash, you get a feeling of sitting rather low. The problem is you really can't see out very well (side note: I found the same to be true about the new Mustang's too). Once on the road, I found the car to be MUCH smoother than I thought. A pleasant surprise actually. I was expecting to get beaten up by the suspension, wheels and tires but it was actually rather compliant. The power is noticable right from the start, announced readily via a solid performance exhaust note but, it's still REAL docile around town. The engine DOES have a little bit of a "cam-rush" but that shouldn't be confused with being soft at low-end. It's just that much stronger on the cam! The stability control seemed VERY easy to get along with, and even allows a bit of drift and wheel spin before reeling you back in. The stereo kicks ass, the heated seats(no cooling) work well, and are also a combination of leather and perf. suede like the Trailblazer SS. The car was sticked at $43K and according to the salesman sales have slowed a bit on this model so they will probably deal with you on the price. Something that was not possible only a few weeks ago.
All in all, the day was a BLAST!

Sounds like fun, our Chevy dealer has a black TB/SS in the showroom, it showed up about Tuesday. I haven't looked at it closely, yet. The cam rush you feel, is torque management, at least that's what the guys on the Dodge forum say. It's aggressive at low speeds to keep us poor idiots out of trouble and so we don't break stuff!:D

I love doing that sort of stuff but the sales people wont let an 18 year old drive an SRT-8 or something cool like that. The coolest car I have test driven was probably that '95 Eldorado.

I guess that's one advantage of looking older. :(
Both vehicles were REAL nice IMO. I definately liked the SRT-8 better but that's just a car vs. SUV thing. The SS was real nice, especially for an SUV. The fun thing was when the sales manager at the Chevy dealer asked me to compare the SS to the SRT-8! I told him that they were totally different vehicles but then he pressed me, and actually asked "what about the power?". I looked at him and said...."dude, the SRT-8 will eat the SS, no problem". His face drooped a little and he said "thanks". I couldn't believe he asked me that.

Sounds like fun, our Chevy dealer has a black TB/SS in the showroom, it showed up about Tuesday. I haven't looked at it closely, yet. The cam rush you feel, is torque management, at least that's what the guys on the Dodge forum say. It's aggressive at low speeds to keep us poor idiots out of trouble and so we don't break stuff!:D

I know what you mean but I was talking about the fact that there IS a definate powerband on that SRT-8. I mean yeah, it feels strong down low but as it revs, you feel a definate surge as it comes "on the cam". By "on the cam", I'm simply referring to the effect. It's a term we used to use back in the day. I assume you remember that Randy, you're even older than me, right?

Drive a Grand Cherokee SRT-8 and compare it to the TBSS so we can finally put this fight to an end :)

I know what you mean but I was talking about the fact that there IS a definate powerband on that SRT-8. I mean yeah, it feels strong down low but as it revs, you feel a definate surge as it comes "on the cam". By "on the cam", I'm simply referring to the effect. It's a term we used to use back in the day. I assume you remember that Randy, you're even older than me, right?


Having owned 12 Motorcycles, I know what you mean!:thumbsup:

Drive a Grand Cherokee SRT-8 and compare it to the TBSS so we can finally put this fight to an end :)

I certainly will do just that but somehow I doubt that my test driving the SRT-8 and comparing it to the Trailblazer SS would settle anything.

What is the size of the engine in TB SS? It would be a tough choice between the Grand Cherokee SRT-8 and the TB SS, both are really cool SUVs, I wonder which ones faster?

What is the size of the engine in TB SS? It would be a tough choice between the Grand Cherokee SRT-8 and the TB SS, both are really cool SUVs, I wonder which ones faster?

6.0 liter in the SS. Not a tough choice, get the SRT-8. It's loads faster and will handle much better. And yes I'm a GM guy. Reality is, if you can find a JGC SRT-8 at sticker it's a better all around value and will most likely hold it's value better than the SS.

I certainly will do just that but somehow I doubt that my test driving the SRT-8 and comparing it to the Trailblazer SS would settle anything.

Well we were debating about that a while back, it would be cool to see your input :)

I don't plan on ever owning or driving either vehicle, so I think you input would be very well appreciated. I'd enjoy reading a comparison if you ever get the change Kat!

Well thanks guys. I will do just that ASAP!
The SRT-8 will have to be damn good because I must admit I've never been a fan of the Jeep Cherokee/Grand Cherokee series, and the Trailblazer SS felt real good to me. I especially liked the transmission programming. There's just something about the GM transmissions that I usually like better than Ford and Chrysler ones. We'll see though. I think the Jeep is coming out in Feb. isn't it?

Well thanks guys. I will do just that ASAP!
The SRT-8 will have to be damn good because I must admit I've never been a fan of the Jeep Cherokee/Grand Cherokee series, and the Trailblazer SS felt real good to me. I especially liked the transmission programming. There's just something about the GM transmissions that I usually like better than Ford and Chrysler ones. We'll see though. I think the Jeep is coming out in Feb. isn't it?

I predict you will like the Jeep better. I watched the SRT test drive on the Speed channel and they favored the Jeep out of all the SRTs they tested.