These Mid-2000s GM Performance Cars Were Strange And Forgotten

General Motors is known for building some pretty epic performance cars; the Corvette, Camaro, and Cadillac V Blackwing models spring to mind. But if you rewind the clock to the 2000s, the names become a lot weirder. Prior to the bankruptcy in 2009, GM experimented with performance sub-brands for nearly its entire portfolio, including Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Pontiac, and Saturn. While these performance pet projects weren't near the top of the reasons why GM ultimately needed a government bailout, they surely played a role.

We've compiled a list of the 10 craziest GM performance cars from 2000 to 2009, organized by their market introduction. Why do we refer to these cars as "weird" or "crazy?" Well, only one model nameplate on the list still exists today, and only one performance sub-brand is still being used, albeit on different vehicles. If you remember all 10, you are a true car enthusiast.

2003-2006 Chevrolet SSR

The Chevy "SS" badge stands for Super Sport, and it dates back to the original Corvette in 1956. Chevy used this badge to denote sportier versions of many vehicles throughout the subsequent decades, but it started to expand its usage in 2003 with the introduction of a new model that had SS in its base name. The Chevrolet SSR (Super Sport Roadster) is one of the strangest vehicles GM has ever made. It's a retro-styled two-seat pickup truck that's also a hard-top convertible.

At first, you could only get the SSR with a 5.3-liter LM4 V8 producing just 300 horsepower, going out to a four-speed automatic transmission. For the final two model years, in 2005 and 2006, you could get a larger 6.0-liter LS2 V8 with 390 hp (395 hp in 2006) and an optional six-speed Tremec manual transmission. Chevy only built about 24,000 units from 2003 to 2006, making these cars rare and somewhat of a modern cult classic.

2003-2007 Chevrolet Silverado SS

The SSR wasn't the only SS-badged pickup truck that Chevy launched in 2003. That very same year saw the introduction of a new SS trim for the Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The Silverado SS was meant to rival the Ford F-150 Lightning, powered by a 6.0-liter Vortec High-Output V8 mated to a four-speed automatic. Sadly, the Vortec's 345 hp fell short of the supercharged Lightning's 380 hp rating, as did the 380 lb-ft of torque (the Lightning produced 450 lb-ft).

Chevy thought it could cater to performance truck buyers who wanted all-wheel-drive, as the Lightning was only offered with rear-drive. RWD was later added as an option to the 2005 Silverado SS and AWD was dropped entirely by 2006. The 2006 version was renamed to "Intimidator SS" under license from Dale Earnhardt, Inc., to pay homage to the late racing car driver. It features some minor appearance upgrades, but nothing extra under the hood.

2004-2007 Saturn Vue Red Line

Every vehicle on this list is strange, but the Saturn Vue Red Line might be the most obscure. It comes from GM's discontinued Saturn brand, which experimented with sporty Red Line models that started in 2004. Most people remember the Ion Red Line, which shared an engine with the Chevy Cobalt SS, but people often forget that the Vue SUV also got the Red Line treatment.

This car used a 3.5-liter V6 from Honda, sending 250 hp out through a five-speed automatic transmission, a huge upgrade from the outgoing 3.0-liter in-house V6 that only produced 181 hp. Red Line models also received a one-inch lowering kit, revised steering calibration, 18-inch wheels, and a body kit. It was genuinely one of the coolest crossovers of the time.

2005-2009 LS4 Cars

This next category lumps together four vehicles from three brands, each powered by the same engine: the LS4. Of all GM's LS-branded engines, the LS4 is easily the least memorable. It displaced 5.3 liters, produced 303 hp, and was built for transverse front-wheel-drive applications. Did we mention this is a list of weird cars? It's very rare to find any car with a transversely-mounted V8, yet GM built four of them in the 2000s.

You can find this engine under the hood of the 2006-2007 Chevy Monte Carlo SS and 2006-2009 Impala SS, the 2005-2008 Pontiac Grand Prix GXP, and the Buick LaCross Super. All four cars were pretty quick thanks to their V8 power, with the Pontiac being the sportiest and the Buick being the most comfortable, but all of them were hamstrung by a four-speed automatic transmission.

2005-2006 Saab 9-2X Aero

The first vehicle on this list to wear a Saab badge wasn't actually a Saab at all. In fact, it wasn't even built by GM. The 9-2X was a five-door hatchback model, which was essentially a badge-engineered version of the Subaru Impreza. In fact, the car is often referred to as the "Saabaru," a combination of Saab and Subaru.

For 2005, the highest-trim Aero model packed a 2.0-liter turbocharged boxer-four engine from the WRX, producing 227 hp. 2006 saw that engine replaced by the 2.5-liter EJ255, which brought power up to 230 hp, and you could get it with a five-speed manual transmission or a four-speed automatic. Saab only sold 10,346 units of the 9-2X over two years.

2006-2009 Chevrolet Trailblazer SS (And Saab 9-7X Aero)

The second Saab on this list also had basically zero Swedish DNA. Instead, GM took the Chevy Trailblazer and rebranded it as the Saab 9-7X, which was introduced for the 2005 model year. In 2008, Saab added an Aero trim level, which packed a 6.0-liter LS2 V8 with 390 hp, the same engine used in the Trailblazer SS (where it produced 395 hp), a model that was created two years prior as the first SS-branded SUV.

Chevy offered RWD and AWD configurations, both sending power out via a four-speed automatic, but Saab only offered the 9-7X Aero with AWD. Both of these vehicles were rare, with the Trailblazer SS only selling 26,411 units from 2006 to 2009, and the 9-7X only selling 19,286 units total (all trims) from 2005 to 2009.

2006-2009 Cadillac XLR-V

Remember when Cadillac built its own version of the Corvette? The Cadillac XLR sounded like a neat idea - take a Corvette and make it more of a grand tourer - but it was riddled with terrible decisions. It was only offered with an automatic transmission, it was based on the C5 generation Corvette (but was sold alongside the C6), and it didn't use the best feature from the Vette: its engine.

Rather than use the LS2, Cadillac decided to equip the base XLR with its 4.6-liter Northstar V8, which only produced 320 hp. 2006 saw the introduction of a faster XLR-V model, powered by a supercharged (and smaller displacement) 4.4-liter Northstar to the tune of 443 hp. That sounds a lot better, until you consider that the C6 Corvette Z06 produced 505 hp from its 7.0-liter LS7 V8, and you could get it with a manual.

2006-2009 Cadillac STS-V

When you think of Cadillac V Series models, the CTS-V sedan likely springs to mind. It challenged the likes of BMW M and Mercedes-AMG, and eventually spawned what we know today as the CT5-V Blackwing. Fewer people remember the CTS-V's big brother, the STS-V. Arriving a few years after the CTS-V, the STS-V never really caught on with enthusiasts. It featured the same 4.4-liter supercharged Northstar V8 found in the XLR-V, but it delivers 469 hp going out via a six-speed automatic.

It received several upgrades over the sleepy base STS, including Brembo brakes, 18-inch alloy wheels, run-flat tires, quicker steering, stiffer suspension, and new traction control settings. Sadly, these improvements weren't enough to entice buyers, and Cadillac only sold 2,503 of them over four years. When the second-generation CTS-V debuted for the 2009 model year with a 556-hp supercharged LSA engine, it made the STS-V completely irrelevant.

2006-2010 Pontiac Solstice GXP/Saturn Sky Red Line

GM's attempt to build an affordable two-seat convertible that rivaled the Mazda MX-5 Miata was actually quite good, it just came at a terrible time. The Pontiac Solstice arrived first in 2005, giving the Pontiac brand a proper dose of sportiness that it desperately needed at the time. One year later, the Saturn Sky went into production, also sold globally as the Opel GT and Daewoo G2X.

The base engine, a 2.4-liter Ecotec four-cylinder, did an admirable job challenging the NC Miata with 177 hp (the Mazda produced 170 hp). But the Solstice GXP and Sky Red Line versions got an upgraded 2.0-liter turbocharged Ecotec engine, which delivered 260 hp in stock form. Dealers could even install a tune that boosted the output to 290 hp. Though they have cheap interiors and a convertible roof mechanism that took up the whole trunk, the Solstice and Sky were pretty compelling sports cars for their time. Sadly, the GM bankruptcy killed Pontiac and Saturn, taking these cars with them to the grave.

2008-2010 Chevrolet HHR SS

It doesn't get much weirder than the Chevrolet HHR SS. The HHR, which stands for Heritage High Roof, was a five-door retro-styled wagon meant to compete with the Chrysler PT Cruiser. With either a 2.2- or 2.4-liter Ecotec four-cylinder under the hood, it was clearly not built for performance. That is until 2008 when GM had the crazy idea to stuff the turbocharged Ecotec from the Solstice and Sky into the HHR. The HHR SS debuted for the 2008 model year, producing the same 260 hp found in GM's RWD sports cars. It was even available with the 290 hp tune from GM. You could get it with a five-speed manual transmission or a four-speed automatic that limited the output to 235 hp.

Chevy was even silly enough to make an HHR Panel SS with the rear seats and glass windows removed. Sadly, the HHR SS met its end after 2010 when the GM Performance Division was closed, followed by the HHR itself in 2011. You could also purchase this powertrain in the Cobalt SS as a coupe or sedan, where it was touted as one of the quickest FWD cars in the world at the time.

Sources: General Motors