Going for a pre-owned performance SUV doesn’t mean you have to be saddled with Porsche prices or BMW reliability. Today’s Trailblazer SS gives you a domestic alternative to those German giants. Let’s see if it’s worth a chunk of American cash.

“Pineapple” and “potato masher” were nicknames given to, respectively, the American and German style of hand grenade used during wartime in the first half of the last century. Based on the comments garnered by , we can assume that the modern-day equivalent would be nicknamed “RS4.” That Audi had already gone through one engine, and, according to many of you, was probably presently thinking about how to send its replacement mill to Hoon Heaven as we speak. A bad reputation may have made Joan Jett a rock legend, but in the case of Friday’s Audi and its $38,000 Canadian dollar asking price, all that made for was an 88 percent No Dice loss.

Look, I don’t know why it is that we’re doing three cars in a row from 2007 but there you go. Maybe 2007 was a particularly choice year for cool whips? Regardless of whatever magical juju that’s made it possible, we’re looking back on that hallowed year for a third time with today’s .

Before we dig into this Corvette-powered mid-sized SUV, let’s take a moment to consider the SS badge that identifies it as the Trailblazer with balls. Chevy first applied the SS badge (for Super Sport) as an optional performance package on the 1961 Impala. Interestingly, it wasn’t the first time the two-letter identifier had been used by an automaker. Back before WWII, Sir William Lyons (then just William Lyons) had a company building motorcycle sidecars. He named the business Swallow Sidecars, or S.S. for short. During the war, that abbreviation became tainted by its association to the Nazi military’s Schutzstaffel or Protection Squad. Following the war, Lyons prudently chose to adopt the Jaguar name and the rest is history. I guess that by 1961 Chevrolet felt it was safe to dust off the SS nameplate once again.

Since then, the Bow Tie Brigade has used the SS badge on numerous models. Some of those became so sought-after that fake SS cars started popping up to fill the supply void. The Trailblazer was the first SUV that Chevy deemed to be “SS-worthy,” and there’s a lot more to recommend it than just a badge with a colorful history.

You have to start under the hood to see makes this Trailblazer an SS. There you’ll find a six-liter LS2 V8 offering up 395 horsepower and 400 lb-ft of torque. This mill is kissing cousins with what was used in the contemporary Corvette, albeit with a few tweaks to account for the Trailblazer’s weight and the fact that it’s a truck.

Along with the meaty mill, the Trailblazer received a lowered and stiffened suspension, model-specific 20-inch alloy wheels, and a 4.10 rear end for more jump off the line. There are a number of additional SS specialties, but those are some of the most important.

This 130,000-mile SS is claimed to be the top of the line and hence to have all the fanciest features. It comes with full-time AWD and, like all Trailblazer SS models a four-speed automatic with console shift control. It’s said to be “bone stock” save for a cold air intake. That’s probably just a half-hour’s work to remove and toss in the trash. Other updates that call that bone stock claim into question include led headlamps, taillights, and interior illumination.

Those integrate into the truck’s clean looks without much issue and while the wheels do have a bit of curb rash, the overall appearance seems acceptable. This being a GM product of a certain age, you might expect the interior to be a bit worse for wear, but that’s seemingly not the case. There appears to be no major issue in here save for the cheap-ass plastics GM was using at the time and we can’t blame the truck’s upkeep for that.

There are no major mechanical issues either and the truck rolls on what are essentially brand-new tires. The cherry on the top is a clean title, which the present owner claims to be willing to pass on to make room for a bigger truck with more towing capacity.

To pass that title, and hence the truck, to a new owner, there’s a little matter of a $17,000 exchange. That’s the price set by the seller and while they seem open to offers (saying “please be reasonable”), we’re going to start with that number.

What’s your take on this seemingly clean SS and that $17,000 asking? Does that seem like a fair deal? Or, is this a Trailblazer priced to burn up way too much wallet along the way?

You decide!

Orange County, California, , or go if the ad disappears.

H/T to Daniel C. for the hookup!

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