Joined
·
1,140 Posts
Chevy SS: Is It What We Wanted?
After nearly four years of anticipation, we finally have the Commodore officially coming back to North The Commodore is back, but may not appeal to the G8 crowd.
GM Inside News Forum
February 18, 2013
By: Nick Saporito
After nearly four years of anticipation, we finally have the Commodore officially coming back to North America. There weren’t many secrets prior to the car’s reveal; engine, market position, feature sets…those were all known years ago, so surprises are few and far between. One such surprise is the exterior design, which is arguably fairly tame.
As a former G8 owner, I know first hand why it is important to have the Commodore on the U.S. market. The car is, by every sense, an enthusiast’s car. It is one of those cars that will show up at local car clubs and draw crowds, and one that the next generation of car buyer’s will have posters of hanging on their walls. Regardless of the car’s sales performance, its significance extends beyond the sales chart, something that apparently the decision makers of GM agree with.
While the G8 attempted to appeal to the masses with a V-6 engine offering, GM has rightfully ditched that attempt with the SS. When the G8 was on the market, the V-6 sold nearly twice as slow as the V-8 powered GT model and the 1,829 GXP models sold at lightening speed. In fact, the GXP is still commanding used prices at or near its original MSRP. The SS is basically a G8 GXP, so will it do the same?
At this point, it is tough to say if the SS will be a repeat of the GXP. My gut feeling is that it won’t be. Pontiac, despite being a severely damaged brand at the time, did a half decent job marketing the G8 as the middle-class equivalent to the BMW 5-Series. I’d suffice to say that data would show that most high-end G8 buyers bought the car, in part, because it was something different. I know that was one of my purchase reasons, and this former G8 owner has no desire to own a new SS.
I have two issues with this car. The first is the exterior design. I want to love it, but I can’t. It’s more anonymous than the G8 from a brand that has the Camaro and C7 Corvette. I guess that makes it a sleeper, which is cool, but should the Impala look more dramatic than a 415 horsepower sedan?
My next issue with the car is the apparent lack of a manual transmission. Decisions such as adding a transmission to a car should not be taken lightly. There are a ton of things that must be considered by the manufacturer: potential sales, production, dealer parts and service and a long list of other considerations. The thing is, the Commodore will offer the same six-speed manual that the G8 GXP had, so why not the SS?
Just under 50-percent of G8 GXP’s were built with manual transmissions. Granted, production rates were super low on the GXP, but the SS probably isn’t going to be much higher either. If you’re marketing the car as a street version of a racecar, it seems like a manual is a must.
Aside from those two issues, the car looks to be exactly what everyone wanted. We’re getting the Holden Commodore back in the U.S. with V-8 power, a fantastic interior and long feature list.
Now, let's get the Ute to North America.
After nearly four years of anticipation, we finally have the Commodore officially coming back to North The Commodore is back, but may not appeal to the G8 crowd.
GM Inside News Forum
February 18, 2013
By: Nick Saporito
After nearly four years of anticipation, we finally have the Commodore officially coming back to North America. There weren’t many secrets prior to the car’s reveal; engine, market position, feature sets…those were all known years ago, so surprises are few and far between. One such surprise is the exterior design, which is arguably fairly tame.
As a former G8 owner, I know first hand why it is important to have the Commodore on the U.S. market. The car is, by every sense, an enthusiast’s car. It is one of those cars that will show up at local car clubs and draw crowds, and one that the next generation of car buyer’s will have posters of hanging on their walls. Regardless of the car’s sales performance, its significance extends beyond the sales chart, something that apparently the decision makers of GM agree with.
While the G8 attempted to appeal to the masses with a V-6 engine offering, GM has rightfully ditched that attempt with the SS. When the G8 was on the market, the V-6 sold nearly twice as slow as the V-8 powered GT model and the 1,829 GXP models sold at lightening speed. In fact, the GXP is still commanding used prices at or near its original MSRP. The SS is basically a G8 GXP, so will it do the same?
At this point, it is tough to say if the SS will be a repeat of the GXP. My gut feeling is that it won’t be. Pontiac, despite being a severely damaged brand at the time, did a half decent job marketing the G8 as the middle-class equivalent to the BMW 5-Series. I’d suffice to say that data would show that most high-end G8 buyers bought the car, in part, because it was something different. I know that was one of my purchase reasons, and this former G8 owner has no desire to own a new SS.
I have two issues with this car. The first is the exterior design. I want to love it, but I can’t. It’s more anonymous than the G8 from a brand that has the Camaro and C7 Corvette. I guess that makes it a sleeper, which is cool, but should the Impala look more dramatic than a 415 horsepower sedan?
My next issue with the car is the apparent lack of a manual transmission. Decisions such as adding a transmission to a car should not be taken lightly. There are a ton of things that must be considered by the manufacturer: potential sales, production, dealer parts and service and a long list of other considerations. The thing is, the Commodore will offer the same six-speed manual that the G8 GXP had, so why not the SS?
Just under 50-percent of G8 GXP’s were built with manual transmissions. Granted, production rates were super low on the GXP, but the SS probably isn’t going to be much higher either. If you’re marketing the car as a street version of a racecar, it seems like a manual is a must.
Aside from those two issues, the car looks to be exactly what everyone wanted. We’re getting the Holden Commodore back in the U.S. with V-8 power, a fantastic interior and long feature list.
Now, let's get the Ute to North America.
