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Future of The Chevrolet SS: Will it live beyond VF Commodore 2016 cut-off date?

Holden confirmed plans to develop a next generation Commodore sedan, ending production of the current VF Commodore aka Chevy SS by 2016. If Chevrolet decides to follow Holden, we could end up seeing a production run of the U.S. model Chevrolet SS of just 2 years!

Here's what Mike Devereux (Holden Boss) had to say about the VF Commodore successor when interviewed early 2013:

“A lot of folks have been speculating about whether this is the last Commodore ... I can categorically tell you we have already begun working on the Commodore that comes after this one (VF Commodore)"

"People love this nameplate. We're going to have another one of these"

"General Motors has started working on it, the team here is obviously involved in that as they are working on all sorts of different things and I will say no more of it."

"We will launch another Commodore after this one"

"This thing will run through end of '16, after that time we're going to be putting two architectures into the plant ... one of them will underpin the Commodore that replaces the VF"

"It's a huge year for Holden - we're back"

How possible is it that we'll see a long term Chevrolet SS outliving the VF Commodore?

If we end up seeing a long term Chevrolet SS production run, what improvements (features, options, packages, higher performance trim) do you think we can expect to see?

 

[\/Eight]

"This thing will run through end of '16, after that time we're going to be putting two architectures into the plant ... one of them will underpin the Commodore that replaces the VF"

^ I have a feeling that quote was hinting us at something Alpha platform based for europeans and I wouldn't doubt it. since europeans don't get cadillac's, selling them a alpha based sedan, coupe and whatever else will work will be great for them. producing the ss for just 2 years is going to be pointless, its still too early to tell where GM is heading with the SS but at this point i think it can either continue on past the VF commodore .

 

[TT C6]

I'm starting to think the SS Sedan is just a way for GM to clear out Holden inventory or to keep the plant running at a certain level.
Or, some accountant had an idea the SS could make GM a lot of profit per car because they believe there is a percentage of people that will allow themselves to be ass raped by GM.

HHHmmmmmmmmmmm ..........

 

[Commodoreman2000]

If you believe what this article is implying Holden SS will live beyond Commodore | carsguide.com.au the Commodore SS and Chevrolet SS could keep being built past the 2016 cut off if it does well in NA.

For it to do well it absolutely needs a manual option and they need to get the Gen V in there quick smart.

 

[GTO_Guy]

I'm starting to think the SS Sedan is just a way for GM to clear out Holden inventory or to keep the plant running at a certain level.
Or, some accountant had an idea the SS could make GM a lot of profit per car because they believe there is a percentage of people that will allow themselves to be ass raped by GM.

HHHmmmmmmmmmmm ..........

An overstock of Holden inventory...that makes the most sense. I imagine it went something like this down on the Commodore line:

"Okay boss! We built five thousand Commodores just like you asked."
"You ignoramus! You put all of the steering wheels on the wrong side!"
"Crikey! What'll we do, mate?
"Go grab me that big box of Chevy emblems from the tool shed quick smart*!"

Chevy already knows there's a percentage of people who will allow themselves to be ass raped by GM. In the automotive industry, those people are referred to as "Chevy owners".

*Thanks to Commodoreman for providing some authentic Aussie lingo in his previous post for my dramatic reenactment.

 

[TT C6]

GTO_Guy-

Inventory involves more than complete right hand drive cars.
Your reading comprehension needs work.

 

[GTO_Guy]

Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how did you enjoy the play?

 

[Commodoreman2000]

Your gettin a hang of our slang pretty quick there cobber. I'm just gonna crack open a cold one and slam it down.

About the only word an Aussie don't use is that ignoramus. We'd use num nut or dick head or anything involving swearing.

 

[chevypwr]

So from the time i posted this article till now I discovered some great information that in a way can confirm that the Chevrolet SS will not die alongside it's VF Commodore twin once 2016 hits, instead it could very well live beyond the VF commodore, maybe having a production life span doubling the VF Commodore

Onto the information...

Holden admits it could continue with a low-volume VF SS on its production line in Adelaide after the cut-off date for the current Commodore, which is set to be replaced by an international model with local tweaking.

That would mean three models in the same factory, with the compact Cruze running alongside the SS and the new car. "We are considering all options going forward but won't discuss specifics at this stage," the chairman of Holden, Mike Devereux, admits to Carsguide this week.

But one of his predecessors as Holden boss, Mark Reuss, believes a long-term SS is possible if export demand for the car is as strong as expected in the USA. Reuss led the push to take the SS to America as a Chevrolet - as well as Chevy's NASCAR racing spearhead - and also knows what is possible at the Holden factory in Elizabeth.

Quotes from Reuss...

"We can sell this for as long as we can make it and sell it,"

"What if we have a really cool, loyal buyer base? What if we had that? What if it becomes the reason to go into a Chevrolet dealership?"

"What if we say we're not going to do it any more and there is an uproar saying that we want these? What if that happens, what would you do?"

source: carsguide - Holden SS will live beyond Commodore | carsguide.com.au

 

[RPM]

If this is true, I wonder why they are going for such a short production cycle. I'm sure if they sell well, they will extend it.

 

[TT C6]

From that article:

Plans are being hatched for the SS V8 to live on beyond the lifespan of the upcoming VF Commodore, which now is just around the corner,
provided that performance-car fans in the USA and Australia are still prepared to pay.

I can read between the lines.
[email protected] THEM if they think we should, or will, pay a premium for a SIX YEAR old CAMARO sedan.


IF GM offers a NO COST manual transmission, people will pay Camaro prices for the SS Sedan. It will be a good car for what it is, and for that kind of money.
The SS Sedan needs to replace the LS3 with a LT1 ASAP as well.
Without a NO COST manual option, and a Camaro price tag, the SS will fail after the limited number of fan boys have been ass raped.

Refer to my avatar.

 

[GTO_Guy]

If the Camaro had the SS interior I'd be all over that car. As it is, shared platform or not, I wouldn't be caught dead in one at any price.

With respect to a product being a failure, in business, if you build relatively few of something but sell each one with a high profit margin that would be considered a "success". Similarly, if you build many, many of the thing, earn a thinner margin but sell a ton, that would also be considered a success. But it's always preferable to have a fat per unit margin rather than relying on volume.

Chrysler moves less than 1,000 SRT cars per brand per year and I wouldn't consider those cars "failures".

The SS will be a business failure if they build more units than they can sell at whatever price they initially set. If the cars pile up on the lot for six months at a time, and GM starts pouring on incentives to unload them, that would be a failure and anyone who paid full boat will, by definition, have been ass raped.

If they happen to equip and price the car in a manner you personally disapprove of, that's not a failure...it's just one lost sale.

 

[SuperSnake]

If the Camaro had the SS interior I'd be all over that car. As it is, shared platform or not, I wouldn't be caught dead in one at any price.

With respect to a product being a failure, in business, if you build relatively few of something but sell each one with a high profit margin that would be considered a "success". Similarly, if you build many, many of the thing, earn a thinner margin but sell a ton, that would also be considered a success. But it's always preferable to have a fat per unit margin rather than relying on volume.

Chrysler moves less than 1,000 SRT cars per brand per year and I wouldn't consider those cars "failures".

The SS will be a business failure if they build more units than they can sell at whatever price they initially set. If the cars pile up on the lot for six months at a time, and GM starts pouring on incentives to unload them, that would be a failure and anyone who paid full boat will, by definition, have been ass raped.

If they happen to equip and price the car in a manner you personally disapprove of, that's not a failure...it's just one lost sale.

Sadly, profiting is probably at the top of GM's list with the SS. While other car makers are taking big losses off of their own type of flagship vehicle which they have put their all into, here we have chevrolet that just wants to release a vehicle without much wow too it.

Can't wait for the day Chevy builds something crazy, prices it "right" and doesn't mind taking a bit of a loss....but makes up for it else where.

 

[GTO_Guy]

In a free market, profit needs to be at the top of every company's list. GM's problem isn't that they overprice their offerings. It's that they don't value their customers enough to take care of them after the sale. I expect the salesman to be an unrepentant cockgobbler to close the deal, but where it really matters most to me is how they handle you in the service lane when you're back for a warranty repair.

Car companies that value their customers after the money has changed hands build loyalty by treating their customers right when they no longer have to. Mercedes sells some outrageously priced cars and nobody blinks. When was the last time you saw a rebate, "loyalty cash", or "employee pricing" on a Benz? But whether you show up for service with a three week old $200,000 AMG or a lowly $20,000 eight year old S Class like mine, they go overboard to take care of you. They show a lot of respect for you as a customer, your time, your money and for the car itself.

GM (and most domestic and Asian companies) treat you like you have herpes. You're pretty much on your own. They devote more energy to denying warranty claims than they do to honoring them.

I don't have an expectation that GM will underprice the SS as a goodwill gesture to their loyal fans. I only expect that the car will be a good value to me for the money, and that if it suffers a failure, they'll stand behind it and make it right.

 

[TT C6]

I don't need white glove service.
I just need a great performing car that is reliable and has a decent actual sales price.


Everytime I shake my service manager's hand when picking my car up, I make sure there is CASH MONEY in my palm. It might only be $20, but it shows my appreciation and he remembers my name.

If I get into a complicated warranty situation, I make it a $50 when I pick the car up. I have NEVER had a problem.

According to the service manager at the Audi dealership my friend takes his S4 to, I "exploded the pressure plate and clutch disc into a dozen pieces and it would be $3,xxx and not covered under warranty."
I NEVER launched the car. I KNOW how to shift. Speed shifting, heal towing, etc, etc FAST cars for over 2 decades.
This was on stock tires and I only got on the car on the 2-3 and 3-4 shifts.
Audi designs their clutches to fail before their AWD transfer cases. I knew this.

So, I told the guys "I would REALLY appreciate it if he could find a way to have the manufacturer do the right thing by me" and shook his hand with a $100 bill.
Picked it up in a few days with a $0 balance.

I'd rather put cash in a service guy's pocket every time than pay up front twice the amount I should pay for a car.

Now you know just another reason I am a fan of DCTs.
They can never try to claim "abuse". LOL

 

[GTO_Guy]

I've never had to grease anyone at MB, thankfully. I had the Airmatic system fail under CPO, a $5k repair, no problem. Asked if they could fix a little led ambient light that lived in the bottom of the rear view mirror. They only sold the mirror as an assembly. It was $1300 (it's motorized and "remembers" where you set it), covered no problem. Leaking rear main, covered.

I did tie up a lead tech for a whole morning diagnosing a vibration that his team had tried twice to fix and failed. He took me back into the shop and we worked on it together which was unexpected. I gave him a twenty for lunch since those hours weren't billable to flat rate.

 

[Zeta]

No cost manual transmission? Shouldn't the manual SS be cheaper than the automatic version since it costs cheaper? I'm not sure why Chevy would charge more if you can explain please.

 

[TT C6]

No cost manual transmission? Shouldn't the manual SS be cheaper than the automatic version since it costs cheaper? I'm not sure why Chevy would charge more if you can explain please.

Because GM has history of ass raping American customers by forcing them to spend a premium to buy a GXP model of the Pontiac G8 if they wanted to get a stickshift in 2009.
So, that precedent has instilled the idea that if you want a Holden with a stickshift in the US, you will have to pay a significant premium.

The bottom line is a stickshift should always be the base trans, and an torque converter or a DCT should be the option, just like Corvette, and I assume Camaro.
GM has made a fatal mistake by not offering a manual trans as a no cost option on the SS Sedan at launch.

 

[brianch]

I think GM doesn't have to worry about the SS siting on the lot for too long. I remember reading production numbers will be very low.

 

[Big Block Meister]

Chevy is being careful with this one. you don't want to over fill in stock but i doubt they will be laying around much. I think the price for the SS is reasonable for what it offers. I'm not one to argue, i think the SS is worth the money.