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Chevrolet To Canada: No SS For You!

In many respects, the Canadian automotive market is a lot like that of the United States. Except that it’s a lot smaller, and the R32 Nissan GT-R is legal there. There’s also the fact that Chevrolet offers its Orlando and Trax models — vehicles that America doesn’t have the luxury of buying.

Now, however, it seems that the tables have turned, because the upcoming Chevrolet SS performance sedan won’t be offered in Canada — the birthplace of hockey, maple syrup, and the snowblower. So far, GM hasn’t provided a reason for its decision, which makes the frigid temperatures outside feel just a little colder.

Former staff.

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Comments

  1. Ok fine, Canada’s market is much smaller but come on, it’s a limited production car and it would be kind of in line with the small market that Canada represents and I believe it could make it a valuable collectible car in the future

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  2. Another grey import in a few years, just like the GTO.

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  3. It’ll sell for a year in the U.S like the G8, then it’ll come up here to Canada as a 2015. There are different Highway safety and traffic laws in Canada than the U.S that this car most likely has to pass before it can come here.

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  4. This is one decision that will get overturned.

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  5. Ok while I understand that Canada is a small market, wouldn’t make more sense to sell it here considering that another Zeta platform car is produced and sold in Canada already? I mean we already know that the Camaro is legal to drive here and the G8 was also legal to drive in the Great White North, the Chevy SS is surly legal to drive considering the Zeta pedigree. Also on another note, we also made the Snowmobile, and lets be honest we made quite a contribution to anything pertaining to snow lol.

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    1. “the Chevy SS is surly legal to drive considering the Zeta pedigree.”

      Being sourced from the same platform has nothing to do with ‘pedigree’. These are cars were talking about, not dog breeds.

      Also, I get the impression that the SS will cost quite a bit more than expected. And considering our annual sales are but a fraction to what will be sold in the US, I can see why GM wouldn’t sell a few hundred SS’s here compared to the couple thousands they would down south.

      “Also on another note, we also made the Snowmobile, and lets be honest we made quite a contribution to anything pertaining to snow lol.”

      Except for hockey; what a waste of friggin’ time.

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      1. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/pedigree
        Pedigree is also defined as distinguished, excellent, and of pure ancestry, or of derivation, origin or history. Both of which correlate to the use of the word here. In other words get a dictionary. The second bit was a joke, I mean seriously.

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  6. This entire SS product decision from the name to the cost of the program is going to go down as the first bad product move of the new GM. Other than the Corvette and Camaro, Chevrolet has to be seen as a FWD car company if it truly wants to beat Toyota, Honda and the Koreans.

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    1. Hylton, interesting take. How does the SS detract from the FWD nature of Chevrolet?

      Right now, I’m standing in a showroom containing the Genesis sedan, Genesis coupe, and the Equus as well… do those diminish Hyundai’s ability to sell FWD Accents, Elantras, Sonatas, or Azeras?

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      1. What is the point of RWD for Chevrolet cars? As I’ve said all along, other than the Corvette, every platform Chevrolet sells should hit the 100K yearly sales volume to achieve operational profit. No production car company can afford to build “boutique” cars. In plain English, “If it isn’t going to sell, don’t build it”.

        All 3 Hyundai vehicles which you mention are breaking into new market segments for the company. As they gain market share in those segments, expect to see a luxury brand launched by Hyundai in the next few years. -HJ

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        1. “No production car company can afford to build “boutique” cars”

          Thank you! The more Chevrolet is pointed away from the mainstream, the less it will be accepted by the majority of consumers.

          I’ll add to that there is a place for “boutique cars”, albeit a limited one. Drivetrains, as needlessly henpicked and worried over as they are on automotive forums, simply don’t matter to masses. Those masses are the hundreds of thousands of people who bought Camry’s and Accords last year.

          As boring and as non-RWD as they are, they sold in droves…something the Malibu didn’t do last year.

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          1. @Hylton Is that 100,000 a year regionally, or globally? If it’s regionally, I disagree.

            Chevy should most definetely do its best to ramp up Cruze, Malibu, and Impala sales to levels of say Corolla, Camry, and Avalon… but that does not mean that it can not fill a niche or two in the process.

            The perfect example is the Mustang. It’s been around forever, and is a very successful product for Ford (as far as profits, image, and other tangible and intangible factors are concerned). In effect, the car is profitable, brings in conquest sales of Mustang owners’ family/friends, among other things. The Stang hovers around the 80k a year mark in the States… yet gets the job done, while having a very loyal and outspoken fan base. With a profitable and loyal customer base, what more can you ask for?

            @Grawdaddy I also disagree with your mainstream presumption.

            It’s very doable for a mainstream brand to serve a niche (or a few niches), while appealing to the mainstream. You point out Camry as an example. Great, let’s look at Toyota then.

            Toyota has seven niche vehicles in its lineup as we speak:
            – Toyota Venza
            – Toyota FJ Cruiser
            – And the entire Scion line, including:
            — Scion FR-S/Toyota GT-86
            — Scion xB
            — Scion xD
            — Scion iQ
            — Scion TC

            Considering that Scions are Toyotas (and in my opinion should be badged as such in North America, as they are elsewhere in the world), none of the seven “niche” vehicles currently offerred by the brand have hindered Toyota’s ability to appeal to the mainstream.

            As for the Malibu, it sold about half of what the Camry did in the U.S. last year. Continuous improvement of the product, coupled with continued marketing and building of the Chevrolet brand should improve that number into the future.

            So again, I don’t see how serving a niche (or three) hinders a brand’s ability to also be successful in the mainstream segments at the same time.

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  7. Personally, I never understood why they didn’t keep the G8 and slap a new Chevy name on it. It was a good car and had lots of appeal among enthusiasts and young people alike. Then this would have been a natural evolution with a volume variant as well.

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    1. That’s what this is essentially.

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    2. Great comment. 37% of Chargers are purchased by Gen Y/younger people- that is a high/good number. This won’t bring in young people because it costs too much and looks to bland. The Jeep brand also has a high image with younger folks. Chevrolet/GM is not bringing enough new people into the brand- this SS won’t help.

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  8. For what it is worth, the G8 launch in Canada was delayed until some styrofoam was stuffed behind the bumper to comply with local regulations. Maybe the SS has the same problem.

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  9. They can keep the SS in the US…a four door SS is just wrong!

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  10. Pouty face

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  11. so the Dodge Charger R/T will have no competion…not so bad

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