There’s expected to be less than 1,000 Chevrolet SS sport sedans arriving in the first shipment from Australia later this year. That being the case, they will be selectively given to the 3,000 dealers in America, based on each dealer’s recent Corvette and Camaro sales, according to Edmunds.
Being that volume will be low, Chevrolet is aiming low with its sales projections, relatively speaking. For instance, 1,700 to 2,000 units sold annually would be enough to call the Chevrolet SS a successful venture, according to Chevrolet Performance Marketing Manager John Fitzpatrick.
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Ya, limited, as in not even for sale in Canada.
They are playing it cautious. Not a surprise. The last thing they need it to have these sitting on lots with big incentives. Better to have demand vs. none.
This is a car for a very limited segment. Those who want it can’t afford it and those who can afford it can also afford to buy a CTS or CTS V.
The change will come once they put the Zeta out and replace it with the new platform in a couple years. I expect the next gen to be built here and will be a little cheaper and in move versions. But with the Impala sales so strong that may change too.
all I can tell you is I bought one in California at Smith Cadillac Chevrolet in Turlock. I drove the CTS and CTS V, but liked the SS better. It is a blast to drive. I chipped it with a Diablo Super Chip, and the results are stellar! I flew home from Afghanistan and drove the car out to Texas from California. Great drive.
ssforums have a member watching the docks in Adelaide to let them know when the cars move, the group of cars is getting larger each day
How does someone find out which dealer they are going to? Is there a set date when they are suppose to show up?
They should have just put some effort into making this a new impala ss use this architecture /platform v8 rear drive 4 door but the the already popular new impala fascia etc all blacked out a lil more aggressive they would have had a hit!!! just like in 96…
On the upside, your car will be unique and rare! Pretty much the opposite of Australia. I see a VE commodore every 3 minutes when i am on the road. Seen a few VF’s too.
The SS is an excellent car, but very limited in options and interior colors–black. If GM stays with the brand for a few years, the next version should come with an eight or nine speed transmission, offer more options, and be suitable for higher production and sales.
Amazing, simply amazing. Some marketing imbecile thinks restricting availability to certain dealers will boost image? It will certainly never boost sales! This identical concept was called “Turn and Earn” several years ago, under the direction of an executive named “Roberts”, I believe. It applied to at least some truck/SUV models and was a monumental flop. If your objective is to build sales, i.e., to make money for the company, you need to make the product visible in the real world and available to the buyer. When people see the product in their neighborhood and can go to their favorite dealer and buy one, or at least order one and get it, you will sell a lot more than if you make it hard to get.
The same goes for financing. If you want to sell vehicles, make the financing and pricing attractive and available. Failure to do just that killed the sales of the 2004-6 Pontiac GTO. When those cars first arrived from Australia, few dealers had them, so dealers asked sticker pricing, and above, and GM financing/lease costs were established at ridiculously high levels. The result was that potential buyers were antagonized and sales never materialized. Accordingly, the cars, however good, were not seen on the streets and the image was that the vehicle was a flop. Sales never recovered.
My recommendations: 1) From Marketing 101 for freshman business students–Make the product desirable, price it attractively, and make it available, or your sales will never materialize; 2) Make certain all your marketing decision makers have made their living for at least two years selling your product directly to the end users!
We will see in the next gen cheaper and variety in models. I also expect it will be made here and not there.
There are many factors here you have to account for.
This was always going to be a limited car and short term model on this platform. There is much more to come on this that GM has not announced. They have aknoledged that the VF is not a long term car and that there will be changed to the SS in 2-3 years from intro.
Note by then the Alpha Camaro will be up and running and I suspect the SS will move to the Alpha and be built in MI. They may just add a V6 model as well as a ute. Building it here would make cheaper and more profitable.
There was a lot more to the GTO than just dealer mark ups and high finance rates. GM messed up on distribution and sent many to the mid west where they expected them to do well and it ended up the best market was in So Cal where few cars were sent.
Either way this car will not get much cheaper as the way the market is today there will never be another sub $30K V8 sedan. Hell when the average price of a car is now $35k you will pay more than average for a above average car.
To be honest the present price is not too far out of line for what you get. A loaded Camaro SS is in the same area and sells well for that price.
The real issue is the import deal where it places limits on what they can do. GM will fix that soon enough.
As for dealer mark ups GM can only suggest what they sell them for. The dealers by law set their own prices. GM was not happy at all with most dealers and their pricing on the GTO.
In the end there were a great many things that happened with the GTO but due to the way it was conceived and brought about it is amazing it even came to market. Most people don’t even know the half of it.
Commenting on what Scott said about dealers setting their own prices: He was certainly correct about that.
As an example, here in Nor-Cal, USA a local dealer took the first 2014 Chevy Impala that he got on the lot and put on low profile tires and custom chrome wheels. It wasn’t even the top of the line LTZ model. And yet he jacked the price up from around $33k to $41k. He knew that he had the first model in about a 40 mile radius
and no doubt hoped someone would purchase it so they could be the first to have one in their neighborhood. If they do it for the lower end Impala model they will most certainly raise the price closer to $47k and higher for the new Chevy SS model. Sad but it is the reality of how the market works.
You will see people pay stupid prices for the new Corvette too when the first ones arrive and as supplies increase later this year they will be willing to deal.
Welcome to free markets.
With GTO it was supply in some areas as they came in slow and they went to the wrong areas. Also there were a lot of other issues that needed to be addressed too. GM was so broke then they could not even afford to pay attention. Also they were so messed up management wise they had issues many here will never know about and would be shocked to find out.
Lutz just tried to bring a RWD car to market ASAP and had no money and little good organization to do it. By all rights it should never have made it to market. Bob did what he could but even there were things beyond his control.
People always want to blame dealers on Mark Up prices but if the idiots that pay them would stop then they would not even try it. I feel even the idiots are punished because they over paid and their 15 mins of fame are often soon gone.
I don’t know really what to say, I guess it will be fine since most people can’t afford it. I think that the next generation SS should start at 36K and have a 2.8L Turbo High Feature V6 (VVT, SIDI, AFM, and DOHC) with 300HP and 295TQ, a 3.9L Supercharged High Feature I6 (VVT, SIDI, AFM, and DOHC) with 430HP and 410TQ, and a 6.2L Supercharged V8 (VVT and AFM) 540HP and 525TQ. They should offer more exterior colors (granite metallic, dark cherry metallic, purple haze metallic, stealth gray metallic, midnight blue metallic, tungsten metallic, golden cahsmere metallic, etc.)
The Price would be reasonable but you would have to go with the 3.6 HF V as the turbo would not be the way to keep the price down. Besides the 3.6 is already 320 HP.
I would expect the next gen to follow closely what the next Gen Camaro would carry. Keep in mind they have already called the SS a Camaro 4 door. It is on the Zeta and will be again on the Alpha.
Just the problem here is the cost of building them and importing them from down under gets in the way. Building the cars there in low volume is ok but as volume increases it creates many issues and lowers profits if the price of the car gets too low.
Moving production here would solve that and with as few as they export will not hurt Holden all that much.
This is a deal you have to really understand all that is in play on the business side and future planning.
Also they can not just sell the large V8 only and expect to let the car live. A smaller engine and lighter car will change that issue.
Mark Reuss loves this car and do you think he really wants it to fail or not grow in sales.
I think that the SS should be on the “Sigma ll Platform.” I hate everything about the 3.6L V6, besides it being overused. Yes it has great power for a V6, but it sounds horrible and doesn’t get that great of gas mileage. A smaller 2.8T would feel like it has more get up and go because of the Turbo (plus it’s a lighter engine). I think that the SS should be built here too! What a great advertising scheme that would be “Chevrolet SS, the Australian influenced sports sedan, built in the U.S.”
Besides that, what do you think about colors? Granite Metallic (Medium Gray/Brown), Dark Cherry Metallic (Dark Maroon/Red Violet), Purple Haze Metallic (Dark Purple/Blue Violet), Stealth Gray Metallic (Medium Gray/Blue/Green), Midnight Blue Metallic (Dark Royal Blue), Golden Cahsmere Metallic (Light Tan)
Sigma is the wrong direction as GM is already trying to clean up Legacy Quality and Design issues and to plant a new car on a old platform would be a step backwards. We already have issues with it being on the Zeta where it is too heavy and not very flexible in the direction they need to go.
The 2.8T is not an engine for this market and the cost for as few as you would sell would prevent it. Also again it is old GM not new GM. I would relax and let them show you what is coming. You can not fully judge GM today because there is more to come that will make what is going on make sense.
The 3.6 can sound very good with the proper exhaust. I have a friend with a Hot Wheels Camaro with a Corsa Exhaust. I was skeptical but after he had it installed I must say it sounds very good and as good as any V8.
Exhaust tuning is a art anymore and with DOT drive by sound regs it is difficult to make them right. This is why the new Vette has a 3 stage system.
As for colors what ever. Most people tend to stick to 4-5 colors with a handful that look for something different. Keep a Red. Black. Silver, Blue and a few other metallic colors that change from year to year like on the Camaro and you will be fine.
I have a question about the way cars are being sold in the USA.
It seems that they are nearly exclusively sold by the local dealer out of his own stock on his premises.
While this is done here in Germany, too (and I have bought most of my new cars that way), I think that more cars are being built on order, and people are waiting several months, in some cases (e.g. the Opel Mokka, I understand).
I would also expect that the first batch of a new model is being sold on order, and not from standing on the premises of some car dealer.
What is the reality over there in the USofA?
Here is the deal.
You can order a car and get it built to just what you want from GM.
But to be honest most cars are ordered in option packages and discount option packages that often include all the popular items you want and at times things you would not have ordered but they are included even at a lower price. Example is the Chome and Technology package on some GMC CUV’s. It gave you nav and all the chome and 19″ wheels for well over $1500 less than if ordered as separate options.
But also factor in the American I have to have it now factor. Most here are not willing to wait the 4-10 weeks it may take to get some models. Because of this they will take what ever is on the lot.
Now what I do is deal on the model I want and the color to get the price I want. Generally the dealer does not have this car but they can trade with another dealer that has this car. It takes 1-2 days to get this car brought in.
To be honest most people here are stupid to be kind about buying cars. What I mean is they go into pay the average of $35,000 and they have no idea how dealers work or the pricing of cars. Most over pay and get taken. Dealers here can use tactics that play on the buyers emotions and they will often get them to make some stupid mistakes.
My last car I bought I knew what I wanted and what was a very good price. I sent an e mail to the dealer from work and they made me an price and I countered with my offer and they told me they would take it. They brought in the car in 2 days and I went to inspect it and do the paperwork. I has no need for test drives etc as I had done so a couple months prior and just waited till the model year end to be them to deal better.
With the web today all the info you need to make a good deal is there and yet people still go and think they are getting a good deal and often end up getting taken.
I bought my 2004 GTP loaded with a sticker of $32K and I was out the door price of $23,750.
The bottom line Is you can order your car if you really want to but there are enough cars out there that most dealers can meet your needs with a dealer trade. There is not a lot of differences in these car like years ago.
The imports here are what they are and they have to dealer trade in most cases as if it imported they are not going to special order it.
I hope this gives you the idea of what is going on. Most cars are available in what you want and dealers can trade and most people here will not wait kind of sums it up.
I would never order one unless it was a Corvette as I would get the Factory Deleivery option where you pick it up at the Corvette Museum across the street from the plant. You get the plant tour and then they take you though the museum and at the end of the museum they present you with your car in the Museum and you drive it out and home.. Neat option and I do not live far away.
Another blow to the head for the SS, what a joke this is turning out to be. If they were only going to sell a few thousand copies a year why not just go all out? LS7, magnetic ride, manual only, etc…they could charge $55K (make Akerson and the bean counters happy) and call it a day? Instead they continue with the marketing spin……last we heard in was going to be built to order, wait 90 days to get your car? Now it looks like no guarantee you can get one at all! Also, please stop with the talk of a next gen SS? When’s that car coming? 2017?
This is not a blow as it was never going to sell in great numbers. A blow is if it were sent here to rot on dealer lots in too great of numbers and then discounted like the G8 was at the end. I could have at the time bought a G8 GT for $23K out the door. Great deal for me but horrible deal for GM.
As to why they don’t go all out the added cost would make the car even much more expensive and even more difficult to sell. I would recommend watching the Mark Reuss video here on the site and he explains why GM is not doing a AWD Vette etc.
This is more than just a bean counter thing. You really have to consider so much more of what all is involved. Also you have to consider GM I not even close to done rebuilding and they have a lot of things to do and to come. This is a 10-12 year deal and we are just now about 4 years in.
Akerson is not the issue here hell he is the one that told them they need to do the Z/24.
As for the next model I would expect 2017 based on the comments given. They said that this car was on the Zeta for 3 years and that the new car was already in development.
Keep in mind we have only seen on Alpha and have yet to see what else they can do. The CTS will be here soon and give us some more clues and the Camaro and ATS coupe soon after.
There is a hell of a lot coming and just because you are not reading about it 5 years ahead does not mean you will not be surprised in 3 years.
It is not yet a time to panic. What make little sense now will come together in time.
My point is a simple one, If you only make about 2000 cars available for a model year, then in reality, it’s barely available at all? Why? If you allocate units to your top 800-1000 dealers, that’s about 2-3 cars per model year? How is that going to work? If I’m a customer that is ready, willing and able to pay the $45K and wait about 90 days for one of these, I should be able to order/ buy one, and my dealer should be able to sell me one, period.
The point may be overlooking really how much demand there will be for this carl
If you look at the cheaper GXP the total sales were 1828 sold.
Also if you look a the total G8 sales over two years it was just over 38,000 units with many being much cheaper V6 models and much less equipped GT models.
While GM sold a lot more volume with the cheaper cars there was little profit involved here. The GXP was available but there were so few people wanting it.
Yes you can blame the closing of Pontiac or you can blame the lack of marketing but in the end it was a very expensive car for a Pontiac at the time just as the SS is now.
There is a lot more to this story than meets the eye. The truth is there has been a group of people way back trying to save the G8 as a Chevy. Lutz tried it and once Mark arrived he finally got it approved. I knew it was coming years ago as Al Oppenheiser told me about it back when he could speak more freely. As with many projects it was shelved and left for later.
I feel they are putting the car on the market to establish a place on the market and not over sell the car.
The object is to get the car on the market and established and make some money till they can get in place the plans they have for it. If they wait they could lose leverage to bring out this model. Also if they flood the market with 10,000 units and then have to sell them at high discounts it could kill the whole project.
One has to look at this in the big picture and take what we do know.
We have a car Mark Reuss wants but it was delayed to the end of life of the Zeta. His option is wait and maybe lose the business case made or do you sell a low volume of profitable units till you can move to the new platform. Even if they only sell 2,000 high priced units it will show there is a market for a car like this and would only increase sales with additional models on lower priced new platform built in country.
The key here is the Alpha while not cheap leveraged out over several distinct models will lower development cost. Also with Cadillac footing much of the bill the pay off will be for Chevy in much more refine platform than if Chevy did it on their own. Case in point the new Impala is a much better car because of the investment of Cadillac in the XTS. Chevy gained much in this deal and did not have to pay for it.
You can not just think marketing here as there is a lot more in play and we will learn more as we go. In the end the price we pay in low volume now will pave the way to a better car with more models if this plays out right.
Besides if there is stronger demand GM can fill more boats and send them over.
But to get the SS here and have to discount them done drastically would kill any future hopes.
This is not a sleeper and it is not a collectors car. It is a car that is filling a gap and will pave the way to a much better car.
Holden also will share in the new car too. That is why the VF is a mild refresh vs. a total new car. GM just fixed what they could on the Zeta to buy time.
I would not recommend buying one of these expecting it to be worth a lot because of the numbers. The new car will make many forget about this one since it will have plenty of power and less weight.
I wish GM had restyled the G6 in 2007 and redesigned it in 2009 to the Alpha. I hated the Holden Torana concept. I think that they should have kept the traditional 2010 G6 “Look” with more interior refinement, engines, navigation, intellinlink, different interior colors, premium leather, heated/cooled front seats and heated rear seats, dvd headrest, 13 airbags (Driver passenger dual front, torso, curtain and center. Rear curtain and torso), advanced safety, RWD, etc.
SE- 2.5L iVLC eAssist I4. 202HP and 181TQ. 28 city / 40 hwy / 34 combined
GT- 3.2L High Feature Inline 6 VVT, SIDI, AFM and DOHC. 224HP and 229TQ. 23 city / 33 hwy / 26 combined
GTP- 2.8L Turbo High Feature V6 VVT, SIDI, AFM and DOHC. 307HP and 300TQ. 25 city / 34 hwy / 28 combined
GXP- 3.9L Supercharged High Feature Inline 6 VVT, SIDI, AFM and DOHC. 449HP and 375TQ. 20 city / 28 hwy / 24 combined
After further review, one of the factors limiting the SS is simply not enough supply from down under? The VF has been on sale there sine June/July and demand is strong, especially for the high end SS-V redline editions, which are just coming into production.
With regard to 2000 units per year being enough to gauge future interest of this type of car? Maybe it will, but demand may have been much higher? 5000-6000? We’ll never really know? The plan outlined by Reuss himself a few months back was never to flood the market with this car. The cars were to be “made to order”! As I stated before, If I stroll into Hendrick auto groups Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevy in Tallahassee, or Jimmie Johnson Chevy in the San Diego area, I should be able to see and drive one, then place my order for my car, wait several months and then I have my car. Instead, “Maybe we can find an allocation somewhere else”? Or “We’ll put you down for a 2015”? Totally ridiculous! The other thing that of happens when supply is this tight is price gouging, when a dealer has the only one for “miles around” , he can charge $55K+.
Are sleepers really intended to sell in great numbers?
Among the “cognizanti” , for sure, the SS will never be a sleeper! Churn them out like sausages if they will sell; add to the bottom line! The true essence of this business isn’t about making cars, it’s about making money, and we need as many marketing successes as we can get.
Build a good, attractive, product, price it aggressively, make it available to whomever has the purchasing power, and get out of the way!
The original Camaro Z-28 wasn’t intended to be produced in large numbers. Only a few hundred 1967s were built, a few thousand 1968s, and a veritable avalanche after that. There were no reservations, ever, about building too many, and no thought given to its being “exclusive” or “collectible”, and there shouldn’t be today.
“and no thought given to its being “exclusive” or “collectible”, and there shouldn’t be today.”
Well then what’s the point of the SS if it isn’t exclusive?
This isn’t the late 60’s, thankfully, but even then people know about the value of exclusivity. Keep it rare and expensive, and keep it in the hands of a few, then watch the residuals sky rocket. The SS isn’t just a 4-door garden variety Camaro, and it shouldn’t be seen as one or share the same consumer demographic.
You might think people would go to the CTS or its bigger brother, the V series, but, make no mistake, this car is bad-a$$ my dad got one when he heard about them and the got it supercharged by Hennessy, it now has 586 hp, and 578 ft/lbs @ around 7000 rpm… he hasnt even touched sixth yet, and the consept wouldent even shift to sixth and it still hit 160 easily. The next thing my dad is doing to this car is putting on some Michelin Pilot super sports. It is a really nice car, very executive looking, compfortable and packed with features check out some reveiws, you might like what you see.
not so certain about limited supply – in the orlando area nearly every chevy dealer has one – one dealer nearby has 9 on the lot
I can buy a white one 3 miles from my house – also available in black, red and silver
Lucky! All I have are black ones! I’d kill for a white SS!
NASCAR should have never let Chev put these on the track until 5000 are on the road.
May GM & the UAW go rot…. ripped off the taxpayers and destroyed a once noble company.
It’s 2014, June on the verge of the 4th of July. As of 6/20/2014 there were only (8) 2014 SS models on the ground in Harris county aka Houston Tx. I only ventured across this SS looking up reviews on other potential buys…called my dealer, he only had three on the lot. I’m there, test driven & bought! Being brought up in a “gear-head” family & female, this SS has put my interest for performance in a whole other light. Could I afford it, you ask? I’d take on a second job for ownership of this car & you will too…just go find one. It IS the whole ball-of-wax & a keeper. White on Black for those HOT TX summers, this ones going to be great!
Oh how I agree! I bought one of only three available in all of California in March this year. Unfortunately, I had to return to Afghanistan practically the next day, so only drove it a few miles. Flew back in May, and drove out to Texas after installing a Diablo super chip. You think it runs good stock, throw in the chip!
Seriously, I love the car, All black, and then tinted the windows as dark as Texas allows when I arrived in San Antonio.
If you love to drive (and drive fast), yet are thrilled in the corners, this is the one!
I was just looking to lease one but the
price was way too high. I was cross shopping with The SHO and Lexus EE 350 and both if them were very reasonable but the SS was my first choice.
I hope GM makes them more available in the future
For most of you, you have valid points. But, i love my SS. I love the fact it is a sleeper sedan that has beat most other sports car on the road now. My favorite factor about the car is…. you dont see it every 5 seconds going down the road. I.e. the mustang, camaro, or the scion frs. The three cars i just mentioned, everyone and their dog has one, i like the fact my car is unique and can stomp just about any one of them.