During the 2017 North American International Auto Show, General Motors finally confirmed the news we knew was all but true: the 2017 Chevrolet SS would exit production alongside the 2017 Holden VF Commodore Series II.
Even worse, the automaker has zero plans to replace the rear-wheel drive sport sedan. So, we hoped for a little bit of love for the 2017 Chevrolet SS before it heads to the automotive graveyard. Unfortunately, that is not going to happen, either.
We reached out to Chevrolet for comment on the matter, and the brand told us there are no changes or special plans in the pipeline for the SS’ final model year. Previously, sources inside the Elizabeth plant brought about chatter of a 6.2-liter supercharged LSA V8 engine finding its way under the hood of a few SS sedans. Engineers had also been itching to apply a Camaro 1LE-inspired treatment to the SS sedan.
It’s unfortunate, but incredibly understandable. The SS has been anything but a sales success, and that’s likely a move made on purpose. Chevrolet also told us American buyers have until mid-February to place an order for the 2017 SS. After that, the books will be closed for good.
Holden will reveal three commemorative, limited edition VF Commodores this month as it announced the final day for Commodore production will fall on October 20, 2017, at the Elizabeth assembly plant in South Australia.
Comments
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Why should they. This isn’t an iconic nameplate taking its last bow. This is a round hole square peg idea that didn’t work. Don’t get me wrong it’s a great car. But This was never going to work.
Exactly wrong. The impala was getting revamped which left a gapping hole for GM in Nascar representation. The car was never suppose to be a sales giant. It was brought over to keep the bow tie on top of the huge Nascar Market. The Commodore was race ready and served it purpose well!
Iconic, may so maybe not but to say it was never going to work is just BS. Holden has been producing this car for 39 years.
Nailed it Mike. Too bad no one wants to admit it. Why anyone thinks continuing this car/platform is in the best interest of GM is beyond me.
Great car though.
Maybe now we’ll get The Impala SS we all want.
I bet the return of the GNX would sale better.
Not likely. If you think people are hesitant to buy an (excellent) GM sedan that is not a Cadillac priced in the mid-forties dhow excited do you think anyone would be to pay $55,000+ for a GNX? Additionally, it would inherently cannibalize the ATS-V/ZL1/Corvette.
ATS-V & the ZL1 are NOT 50K cars. What dealer are you shopping these prices? I will buy today.
No car in this discussion is a “50K” car (additionally, I said “$55,000+”). I am talking about how a hypothetical (read: never will happen) GNX would (again, will never) cost. GM would have no reason to sell something performance-oriented/semi-lux priced anywhere near any of its existing performance cars.
Besides, knowing the Buick nameplate, any GNX released would be brutally disappointing.
SS in this discussion is all of 47XXX. MSRP . I don’t understand where you are coming from on the pricing market. The Charger sells well, but it does offer lower trim options for the budget buyer. Dodge did well with both, the Charger and the Challenger. GM could do will with the return of the GNX if done right. I don’t see how in any way a vehicle in the price range would have any negative effect on the buyer with 80g in his pocket that wants a caddy or a vette.
Explain “done right.” Because your inert concepts of making a GNX price-competitive, perform well all-around (not just straight-line hurr-durr “fast” like the fiat examples you attempted to use as comparison), and not damage existing model sales/placement seems to evade me.
Current GM “performance” models (quotes because these models/trims perform very differently from each other) that your hypothetical (never will happen) GNX would have to slide in/around in order to not compete with GM’s current cars, in kinda/sorta order by price:
1LE V6 Camaro
SS Camaro
1LE SS Camaro
ATS 3.6
CTS 3.6 w/ V-Sport Package
ATS-V
CTS V-Sport
C7
ZL1 Camaro
C7 GS
C7 Z06
CTS-V
Additionally, a “vette” does not start a “80G.” A “caddy” does not start at “80G.” Use actual, real prices if you want to have an actual, real conversation.
Please see my comment above yours. This post of yours proves my point again.. You and your huge price range spread of apples to oranges.
I’m done. I have better things to do this weekend.
If you truly have nothing constructive or substantive to say just say “I truly have nothing constructive or substantive to say” instead of pretending like you are too busy to have your attempted arguments dismantled.
That post make you feel like a big shoot?
We don’t agree and I surely don’t agree with the list of vehicles you are comparing the SS to to try to prove your point. A Corvette? Really? a 2-door/2 seater.. A Camaro? another 2-door with literally no back seat.. A couple Cadillacs that in the same price range – as I stated before are 4-6 cylinder engines. The CTS-V is in another group of buyers with the price difference.
The fact that the Charger sells very well says there is a market for this car, if done right. The SS just doesn’t have the looks for the buyers in this market. That has been the issue the whole time with the lack of sales.
You said something about if I have even sat in a SS… Yes, I own one. It is a great car. GM could have even done a little better with the sales of this car if they had market it.
2017 ATS-V in New Jersey was $71,300 just this Saturday when I checked
Shameful conduct!
So there will be an idle GM facility with a highly skilled workforce capable of building world class cars.
What do you think GM should do? Let it all go, or use it to build something special for the RHD world. AUD = US 0.75.
Build that LHD vehicle right here in the US.
First reasonable comment I have seen here. True, the aud is in the crapper and shows no sign of improving. But GM has already doubled down heavy on the Alpha platform which, despite the inaccurate and misguided protestations of most of these present (and future) commenters, is superior to Zeta in every way.
Re: the workforce, no one knows if their “skill” is any better or worse than what GM employs elsewhere. Anyway, it is a moot point because the country of australia has driven out essentially all productive heavy industry in the country due to shitty politics/management. No corporate entity wants to stay there, and for good reason.
Why wouldn’t GM add production of this car to LGR alongside RWD Camaro, ATS and CTS? I agree that the Impala SS should make a comeback. Seems like something Chevy could do in its sleep.
Kia is coming out with a RWD sedan (Stinger), but Chevrolet can’t ? What is this world coming to?
Big deal. The ATS/CTS is a very competitive car that will be priced similarly to (and likely perform better than) this kia.
Both of which are smaller overall (CTS is same length but is narrower), AND both of which come with 4 or 6 banger unless you ad a V to the CTS to get the V8. Your in the 80K price range. Nice try. Not everyone wants top spend that much. The Kia will due.
The kai will “due?” “Due” what?
I noticed you conveniently forgot to mention that the savior kia has no eight-cylinder currently planned yet you attempt to pan the CTS for its lack of a V8 at lower trim levels).
I want the kia to be a good car. I want the kia to be a good car because I like good cars.
This KIA is a good car.
You are trying to relate the CTS to this KIA which it does not compare, in the same price range. Why are we even debating this? You don’t feel there is a place for a 4-door sedan in this price range in GM’s lineup of cars. Some may agree with you, and some like myself, don’t. But don’t try to compare cars that are very different and say they already have this.
How do you know the kia is a good car? Have you driven one, sat inside one? Has anyone driven one?
The CTS starts at $45,000. The ATS starts at $35,000. Do we have any idea how much the kia will cost? Keep in mind kia is trying to build performance/quality reputation with this thing. If you expect it to priced thirty-hive hundred over a cadenza ($32,000 base) I am almost positive you will be disappointed. Expect $40,000 base, minimum, but not too close to its $50,000 k900 flagship.
If kia is serious about this performance game it will be aiming for the Alpha cars in terms of handling. I am not going to place any premature bets but I am guessing it will miss this mark but not as widely as many might think. How “very different” you think the kia may be from any other car has yet to be seen.
Face it. The SS, while a great car, does not fit into GM’s current lineup and strategy all too well.
That sucks. Was hoping for a Orange Blast Supercharged SS.
Google “chevy ss lsa blower.”
A lot fellows and ladies on here probably don’t keep up with NASCAR racing ! What Rex said is correct , a matter affect ,Chevy had the SS in NASCAR before it went , into production and for sale to the consumers ! What i would like to know is what Chevy will replace it with in NASCAR . Maybe a Malibu ?
There is no need to drag NASCAR into this as the car wa planned to come here long before the need of it.
The car had delays ad issues in bringing it here the were purely economic. Then the death of this car was falling sales, it largest market sales had been on a long and steady decline. Against the deat was purely rooted in economics as volume continue to decline
We must be mind full GM sells less cars in Australia than it does in some states. In the high cost of developmet and a coming global market the writing was on the wall.
The cost to build a few special cars would have been expensive and added little to the bottom line here. It is not just a case of bolting the engine in a s shipping it.
As for NASCAR GM had other options but Mark Ruess wanted to race a RWD car and that was how it was chosen as it was coming here in numbers anyways.
An Impala RWD Alpha based platform with the LT4 for the SS and a GNX as sibling to the Impala SS as more luxurious trim for those who don’t like the Cadillac design. Why not a Caprice and MonteCarlo personnel luxury coupe based on the Omega.
Moh I love the Alpha Idea as I have wished many times on the web. But there is a lot of real issues that follow this.
It is not likely Chevy would sell a ton of the Alpha cars in North America as Impala’s. The larger sedan market in the volume class is dying be it FWD or RWD. The mid size is the hot button with consumers.
The why they can get it done is go global as a Buick. Opel and Holden. This would open more markets and each could live at a lower volume and charge a price Chevy would have trouble with. The only thing is you would have to drop the GNX name as it would be a sedan and it would not even be anything like the car that once held that name. Too many people would complain.
Omega at this point is too expensive for a Chevy. The Aluminum structure is not cost effective for doing it at a value price. Nor is a coupe names Monte Carlo needed when they are already shutting the Camaro plant down for too many on the lots. Coupes are a tough sell and if the Mustang and Camaro have under performed this year a Monte Carlo would be DOA.
There is just a lot of thing that need to be looked at and considered in things like this. Too often people on the web over look it or just don’t understand. The key is automakers are in it to make money and have to use their resources to the best effect. Right now investing in large sedans that are going to over price the Chevy image may not be a good move.
Now the Traverse on the other hand can get away with higher prices and is not all that more expensive to make so the profits could be twice that as a car and more if the car is on incentives. I am not a Cross Over fan but it is just simple economics.
Scott3 if we consider an Alpha Impala with many trims, from the base L to the premiere as the latest would be a premium. And Chevy sells it globally (not only for Buick), it can perform well in number of sells especially in Golf countries and China.
In addition, the Alpha could underpin the next Commodore ( as a Holden and Opel/Vauxhall) and the GNX without competing internally between them as each GM brand has its own enthusiasts, image and market.
About the Omega based Caprice and MonteCarlo, those two cars should be luxury cars, built alongside the CT6. Their role is to give more prestige to Chevrolet image.
The issue is Chevy is not global like Buick, Opel and Holden. Second as you creep up on $40k it gets tougher to sell a non SUV or truck at Chevy.
Like I stated before I love the global idea and was one of the first to suggest it but never as a Chevy.
Again lose the GNX name as it would be a 4 door and not a muscle car. Also they all would not be black. Go with one global name for each brand and go with that..
As for the Omega Caprice and Monte, just how much do you plan to sell this car for? It would have to be more than the Alpa and coupes even popular ones are getting incentives to sell.
There is just no business case for such a car at Chevy.
OK, but am still for the idea of a RWD Impala based on the Alpha. Using different trims from the L to the premiere and a variety of engines from the 2.0 four cylinders to the LT4 and why not hybrid too.
As Chevrolet is a global brand, this car has to go global in every market where Chevrolet is, even in Europe alongside the Camaro and corvette.
NZ. Bought the equivalent version of a 1le in a Chevy/Holden SS known down under as a Redline Trim level. No magnetic ride but susp sports tune, duel exhaust, manual option as well as 20″ forged wheel red brembo’s and boot wing which I all ticked. Sound familiar. This still would sticker at 1le money & ability to double as a solid comfy gt limo for four. My third and best, sits flatter with more feel on road. bought new to support the factory and get one I want.
If at all your considering it, do it, this is a lion, an animal that won’t be back as we know it. There is a reason we race V8 Rwd cars. they win well, and often cause they finish well.
Mine was in Black, black gloss wheels, changes look totally, shows muscular wheel arches, don’t judge by photos, has good presence add wing red brakes. As we say, “I bleed Red.”
SS
It may be true that it doesn’t sell well. But Chevy had the chance of creating a true collectible here with the upgraded engine. It is truly dumb to have not offered it. It’s more about creating a special collectible car. I agree that the looks probably contributed to the slow sells. It looks way too much like a Malibu. Such a huge opportunity wasted. You’ll just have to Hennessy it.