Probably because most of us couldn't afford one. And this car was on-par with the Camaro as far as the price was concerned. When its used, I think it's easier to see it as a practical car with a Corvette engine and a manual. But if you're an enthusiast who has the money to buy something new from a dealership, you're getting the Camaro. And also when it was new, no one knew that this would be a future classic. So I think people just saw it as a Camaro with 4 doors, and no one wanted that.
Honestly, all they had to do was learn from Lexus('s mistake). The ISF is about 99% the same vehicle, and while that car also suffered from poor sales leading to its demise, it has a strong cult following even to this day. Clean later year models are going for $30-35k+. I'd rather have the Lexus personally, but at the end of the day I want to own a V8 sedan someday, dammit. Edit: worth mentioning I knew it would become a classic when I found out about the car a couple years ago. Americans love their V8's and parents love sedans.
psnmadracer27 GET A FIRST GEN CTS-V!!!! it’s such an underrated performance sedan and they’re selling CHEEEAAAAP. first gen with an LS2, a 6 speed manual, and sub 100k miles are selling for under $13k.
Here's one reason it failed. I like cars. I live in Texas. Chevy is huge in Texas. I work in radio. Yet I had no clue this existed at the time of production. They never advertised it. No radio ads. Never saw a TV ad. Our sister company is Clear Channel Outdoor. Never saw a billboard once. I have heard the countless whines of die hard 'Mericans crying that the only performance sedans came from Europe and Japan and they'd rather buy American but couldn't. Chevy offers this GEM....then NEVER tells us they have it. Gee, I wonder why no one bought it!?
It's typical GM being the beancounting agreement fulfillers they are. You can see FCA flashing the shit out of the charger hellcat and having success with it. GM didn't try and had no reason to try.
Chevy never wanted a lot of people to buy it. They only brought it here as part of an agreement to keep the Holden factory going. It was never intended to sell in big numbers or have any advertising. All the car mags reviewed it when it came out in 2014, and when it got refreshes for 2015 and 2016.
Chevy didn't promote this car hardly. The name SS. SS is a performance package not a car. This car should have been called the Nova or the Chevelle. If it would have sold well under one of those names they could have adapted it to a coupe. Could you imagine this thing with a Chevelle name plate subtle SS badges? You'd be driving around in your 2019 Chevy Chevelle SS with the super charged LS9, with that magical 6 speed manual. Which you chose over a 2019 SRT8 Challenger, because you love seeing that Chevelle badge on a modern car that is actually worthy of it. Ahhh, if only we lived in that perfect world.
I actually thought about this, the SS is quite literally a Chevelle, they definitely should’ve called it that too. Would save a lot of headaches at car shows having to explain the thing to boomers
@@marcust510 Ford was less than willing to bring our cars over to the states. I'm not sure how they would've done but all i can tell you is that i have a big 4 litre straight six shoved into the body of what looks like a highly evolved and lengthened Ford Fusion, that will quite easily make over 400 horsepower on stock internals. Not sure how it would've done but by god i think its one of the best things ever made.
Despite its weight, the car has 50/50 weight distribution. It’s a great all around car & performer that most don’t know about. These things will hold their value for sure.
Scott7891 yea I’m hating the way car industry is going less performance models and more crossovers hell look at the new Mitsubishi Eclipse is an example and Ford is getting rid of the fusion and Taurus for a new hybrid crossover
I never understood why they pulled Pontiac out of nascar around the time the GTO came out... If only they used the GTO as the nascar body from 03-06, it might have changed things for sales
I just bought one of these a few days ago, owner before me replaced the chevy badges and centercaps with holden logos, In the first 72 hours of ownership I had 4 random people ask me what it is. SIde note: I absolutely love it, incredibly comfy, sounds glorious, great looking interior and total sleeper.
This is the ultimate sleeper to non car people. It looks so unassuming to the untrained eye, shame it didn't sell well. I think these will be prime collectable cars 30 years down the road.
shoot not even some car guys know what it is....It caught me off guard when I did see one. one way to really have the SS be a sleeper to anyone is make it white, black or gray. it'll fool so many people
Welcome to RCR New Zealand, we were hosted by Camshaft Software, makers of Automaton, a videogame for every gearhead who says “I can make a better car”...[as far as I can remember without rewatching again]
I have an amazing wife who gave up getfing a SUV for me getting a 2015 6 speed Commodore. I love this car, I can tell everyone its a Malibu and they believe me. Thank you Australia for giving us Americans a handfull of these cars.
PGT Films. I just got lucky, I had to snatch her up before it was too late. We got her the SUV eventually though. She wouldn't let me forget we passed up getting a SUV till she got it lol
Imagine all Americans being told that there’s no more beer or steak to eat... ever, that’s how we Australians feel about General Motors Holden taking away our much loved Holden Commodore V8. It’s a sad time for us Aussie V8 lovers
I have to go back and look but I think Mr. Regular made that video back in 2015. He said he was a Dan Bell fan but we have a lot of those malls out here in Pa.
God, I was smiling the entire episode. This really is my dream car. From the day I saw it in Forza Horizon 3, I was enamoured with it. It became my obsession. I'm in Canada. We never got the Chevy SS. The closest you can get up here is a G8 GT. I am in love with this car. It is the most amazing piece of GM engineering in the last 20 years. Magnetic ride, LS3, 415HP, the ultimate Euro killer. No one knows you in this car. Until they see that badge from the back. This is the callback to the large V8 sedans of the 1960s and early 70s before the oil crisis. This could have been an amazing GM seller, but because I'm not running GM's advertising or the fucking company, it never was. Every 35 year old with a couple of kids would buy this if they knew they could have a comfortable, fun, sometimes loud car that is more reliable than a BMW 5 series and more powerful. God, I love this car, and I really, really hope that I'm able to drive one some day. Thank you RCR. You've made me smile for the first time in a week.
@@krukasklep7058 They also placed an LS motor in the SS. The Holden did not have this engine. It is not a complete copy like a lot of people try to make it out to be.
@@john12892 the holden vf has an ls3 here in australia as well. Holden have been using ls series engines sincee 2000 the vt-vz series 1 had ls1 engines , vz series 2-ve had ls2 and vf ls3
I'm not really a Chevy person, but it kinda sucked to see it fail. I don't recall ever seeing ANY advertising for the SS, so the only people who knew about them were, well, people who knew about Aussie cars, and the handful of automotive journals that covered its move to the US. A lot of people probably wanted a modern big V8 family sedan, some enthusiasts would've gone for manual, but nobody knew.
I’m about to purchase a 2017 with less than 2,000 miles tomorrow! Friggin amazing. It’s motor is getting pulled ASAP and getting some work done. I absolutely love these cars.
PGT Films. I'm in the non existant, land called Australia, and just detailed my Commodore SSV redline (that's what they are called here..... Sans the magnetic ride). Everytime I start and drive it, still 2 years on, I get a smile. :)
Ohhh how i Love this Sleeper!Hold onto one if ya got it!Sure they will appreciate moderately well!I'm in the Market for a used one,should of pulled the hammer on a 17 w 30 on the clock for 30,500$!Beautiful Beast
The Fuzzy Pickle - check one of Doug DeMuro's older videos as he featured a Commodore one from someone who bought it from a company in California specialized in bringing those to US regulations (even with LHD, but with the proper Holden logos). That would be the safest bet as you may not find a '95 or older ('05 in Canada) that may be cheap or good enough to make the importing worthwhile.
Big Poppa Burgundy I definitely agree we need an official Bogan Grading System. Level one is "I'm a tradey in an upper class neighborhood with a singlet and a FJ with $100k of mods cause i love to camp while drinking only slabs of furphy. I'm sooo bogan mate!"
Big Poppa Burgundy level 10 is "my wife can't afford the makeup to cover up her bruises because I SPENT THE RENT ON VB AND KENWOOD 6x9s FOR THE VS FROM CAHSIES CUNT!"
This is why my Caprice PPV that Mr Regular reviewed last year was my choice. Get used for 10-15k Put another 10k into it. End up with 500 crank horsies, fully adjustable suspension, the most expensive pilot sports out there and I changed the front seats. GOLDEN
MegaElkHunter1 He is referencing the entire car. If you add mindless horsepower without balance and foundation, what you built is garbage. If you peruse a sentence and lack reading comprehension, you shouldn’t ever try to read again.
Willens Marquise 10 grand and only ending up with new coil overs, seats, and tires with 500 horse is still garbage. I was somewhat exaggerating how much he spent on a build to not get very far or fast.
I didn't know this car existed until RU-vid started telling me about how we all ignored & missed out on it. There was no marketing. I live next to a Chevy dealership and I have never seen one of these in person.
I’ve been seeing a good number of these around as well as a few civilian owned Caprice PPVs. It puts a smile on my face to see these cars getting the appreciation they deserve!
If you *really* want to turn your SS into *don't-want-the-wife-to-find-out mode* you can always source some Commodore trim badges if someone gets suss about the car having no model badges. I would recommend the Calais badges as it sounds luxurious.
What I like about these is you pull the SS badges off and leave the quiet stock exhaust on and you have a hell of a sleeper, esp. if you slap a quite supercharger or turbo on the thing.
If Dodge released the Charger with a 6 speed manual, the SRT 392 Hemi car would be perfect for the same type of deal. Simplicity, comfort, and sport with 485HP inside a decent looking car. Dodge puts the performance fancy front end on all the Hemi cars now, but it blends in without looking bland, and that's what I love about it. I think it's sad that it only comes with the 8 speed auto, because it would, like the SS, be such an awesome enthusiast car with a stick shift. And don't use the "garbage Chrysler / Fiat plastic tupperware crap" cop-out on me, because at this point, all cars are built to be cheap and flimsy no matter what brand it is, Chevy Ford or Dodge.
The Charger scat pack is still probably the best all around car for the price in my opinion. Powerful, practical, and comfortable. It's "old" but they've done a good enough job updating it
I remember going to a Chevy dealer in 2014. I was asking for test drives so I can practice writing car reviews. They had a Corvette Red SS in the showroom. Immediately caught my attention "What. Is. This?!" Loved it. I smile whenever I see one on the street. Great video!
Blimey, I was watching this and feeling like it was familiar somehow, then I just realised the wheel and indicator stalks are almost identity to the ones in my Vauxhall Corsa. GM really like to spread their parts liberally on the metaphorical toast of car production.
As long as they're good, familiarity and interchangeability is good. But I've found a lot of GM controls since the eighties feel wonky and weird and notchy and also plastickey, like they might break if you use the expected force sometimes, even. When my M got like an 80 or 81 Malibu, I was kind of like, 'This is a likeable enough sized car, but did they think if everything you touch or look at driving feels cheap, you'll think you're getting better gas mileage or something? " Now the quality of the surfaces feels better but the mechanisms make you wonder if they just made em complicated and stiff for faster assembly or something.
When you own a car like this, the last thing you want is bespoke parts. Being a rare car, V8, and affordable, the fact that you can easily find parts to replace adds to the charm of the car.
I had to hit up memory alpha and check the rules of acquisition just to make sure it was legit, and yep! #6 also seems prudent when talking about balancing family needs and the desire for a sports car, "Never allow family to stand in the way of opportunity".
I was at a red light yesterday next to an SS while driving my Focus RS. My friend said that car is not fast. We took off. She was amazed to see how fast of a sleeper the SS actually is. it does look like a great car. It's just if you need a larger 4 door but also want sport feel
SPECTRE - what'd be really rare is a Detective Edition Caprice PPV that never had some of the specialized equipment in the first place. And would be in NICER CONDITION as they were issued for Detectives and as "unmarked vehicle" cop cars. Also the Caprice was actually LONGER than the Commodore / SS / G8 in both sides of the Pacific.
I was lucky and got one that was a fire department car that didn't have all the cop stuff except the spotlight, steel wheels, and rubber floors. so I got lucky it didnt have holes in the roof and stuff! And it only had 24k miles usually they sell them when they have a million miles or replace with something else. They can be picked up cheap too, it's alot of fun for a "cheap car"
RIP Holden, at least the last generation went out with a beautiful body design. (I can't stand the way the new ZB's look, but I guess that's what happens when your V6/V8, RWD, sedan gets replaced by an I4/V6, FWD/AWD Euro shit box)
The Commodore is literally just a 4-door Camaro, its the same car with more practicality. Honestly If I was given the option to save the Commodore but doing so would axe the Camaro, I wouldn't hesitate to save the Commodore.
Paul Jeitler fat chance of Holden building anything worth mentioning our Ford division did more than Holden ever hoped to do, and the sad part was every one went for Holden because it was “true blue auzzie”, feh everything in the damn thing was imported and up until the last model it was a rebadged Opel any way and every thing on the Falcons was 100% Australian apart from the gearbox and the badge on the front, Holden had NOTHING that could best the Barra 6 turbo.
Paul Jeitler yes ill drive the commodore over the camaro, even if it practically didnt matter, because for 1 camaros are everywhere, and 2 no one knows what kind of monster it is. I find the commodore more mature as well with its styling.
@@CykoidThe VE/VF was 100% developed in AUS since there were no longer Opel Omegas to adapt to Australia. Falcon and Commodore were both 100% local specials at the end, when you excuse that the last Falcons came only with a 6-cylinder, poached Jaguar styling and no wagon variant. You may be a Ford guy but at least be honest.
@@pauljeitler7678 mate we figured out how to build muscle cars that didnt weigh 3 tons back in the 70s, and keep big displacement engines (eg torana, vl commo in the 80s)
11 out of 10. One of your best ever. Sharp, pointed, accurate commentary, and the Roman's fine musical closing. Art. Please keep up your fine work. Thank you.
I still think if they called it the Caprice SS it would have sold better. If you say you saw a Chevy SS yesterday, most people think you saw a Camaro SS. The name was just confusing.
It would have fit too, since the Chevy Caprice PPV that was sold to American Police Departments between 2011-2017 was built on the same platform & in the same Australian factory as the "SS"
Death Wish83 they will hold their value well, enough car enthusiasts know what is. There will still be a demand. So the best thing you can do is save up
Noir Spectre you aren't talking about the g8 gxp which has the same drivetrain as this so most likely they will still be worth money as almost every g8 gxp for sale is 15-20k
literally every second commo over here has a chev badge on it i find it funny how bogans here love chev badges because its "exotic" and "foreign" but over in the US they would kill for a holden haha
They DID make a cop version of this; it was the Caprice PPV. A shame that that they couldn’t bring the commodore / Caprice manufacturing equipment to the US, so the Australians wouldn’t have to suffer FWD eco hell.
the job of the cop is not to catch the bad guyz but to keep crime from happening in the first place. if you have a police car that screams police from 10 miles away you will be discouraged to start shit up. wich is a lot better than filling up prisons.
I cringed when Mr Regular was talking about someone modernizing a classic with all of the tasteless useless crap I totally agree that kind of person should've gotten a 2017 Chevy SS instead of completely butchering a 1960s Ford
Thank you, he bitches about the same thing that he PAID someone to do to a clean original Falcon, because he couldn't handle driving an original 60's car, also, someone that bought a Honda that leaks like a siv and knows jack all about cars should really not call other cars "a piece of crap..."
It's downright shameful, I've personally seen someone take a 67' continental, despite its near unknown engine and miles of wiring and do a gentle restoration for under 10k US. I adore Mr.Regulars exercise of language, but some things he says are so blatantly hypocritical and inane.
GM built that already, the CTS-V. But, with that being said, they should have sold this car with the supercharged LSA that the 2nd gen CTS-V came with, so yeah, I can agree with your statement.
Darek M I agree with Tyler. The car isn't stylish by today's standards. It kinda looks like a regular chevy sedan... But give one of these to a true gear-head, and every 19-29 tuner bro will try to out run it. Only to be sent back to his parents basement with a spanking, resulting in a Craigslist ad which will undoubtedly contain the typical, "easy miles"....
*yeah lack of marketing seriously killed the SS's chances of making it's mark in the automotive history books. Instead of having it's own chapter, it's an unexplained thumbnail on the side of the page that will only catch the eye of the most inquisitive readers* i wanted one of these but ended up buying an Escalade EXT instead because i needed something that could also pull things
they only made a handful of them because the initial run of the cars which was never even properly announced didn't sell so well for the initial year it was produced. if you listened to what he said in the video you would have caught that. I mean they had no problems announcing and advertising the new Holden impala which was nothing more than a 6 cyl front wheel drive Holden. so why not do the same or make an ammendment to their commercials for the impala and also include the SS in some of the advertising? it makes sense but This one GM just clearly dropped the ball on to begin with which is what the video and my comment were both saying in only a slightly different manner
@SnomanOO2, according to the video, 3:55 they were projected to sale 15,000 to 20,000 per year, but only sold roughly 3,000 per year. You realize they make cars as they need them, according to demand, right? They sold all of them because they did NOT produce them at full capacity, because they were not selling well, because of poor marketing.
@SnomanOO2 "They sold every one they wanted to," is an unverified statement without claiming source. Also, why do you literally quote me saying "to order," when I never actually said those words? That's not quotations work. Finally, as far as I know, all car manufacturers produce cars as they're being sold according to demand, so they don't waste a bunch of money and material producing cars they won't sell. Just about any business does this. I'm sure they "wanted" to sell more, as that would produce more return on investment of the expensive initial cost of producing a car.
@SnomanOO2 Criticizing the use of your quotation marks wasn't the "meat" of my argument, it just irked me because it was a blatant misuse. And no, your claims are no less cited than mine, but no more cited than the original claim of projected sales that you critisized for being an "unverified statement" "without claiming source," while you make an "unverified statement," "without claiming source," that "they sold every one they wanted to." You tell me some quick Googling will fix your lack of references, but you are too lazy to Google the claim in the video? See the hypocrisy? Lastly, I don't see how owning the car gives any insight to its marketing, projected sales, or its actual sales. Did it come with a brochure that gave you all of this information?
I do love this guys reviews, some of his commentary is bloody hilarious, and this is coming from someone who does car reviews. Nice work mate, keep it up 🤙🏼
This car reminds me of my old 64 Impala SS. 409/425hp dual quads, 4-speed muncie with 4.11:1 gears and positraction. The streets of Chicago were its home in 64. Its playmates were 426 wedge Ramchargers and 404 or 427 Ford Galaxy 500 XL’s. Fun times for all. Ah, the good old days!!!
The very thing we wanted most, made to look like a basic boring sedan when it is actually a successer to the very first muscle cars back when they were just basic cars with loads of power.
They got rid of all of their cars except the Mustang and the SHO was in production right up until the end. Now they are dressing up SUV's with ST badges just to dance on the grave that was Total Performance. The corssover market will be the end of fun cars
Order Of Magnitude - The Paranormal & Personal yes but my second favorite car from Ford was the SHO because it’s the best factory sleeper you could ever wish for
Only if Holden was still around and also able to be bought in the USA. And with the third rule of acquisition as unless the investment can be beneficial latter on.
Commodore as just a shopping mall, love it 🦘 The v6 was made in Melbourne, the LS3 in gm gold, the car was built in Adelaide. The parts came from the local and global parts bin..
Isn't ford going to kill off all their car's in general? Like they gonna switch to trucks and suv's. Trust me the straight 6 Barra is going to become as exclusive as the RB26's
Xenyx It already is. Production of the Barra stopped at the same time as car production since the only cars that used them were the Falcon and Territory.
The parent companies in the US helped stiffle the Falcon and Commodore. As one MoTown journo stated after testing a BA Mk2 XR6 Turbo, "Thanks Ford, we now know what we are missing".
the reason the car didn't sell is because they never offered a lower priced option, it was the equivalent of if dodge only sold hellcat chargers with no lower priced V8, no V6 etc. Thats really it.
Not really facelifted. Pontiac G8 was a VE Commodore, the Chevy SS was a VF Commodore. Certain things were shared, like door skins, and the powertrain (when speaking of the G8 GXP only). But rest of the car was new parts.
I occasionally see a few of these where I live. I’m in the southwest Pittsburgh area and I spot these things when they’re hiding in everyday traffic. Such a dope car.
Come to australia and do a review on an xr6 turbo. (top model spec'd xr6) seems like everyone in america is amazed at how much power these beasts can push out and how they are fastere than cars double their price!
Bought a 2013 malibu when I graduated high school, its as close as I got to owning an SS. I'm now graduating college looking at the SS going: see this is a real car, it's got an ls3 and it's manual. That's all I want. Sleeper status is extra.
