Here's Why the Chevy SS Was a Total Failure 

Poor Chevy SS. You didn't deserve this fate.

You’re doing a better job of advertising the car than Chevy did

Pro tip: If you wanna sell something tell people about it.

I remember wanting an SS sooo badly, it seemed like the perfect sleeper car, then boom... we had another kid. Welcome to minivan land. 😅

Holden Australia done a fantastic job designing and building this car. It's also the last Holden Commodore ever built.

In part, it flopped because I had no idea it existed.

Imagine releasing a car called the SS in Europe

I live a 20 min drive from the closed Holden factory. These cars were benchmarked against the BMW 5 series during design & production. That's why they drive so well and have nice neutral handling. They were much loved as the standard family car in Australia from the 1980's till early 2000's when manufacturing costs and fuel prices pushed them out of the top sales spot. The magna track suspension system was an incredible feature for such a low priced car. Aussie roads can be brutal outside the major cities, all our dirt roads have corrugations.

As stated, this is the Holden Commodore in Australia. It came in 3 variants. The standard Commodore, the 'S' (both of these V6 engines) and the 'SS' being the V8. It came as a Sedan, a Station Wagon and a Ute. Very popular family car. It spawned a big rivalry between Ford and Holden, producing a racing class being The V8 Supercar series. Unfortunately both these companies no longer manufacture cars in Australia. The series now sports Mustangs vs Opel (rebadged Holden). Both V8's of course...

2 Problems 1. Didn't know it existed 2. Once I did i thought it was a Malibu or something 😒

This car was not a failure. It was never meant to sell in large numbers. It was just GM getting what they could out of Australian production before the factory closed it's doors.

It was just called SS. It needed a better name. Plus, it wasn't advertised very well. Not many people even heard of this car. I liked the car. Unfortunately, me liking it alone doesn't help a great car sell. It's a shame.

The scuff pads without the manufacturer or model name embossed onto it is common for all variants in this Holden/Chev line up, mine are blank like yours. You can get SS ones I think but as an option or aftermarket. The engine covers are also pretty generic for us too, they just say V6/V8. As for the SS monogram on the passenger side, it's not covering a Holden logo. The Aus version has SSV monogrammed into that position. Line for line the Aus and US versions are the same thing, only very minor aesthetic changes really.

I remember going to a Chevy dealer in 2014 when SS just came out, I asked if I could see one and the salesman did not even know what I was talking about. He thought I was talking about a Camaro SS

I'm in Australia the holden ss has a v8 symbol on the plastic engine cover so they didn't change any stamps in the end saving them money. The commodores have been icon for us its sad we never got to see it take off in the US

This video is well edited, artfully scripted and made a good viewing experience out of 22 minutes about a car I wouldn't have payed any attention to at all before. Thank you Doug, made me smile. Love your work.

worst part is you STILL can't get a used one for a good price lmao.

If they'd called it a Chevelle SS, the car would have sold 100K units.

The light issue you mentioned in the video is really clever actually. It actually turns on all of the lights. Its so you can verify on your own whether or not you have an out light without having to have someone else sit in the car and flip switches and press the brakes, or without the need to go back and forth.

You are so right Doug as I am very big car enthusiast, but I knew nothing of this car. As a former owner of the 2005 BMW 540i M edition, I would have love to purchased this manual V8 sedan. Also, as a former Taurus SHO owner, I love the sedan that’s a non-descript freeway burner. I am now looking on BaT for a potential SS purchase.

Definitely wasn’t a flop in Australia.

This car failed because people didn't know it existed.

Yes I don't like the reverse light thing either and I know others who agree but I believe they do it so that you have more light when you're standing behind the car when you get out at night

They will never make a car like this again. Glad you enjoyed it and thanks to the generations of families on the production plants (e.g Elizabeth South Australia) who lost their livelihoods overnight.

Despite the unaggressive styling, this car is criminally underrated

Please read: -The hood vents are not fake, they help with cooling -The engine cover only says ‘V8’ in Australia too -The door sills are blank in Australia too -There is no Holden logo on the dash in Australia -Commodores don’t turn the reverse lights on when you lock/unlock in Australia -Skip shift is not activated in Australia -The Australian Holden factory closed forever in October 2017. And Toyota. And Ford in 2016. Australia now has no car industry and we’ve lost some of the best cars in the world (such as the SS in this video). Good review, Doug

Great video and you hit the nail on the head - both Holden and Ford Australia never had the balls to design a truly agressive mean looking car on those V6/V8 RWD platforms (Commodore and Falcon) like they used to in 70's they reverted to bland designs intended for families and taxis and that was part of their downfall. They did OK with some HSV/FPV editions but still nothing on the mean modern US muscle car designs like you show at the end. Real shame as I used to work in Aussie Auto industry. Fun Fact: The Chevy Camaro is (or was) actually a Holden SS Commodore under the skin - fully engineering out of Holden Fishermans Bend. When I drove a Camaro in LA I could straight away feel the similarity and it was confirmed that night by a Detroit GM engineer headed to Holden FB on our flight to Melbourne in 2012.

Failed as US Auto unions threatened action to stop it getting shipped to the US. That’s the reason why over 20 years various Commodores were supposed to go to the US but GM bottled it each time

he mentioned how comfortable it was and how he could drive for miles in it, that's because everything in australia is 8 hours away from everything else

Chevy SS: 4 door sedan, plenty of room for taller passenger, blind spot assist, parking assist, great trunk room for groceries or decent luggage Doug Demuro: Practicality... 5 out of 10

Can't be a Holden logo on the dash because a Holden would be RH drive with different dash pad

Doug DeMuro I worked in a prominent Chevy dealership in new car sales during this car’s time. I often times would take the SS home over the Camaro SS because it was essentially a Camaro in Malibu clothing. It was within fractions of a second performance wise (stoplight to stoplight and on the streets ) I did like it because of its “sleeper” ability. You’re right….. most people had no clue what it was and thought they were sitting beside a 6 cylinder Malibu until you embarrassed them when the light turned green. I either missed it or you didn’t mention the fact that it was a Camaro power plant under the hood. But ultimately, I too decided that if I was paying nearly 45-50 grand for that level of performance, I’d rather spend my $$$ on the Camaro than a sleeper Malibu. The Camaro was still better overall performance and for nearly the same money you got better performance and the Camaro’s sinister styling

The Chevy SS is badass, I just don't know why GM didn't ever really advertise this car. It's amazing to drive and pretty luxurious inside.

A guy who wants a Camaro, but has a family walks into a Chevy dealership: I need a 4 door Camaro homie! 😦 Salesman: I got you, fam... 😎

The simple fact that this car just wasn't aesthetically pleasing is what murdered it alone. Few people in the modern car era still go after an engine

Used, many years later, this car goes for as much as it did new.

Doug should’ve made this videos ages ago and help gm to sell this.

GM: *tries to sell this car* Also GM: *fails to advertise car* Car: *does not sell well* GM: _aNoThEr OnE bItEs ThE dUsT_

Doug is the type of guy whose honesty, language and behavior are completely different when he reviews American European and British cars, same story with carwow's Mat Watson.

The reverse lights thing would be for the courtesy light system, so the area around your car is lit up while you’re walking away/too your car in the night.

Doug is the type of guy to slip on ice and say, "whoopsie daisy".

the Doug- I am seriously confused as to how you don't know that the SS is only here because GM made an agreement with the Holden factory to bring some of the cars here to keep the factory doors open. This was not a test. No one at GM thought these would sell because they were never planning to market it. And they didn't. The factory closed in 2017 according to the plan. There are no more Aussie made Holden Commodores made either. It's not a flop. We just got a few of them because the factory was closing and they were just making sure the unions still had their jobs up until the last day. They needed to make X number of cars to give all the workers enough to do. I can't believe how few journalists know this.

My Buick Regal had the reverse light annoyance as well (like Doug said, all GM vehicles). It can be turned off. Took me awhile to find out how in the owners manual, but it can be disengaged.

the ONLY part I disagree with is the significance score.. if you look into the history of Holden and the roots of this car you will see it has great significance. more so in Australia but even in the US, it will be the last of it's kind. currently in Australia they are selling around 20% more than their brand new price back in 2016 and 2017, but this is the 6.2 L version series 2. Any good example with under 100k km on it is selling well above it RRP and they are getting harder and harder to find.

Doug Logic: Maserati Levante: TOO MANY LOGOS!! Chevy SS: NOT ENOUGH LOGOS!!

We don't want a Holden Commodore with a bow tie on it we want an HSV Maloo ute with a bow tie on it disguised as an El Camino!

Exactly my first thought. I just discovered this car and when I saw a listing for a used one, I thought it was a typo. SS what? That’d be like Chevy releasing a truck called the LTZ or SLT. There was definitely a reason behind all of their decisions.

This car just popped in my head today, I remember when they first came out how it was one of the more appealing cars I had seen. I only saw one on the road to this day, probably around 2017, it pulled right passed me on the highway...sounded amazing and looked even better. I remember thinking, how is it that the Camaros sell thousands times more than it?....and never saw another one since...damn shame.

Plot twist: these cars are 6 years old and still 40k

Chevy never even tried to sell it. GM has a habit of sabotaging cars that they should support.

Been looking for almost 2 years all over the US found my 2015 with 8800 miles on it 30 minutes down the road. The more I drive it the more I love it

Man I still love the cars. Hoping to sell my gto this year and get an SS. They are still expensive though can’t find a decent mileage one under 35k. Saw one on the freeway the other day. The sound was beautiful

I wonder why German car makers don't also make a car called SS. 🤔

Hi Doug, always watch everything you testdrive. Here are some corrections on your assumptions. 1. Chevy SS is based on the Holden SS V8 Omega. 2. The Holden Factory in Australia closed in October 2017. This is the reason why the Australian made Chevy SS was discontinued. 3. Door sill on the Holden is blank too. 4. Passenger side dashboard is blank. Incudentally, Australian has Right-hand drive, not left like in the US, Canada, Europe. 5. Plastic engine cover says V8 only in the Holden, just like the Chevy. Hope that helps

Always loved my step dad's bright red Impala SS when they came out with the new body style back in the late 90$ and early 2000$

I was stoked when these came out because I always loved the Pontiac G8 which is essentially the same Holden Commodore.

Doug the type of guy to buy an SS just to rip off the passenger side dash board to see if it says Holden

Hi Doug😊 Living in Australia and working in the auto industry I have a ton of experience working on these cars so I thought I would put my two cents worth in. The windscreen washers on the Commodore are integrated into the wipers so that under bonnet system is unique to the US market. Also the SS stitching on the dash is the same here so no cheap cover up was done and the reverse lights don't turn on when you lock/unlock the car. Our Commodore SS also did not come with MRC. That was reserved for top spec HSV models. We also got three versions of the car, the SS, the SSV and the SSV Redline so if you wanted a stripped out version or all the fruit, the choice was yours. Love the channel,keep up the great work👍

It was also called an SS in Australia so the stitched SS on the dash was covering nothing, and the reason for poor sales of 3000 units per year was because this is what GM limited it to allegedly to meet their corporate emissions targets.

the chevy ss is actually the holden commodore. it was never a flop, but the commodores ceased production in australia and they got stopped getting imported to the us.

It failed because it wasn't made for America? Come to Australia and New Zealand and every second car is a Commodore. Even the Police drive SV6 Commodores here in NZ

I've driven a 2016 SS for four years. I think it's the best car I've owned over the 50 years I've been a car enthusiast.

The "SS Sedan" title for the manual is because there were both wagon versions and utes made for the Australian/NZ markets. The styling is because these were based on family sedans, with the V8 options being sold to highway patrol and for towing boats and caravans as well as tuners, enthusiasts and cashed up bogans! Was never intended to compete with Mustangs and Camaros. Doug didn't do much research on the Commodore or Australian cars in general before this review. There is no Holden badge on the footplate, on the dash or stamped on the motor. There were lower spec versions in the home market too - the export models would have sold as an SSV Redline - top of the range in Australia. I have a base model 6.0L Commodore SS that doesn't have so much fancy crap... He's right that GM marketed it all wrong though! They could have sold the utes as well branded as El Caminos!

Doug, you've got to get back to this style of review. I laughed through the whole thing. Your new reviews are also great, but your humor really comes through in these older ones.

The Holden logo would not be on the dash because in Australia cars are right hand drive. Nice try Doug

It was not a flop, GM never intended to sell it, it was just made to respect a contract. GM never marketed it, they literally didn't want you to buy one. They even refused to sell the SS to rental fleets. It was never mean to sell, let alone succeed, it was a contractual obligation. If you own one, be proud, it's a good car.

Brilliant non bias video. Excellent stuff!! There won't be a Holden logo under the embroidered "SS" on the passenger side dash because in Australia, they're Right Hand Drive so that entire dashboard is unique to the USA, although some same parts like guages might be the same...except I think perhaps not, Australian cars are all in kilometres not miles. They're a great car for what they are. If I was into them & I lived in the US, yes I'd get one & get a parts out of Australia. They will end up a rare US car but unsure if they become expensive collectibles. In Australia we did get SS utes (kinda a sports pickup) & a Station wagon & our reverse lights don't do that Great video

I heard somewhere that the only reason Chevy made this car was because Chevy wanted to make an all new car for NASCAR races. The problem was, the only way you can use a car in NASCAR is if it was an actual production vehicle. So they decided to make it a production vehicle JUST SO they can use it in NASCAR.

There will be no Holden logo under embroidered SS logo because aussie version has steering on that side ... thus us dash is completely different to aussie one

There is actually an SS wagon and ute version of this car in Australia, so saying "SS sedan" on the owner's manual is somewhat justified.

I wouldn't say it flopped. GM already knew it was ax'g Holden when this car was first released. They just decided to share it over here while they still could since Pontiac was gone

I’ve been wanting one of these for a while. With todays economy and stuff going on it’s hard. It’s also weird how I usually see these cars online in take over/sideshow videos and hardly really see any of them driving down the street

Did he just pull up to some random person's house and start filming

As a Ford enthusiast it saddens me to see this car didn't receive the proper recognition it deserves

Thank you for bringing up the reverse lights issue. I remember first seeing this several years ago. Let's just stick to the some of the basics! Plenty of other ways to be different without annoying the majority of the populous because you've decided to change a basic rule and didn't ask it tell anyone.

This is before Doug went crazy style with the THIS! And the Cars and Bids excitement.

If only they sold the HSV range in America. They are SS cars on steroids lol.

Why would there be a holden logo behind the embroidery on the dash? That dash is only made for the left hand drive car and you can't get the holden as left hand drive.

I like this guy, no ego, no attitude, no crap just a great easy to watch video with simple to understand information. Great work you set the standards high 😊

as an Australian, allow me to help, the clusters are bad because the dash was manufactured by Chevy, not holden, there isn’t a holden badge under the SS logo because, in Australia, cars are RHD not LHD, and there is only a V8 text on the engine cover on commodores too 👍

As I sit here in my home office in Australia, having just arrived home from driving my 10 year old Holden Commodore SS V8 manual, I came across your video and thought it was worth 22 minutes of my time to watch , mostly to see how Americans talk about us down under but also intrigued by the car we supposedly exported to the US, there haven't been many cases of this happening in the past. I think it's fair to say GM is a big part of why the car you showcased in your video has ended up being the way it is. I would also assume GM is the reason the car was not marketed in the US. The Holden factory in Australia was recently closed and I suspect GM decided a long time ago to off-load a bunch of cars into the US market knowingly there will not be a follow up model. The new Holden Commodores are now made in Germany, are hatch-backs, V6 based, front-wheel drive, and manual is not even an option. The car you are driving in this video is the best we have ever made and unfortunately the last. It's a sad sad time in Australian Motoring, we grew up idolising the Holden as a pure bred Australian muscle car, even our Jingle bells song references the good old Holden ute (look it up) with a Kelpie in the back. RIP you amazing Aussie icon, we will love you until the last one of your breed fades away to rust heaven.

This car is gorgeous. But zero marketing. Sad end

As someone said, this an Aussie built car that was sent to the States for a few Americans. In Aussie and here in New Zealand it has the steering wheel on the proper side and its called a Holden Commodore SS. Hugely popular here and Aussie, we love our Commies, lots of VF VE V8's. I have a Holden Calais VE which has a 3.6 litre DOHC V6, 5 stage auto and can go pretty well, no power house like a Camaro but still a good ride. The V8 versions here are all Chev powered though. Unfortunately Australia has stopped building Ford and Holden cars, not sure about the commercials

You forgot to mention the yellow loop that can be seen with the rear arm rest down early on is the manual trunk lid release For when you lock your keys (or yourself)in the trunk.

There is a lot about this car you don't know. Let me sum it up. 1) the only reason the G8 and SS even came stateside was because of a trade agreement. Holden had to export x number of vehicles per year. 2) gm didn't market this car on purpose. Due to high labor costs and unfavorable exchange rates, there was almost no profit selling it stateside. A lot of choices were made so gm wouldn't lose money on the deal, and cutting marketing was an easy decision to make. 3) it was not supposed to sell in volume. Again, there was no money to make here. If GM wanted to profit as much as a Silverado, they would have had to sold this car for almost $60,000. With all that in mind, it didn't fail. It did exactly what GM wanted it to do. The point was never to sell them and make money; the point was to fulfill a trade agreement, and later for racing in NASCAR. Had gm actually cared about selling this car in the US, they would have built it on this side of the pond to reduce cost.

I can’t believe that Malibu survived while this car is cancelled

Can someone better explain the skip the shift mode. If you went from 1st to 2nd, if it skipped to fourth, does the shift linkage lockout or does the car just auto shift into 4th gear? If the latter, then is your gear lever in 2nd when your trans would actually be in 4th?

In Australia this car (Holden Commodore) is one of the most popular cars here. It had more trim levels and sporty add-ons that makes it much more appealing to car enthusiasts. There was also 'HSV' which is a sub-division of Holden that made even cooler and faster variants of this car along with the ute body (Maloo). What's also a shame is that the version you guys got in the US looks more like the base model of an SV6 variant of the commodore, that being the more daily driver and economy focused version with a V6 instead of a V8.

Maybe it’s the name. They couldn’t sell that in Germany...

Why would the SS embroidery be something to cover up a Holden logo when the Holdens are RHD cars?

Thank you Doug, I enjoyed this video a lot and agree with you on pretty much all of your theories about why the SS didn't sell better. I'll add one more that was at least true for me: the Pontiac G8 GXP. In late 2006 / early 2007, I had just bought an MDX for my wife, a new house with a much bigger payment, a new MazdaSpeed6 (manual) for myself, and our second child was born. Being a huge fan of powerful sedans with manual transmissions but not willing to pay BMW prices, I REALLY wanted a Pontiac G8 GXP - but the timing was terrible. I loved my Speed6 for seven years, but after having a V6 in my three prior rides (Maxima, G35, Xterra - all manual) I was done with weak 4-cylinder acceleration before the turbo kicked-in. A G8 GXP was exactly what I wanted next (except for those fake hood vents), and could have been my first American car buy (also first V8), but that car was already lone gone, along with all of Pontiac (and I wasn't willing to go used on a performance car). So I went with a 2014 Mustang GT instead, knowing full-well all of it's flaws (live rear axle, low-end interior, etc.) and loved it anyway for seven years (to be honest, five years would have been enough, but covid interrupted everything). Around the time of my Mustang purchase, seemingly out of nowhere despite my daily obsession with Autoblog and other performance-car websites, I became aware of the SS - and despite the obvious bones of the G8 that I still longed for, the SS just seemed to be an insult to the G8: replacing the outstanding Pontiac front and rear fascias with a generic GM/Chevy-ish look, adding even more fake vents, and a very faint stink of fellow Australian-born 2006 GTO styling (which may have been imaginary on my part, but that's what came to mind for me with the SS). I honestly can't remember whether I was aware of the SS before I bought the Mustang, or if I was just so repulsed by what they had done to what I viewed as a rightful G8 that I couldn't even bring myself to go look more closely at one of them. Anyway, a year or two later, I started seeing a bright red SS in the staff parking lot of my older son's elementary school, and was finally over my grieving for the G8 enough to admit that I should have looked at the SS and driven one. Now, your video confirms that I would have been very happy with an SS instead of the Mustang. Ironically, within the amazing list of standard features on the SS, I see a long-lost relative to my latest and by far most awesome car purchase to date - a 2022 Cadillac CT4-V Blackwing (with manual transmission, of course). Forgive my bragging, but damn it's good. This makes up for having missed the opportunity to own G8 or SS years ago.

Just some notes on the stamping of logos and stuff - The engine covers just say V8 here too. no badging at all. So you were just getting the same as us there. I'm fairly sure that's the same with the door sill / scuff plate thing. Dash embroidery - Nope that was all for you. Our dashes never got the embroidery, and there wouldn't be a Holden badge under yours anyway because your passenger side is our driver side. So you got your own custom LHD passenger dash panel that they prettied up.

None of the places you think had a Holden logo ever did. That’s just how they are :)

When this car first came out, I honestly thought it was a special edition of the Impala (kind of like the Impala SS of the mid-90s). I didn’t realize it was a completely different model until a couple of years ago.

You are right. 10/10 on value. 1/2 price of the BMW M5. Why low sales? Because the car media (that includes you, Doug) failed to tell anyone about it.

Didn't know anything about this car until I saw it in the showroom. Bought it on the spot and loved it.

GM swung 3 times, (GTO, G8 and SS) and whiffed all 3. All great cars, mis-priced and poorly marketed.

Sleepers can be more fun than an equally powerful "fast" looking car; knowing that you can go from grocery run to unidentifiable blur at any moment is always entertaining. Sad to see subdued styling disappearing from new model lineups.

Wow I can’t believe this got heated and cooled seats. Every single modern Commodore and Ford Falcon I’ve seen even the “luxury” models would have all the normal luxury features but never had heated seats let alone cooled. You should go to Aussie or New Zealand, we have heaps of different special editions of these cars (and Ford) both 6 and 8 cylinder. An FPV 4.0 I6 turbo would be an experience you won’t get in the US.

The reverse lights stay on for a few seconds when you arm the alarm so that it can light the area. Just like how headlights have the delay feature.