As an Australian criminal ;), I felt the need to respond. The Commodore SS was never designed as a luxury car.... ever! They are just a muscled up version of an everyday car. Love the content Jason, cheers.
YESSS been waiting for this video to come back to youtube for years! It was the reason I test drove an SS and eventually bought one with that 20% off sale they had!
You too!! I bought a 2017 black with the 20% off discount, my only regret is I couldn't get the manual, no one had one. But I love this car. Chevy should have kept making it!!!
@@Belsarius26 I actually bought it after the Stop Sale in November. They kept continuing the 20% off deal every month because of that seatbelt recall, and the dealer I bought from had more manuals sitting around than any other dealer Boardwalk Chevy, they had 11!). When the stopsale ended, they called all of us up and they sold all 11 Manuals in one day LOL. Had to do a one way rental to drive down there and pick it up. Sadly the Jungle Green one I wanted was traded to another dealer during the stopsale so I would up with just white. Only kept it a year and sold it for what I paid for it though.
@@stevemartegani I hear ya, I bought mine at Auto Nation and they only had two at the time and only seemed to have two at a time. I never thought to ask if they had any manuals at any ot their other stores, I should have. The power on that beast scared my wife so bad when shebwas driving it, I agreed to trade it in for something a bit more benign. I traded it in for a Impala Premier. Every time I see one on the street I regret getting rid of it.
While the SS was a missed opportunity, GM still continued to perfect the Luxury manual sports sedan with the Blackwings today. Always had the magic in the back.
Look up.. HSV GTS R W1, the current Cadilac is an Exact Clone, off a 2017 Australian Car... They closed down Holden so they could copy their car... oh and ours is availble, in Sedan, Wagon and Ute... Sitting at the lights next to a AMG, Lights go Green, stomp the pedal, the AMG owners Trophy Girlfriend, looks across, and the "AMG" is getting Beaten by a Holden UTE.. puts a smile on my face everytime...
@@graemejohnson9025 depends what AMG your talking about though, and it would have been awesome to see what the W1 could have done with the 10 speed in a drag, my 2016 Camaro can actually keep up with them, not beat them but certainly keep within the body length.
As an Ausssie who see's these cars every day, too bad you didn't have the Clubsport version as that would really made you smile like a game show host.😁 Great video
Same ..VF2 Sandman 2 door here.. It says quite a lot about American taste that if it doesn't come with fat tires , scoops and looks like a Charger... its a sleeper...
I agree with you I see these almost every day too. As always you do have some of them want to show you what’s under the hood by doing a nice launch at the lights. It never gets old hearing that ls3 V8 in person. Would have one if I could afford it. But I’ll just have to settle for my ls1 AWD wagon sleeper instead.
So true, they done a great job! Once you bump it up over 400kw full throttle traction starts to become an issue. As a stock 306kw . . It's a perfect daily..
Can confirm, for a while my Dad had a VF Calais as a company car....I felt perfectly safe pushing that thing around much harder than I'd be game enough to most other cars.
Yes, I have experienced what Randy was saying during a track day in September of 2021. When the original Bridgestones RE050As get some heat in them, then STICK.
Dream car. Even the cops don't have these in Canada. I never even seen one Edit - Wait, I forgot, the Pontiac G8. Mostly v6 automatics were here and no long roof. (4 G8s for sale right now on Canada Auto Trader, all v6 automatics)
Same here! Got a manual Regal Green and love how this thing drives. 18,000 miles in 5 years and I plan to pass this along to a deserving member of the family. Just need the right bribe to determine who it will be.
Yeah, I was swayed as well. My Nightfall Gray Metallic is a nice gray, but I really should have ordered Royal Peacock Metallic. I stupidly thought that a unique color would hurt resale. I could have been about 1 of 12 as optioned instead of 1 of 142.
@@michaelericksen6340 I REALLY wanted one in Royal Peacock Metallic, but the only one I found was hundreds of miles away and $55K. All others were 20% off at the time (Nov 2017), and I couldn't justify the price....and I didn't have the extra $$.
GM: No one wanted to buy it Customer: THIS EXISTED WTF GM: Well ya we did zero promotion, hid the thing on the site, and called it the SS so you thought it was just a trim level. OOOO and also sold 99% of them to cops by calling it the Caprice
I’m an Aussie and seeing these on the road every day is such a blessing especially when you hear the engine almost at redline off the lights. One sleeper I wish you Americans could experience is a older but still great AWD Holden Adventra or Avalanche wagon with the V8 LS1. Some of us here refer to it as the Australian Subaru Outback. This is what I settled for as my daily.
As an owner of a 2015 SS here in the states… this video is awesome! I absolutely love this car! Such a sleeper - and it can blow the doors off so many other cars while there are three giant car seat’s across the back.
I have the LSA HSV wagon Jason was talking about… no stripes but currently has 361rwkw and it rips hard! Chuck the kids in, fill up the back with shopping, and still chop most things I come across between 60-160km/h
This is so great. How did these get to youtube, weren't they behind the MT paywall? Either way, glad its here, and I hope you get to own your own content. It's all so great
Maybe he had an agreement that after X amount of years, he has copyright control. It's like musicians owning masters. Most artists don't own their masters, the label does. So they don't have control of their own music, and if they leave the label, they lose usage of their music.
Early commodores and ford falcons were often beaten up in the Aussie motor press compared to euro cars. But the Aussie cars were made with family standards, tough country roads and a speed limit of 100 kmh for a country as wide as USA. Which meant comfy seats etc. Then over 40 years the two competed with each other for sales. In every category. Sedan, supercar, work Ute, family wagon, hoon cars, rental cars, taxis etc. incredibly sad that all that has passed now. Both Ford and Holden/GM gave up a good thing and a lot of knowledge when they started shutting Australian plants.
They competed in a closed market, as long as they were given massive subsidies and as soon as that ended, they went away. Don't get me wrong, I love my BA Falcon with the magnificent Barra, it's like driving around in my lounge...but I remember cars that were sold without heaters and no dimmer on the rear view mirror or rear window demist. Those SOBs made a killing in the Oz market and don't think they were doing us any favours...
Holden was exactly what Pontiac set out to be, driving excitement. Pontiac lost that long before the GTO and G8 came out. As a huge Pontiac fan, I would not have minded them giving Pontiac the axe, only to replace it with Holden. It sucks that GM killed both off and left boring Buick.
The economy of scale that saw the falcodore everywhere in business, fleets and taxis was their downfall for their brand perception And because they were such good value, lived so long, and fixes were plentiful and cheap, most of them looked so 'very well used' This meant people with enough cash and ego to buy something else (overpriced euro), did.
I have often scoffed at the term "RU-vid influencer." But I must admit that when I was cross shopping the SS Sedan with the ATS-V 5 years ago, this video did play a role in sending me to the local Chevrolet dealer, where I ordered one of the last manual SS sedans produced. 5 years and 25,800 miles later, I still love this beast and am considering some bolt-on mods. Thanks, Jason (and Randy)!!
Good choice! The ATS-V was a great car new but isn't aging nearly as well as your SS, the electronics have more issues as does the turbo V6. The head of GM's performance V8 division has said the LS3 is the best overall V8 they've ever built, and the most stout v8 they'll likely ever build in this era of economy/emissions and more complex finicky V8s. Dependable cars like this with no successor often shoot up in value, especially when they were underappreciated and sold poorly new. Got a late S2000 that's doubled in value since I bought it and expect the SS to do the same. If you don't like 4 cylinders don't worry, bought a Grand Sport Corvette with the LS3 as well. Ah that engine note. :)
The other great Aussie rear wheel drive V8 and Turbo inline 6 was the Ford Falcon ..Ran until the end of 2016 ..The last two models were the FG and FGX .. They used the 5.0 V8 but supercharged from the factory and the Turbo and N/A four litre Barra in line 6 ...Unbelievable to drive . Many also had the 6 speed manual gearbox but most had the German designed 6 speed ZF auto with full auto and sequential function also ... Check them out sometime ...Still missing the mighty Falcon ..I have two of my own though ...
Back in February 2019, my Mazda6 was T boned and I started looking for a new car. I found a used SS for $35k and really wanted it. Even scheduled a test drive, before a polar vortex winter snap canceled it (-5 deg f HIGH). However, sensible me ended up with an $19k Mazda3. Looking at prices of SS's now make me cry. I missed my one chance to own one because I decided to save the money for a house (which we did end up buying). If only...
I just bought the last of the 2017 Wagons. A redline version - one of 872, with a OTR air cooler it's got even more grunt. Such a beautiful piece of driving history. I smile so much every drive, and then as I walk through the mall I smile remembering that drive.
@@robpr315 they compare it, but it is not possible in value aspect, SS as new car is design wise nothing, zero, hole, while E39 was state of the art, so it is not comparable. Another point is value, for 20 years SS will be worth 500 bucks.
?? THey sold every one of them. They were never intended to sell in high numbers. GM had to import "X" number of them. It was never marketed heavily because they KNEW they would not be making them after closing the doors on Holden.
yep, I think the general consensus here in Australia is that GM had decided to close GM-Holden before they released the VE and simply pandered to our government to continue with bail-outs. In a way, I suspect most Aussies have a poor view of the demise of Holden, and Ford locally.
@@graenicholls4657 we do. Aussie fords and holdens where staple childhood cars owned by our parents, uncles and older brothers. I’ll never forget driving with my older brother in his V8 VK Commodore and my other brothers XE Falcon station wagon he would take us to school in.
Love this Jason. I remember watching this a few years ago, still a classic! I hope you can do another video cover of the e39 M5, seeing that its aging very well and becoming very highly sought after
So happy to see the Chevy SS (Holden Commodore) get the recognition it deserves. Such a fantastic car and probably the best ever Australian designed vehicle.
I had the G8 GT and was one of the most wonderful cars I've ever had. Room, power, comfort, utility, and I really liked the looks - far better than the SS tbh. I was hoping desperately that they'd send the Ute - I'd have kept it till I die.
Great review! I own a manual red SS UTE..... It's my happy place ❤️. With rear wheel drive & all the weight in the front, you can't help but wag your tail on pull off 🏁
Yep, this video helped me pull the trigger on getting the SS, like a lot of the folks posting here. I had been following the 2004 - 2006 GTO, then the G8 GXP, but when I heard that Holden was being shut down, I ordered a 2017 manual SS, and I love it every time I get into it. I had been looking for a sleeper, manual, rear wheel drive sedan, and the SS was exactly what I had been looking for. Regarding the Willow Springs comparison between the 2014 automatic SS and the the manual SS in this video, I wonder how much difference in the lap time is related to the transmissions rather than to the change in the shocks.
I purchased my 2017 SS new - and it is the best car I have ever owned for all around performance. (My Z06 is way faster - but you expect it from a Corvette). I loved the comment about surprising the uninformed out on the highway - because I have done that to many a BMW that are probably still saying "WTF was THAT??". My '17 is in Red 2 Hot - and only one of 282 in the USA for that color - for the final year of production. RIP Holden.
I’ve been driving these Commodores for years. Currently have an older model SS Ute and a Calais Wagon with the LS3. Ultimate Wolf in Sheep’s clothing. I’m glad you got these in the US for a few years also. Great review👍🏻
I have always thought that the Pontiac G8 and Pontiac GTO were non luxury versions of BMW M3/5 fighters. They both even had kidney grills. So it is interesting to see the Holden Commodore/Chevorlet SS now stacked next to BMW’s in this video.
You still have to give credit to the BMW for being almost as fast as the SS around the track. Even more so without all the modern suspension upgrades. Even still the SS is a beast!
Conversely the SS is more limited by CAFE and federal safety standards than late '90s early '00s BMW ever was. And the budget to develop the SS was undoubtedly lower, inflation adjusted, than that of the E39.
Also keep in mind the BMW was on aftermarket shocks ( seemed lowered to me) And stickier super sports tires as well. (I wonder what other mods unseen as well, bmw has terrific tuning mods to increase HP, even in NA engines) E39 is a beast though.
@@kevinnorwood7355 not really, on a track, multi-matic and coilover setups are superior. Mag ride is great on uneven surfaces like roads and daily driving, the non mag ride 2014 SS was a bit faster on the track actually...
Hey Jason; one thing I was hoping you could add to the descriptions is the time/date of filming of these prior videos! Each one I see I'm always so interested in the context of your life during filming of these videos and comparing it to your reviews/work now- It's great to see the changes and growth over the years from a filming/cinematography perspective (and also as a fan of you!)
Jason you are my favorite motoring journalist! Of course there are other channels that does beautiful video and copy but to me good journalism is not driven by whatever the latest new car is out. Good journalism to me is somebody that can their put personal angle on the subject and move my understanding of the world and hey if you are funny at the same time that is just brilliant. Bringing out this older clips of older cars really proves this again. Keep up the good work even if its posting old content 🙂
Hello Jason, Nice review on the Zeta from Down under! I have wanted to own a G8 GXP from launch in 2009 with m/t. Problem is they are more expensive now than when new (had BIG discounts in 2009). Test drove an 09 used and should have purchased ON THE SPOT....grrrr. So smooth it did not feel fast....until you look at the speedometer. WOW! Settled for 2008 M5 with m/t and extra engine. Still want G8 or SS, but price is going crazy! P-Chi
The SS follows the last GTO (from down under). VERY understated and looks like a Sunfire...but it is WOLF, same for SS vs Malibu....WOLF....but very understated (sheep).
Great car! Sadly GM screwed over Holden and Aussie car enthusiasts and closed them down. I guess it was embarrassing that both Holden and Ford Australia could build better RWD sedans and SUVs than their American parents could...
Australian government paid GM billions of Aussie tax dollars they were crying out for, then they pissed offed with the money back to the US..bunch of C's.
Maybe instead of buying suvs and dual cab utes aussies should of been buying commodores and falcons. We only have ourselves to blame why they aren't here anymore
You may have just talked me into buying one now! No car I’ve driven since my E39 M5 has replicated the Fun driving factor til now! Thank you from a gear head that’s been looking for that in a sedan for years
The Commodores were great from the get go and just kept getting better. I have a '94 VR Calais. The motor is bored and stroked with a hotter cam, custom exhaust system and the latest ECU. Its a sleeper!
This video helped push me over the edge to get this car in 2016. This was an awesome car. Ironically i traded it in today. But someone new will be able to share the love.
Well, I did sign a non disclosure when working as a contractor for GM design during the development of this platform but , as it’s some time ago, I think it’s OK to say that deep in the bowels of GM design in Melbourne, hidden under a large drop cloth, was a BMW M5 which was being referenced as the standard to be equalled. The design people, of course, thought it amusing when motoring journalists compared the first VEs to BMW, usually in a somewhat condescending manner, because they knew that it handled just as well- as it was designed to. BTW , when I spotted the BMW, one of the Holden guys said ‘ you didn’t see that’.
I was at the Chicago Auto show when this was new actively looking for it and walked right past it thinking it was a Malibu. Had to ask one of the brand reps who pointed my friend and I over to it. We were dumbfounded that we'd walked right past it. Wish it was still around. Great review Jason!
