Chevrolet News:Chevrolet SS Marketing Manager Says Higher Performance Versions Are Possible

[William Maley]

William Maley

Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com

November 12, 2013

The Chevrolet SS when it becomes available later this year will be available with one engine (6.2L V8 with 415 horsepower), six-speed automatic, five colors, two options, and that's about it. A lot of us should be happy that GM decided to give the Holden Commodore in the U.S. idea another shot. But a good amount of people are wondering why GM isn't doing more with SS.

Automotive.com got to the bottom of this and chatted with Chevrolet Performance Cars Marketing Manager John Fitzpatrick. Fitzpatrick explained that the reason for the simple SS offering comes down to volume. When Pontiac was selling the G8 in the V6, GT V8, and GXP V8 trims; it was expected to sell upwards of 30,000 units per year. As we all know, the G8 didn't get close to that. With the new SS, GM is only expecting to sell 3,000 models due to shipping constraints from Australia. Fitzpatrick also said GM is keeping the variations down to keep profits up, at least for the time being.

But what if the SS proves to be successful with the modest goals? According to Fitzpatrick, Chevrolet could look into offering a manual transmission and more powerful versions.

Source: Automotive.com

William Maley is a staff writer for Cheers & Gears. He can be reached at [email protected] or you can follow him on twitter at @realmudmonster.

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[Drew Dowdell]

Only 3,000 copies a year.... yet "The Avalanche is no longer a viable product" at over 10 times that???!?

[G. David Felt]

Something Smells in Motor City in regards to the Avalanche.

[monaroCountry]

Only 3,000 copies a year.... yet "The Avalanche is no longer a viable product" at over 10 times that???!?

The commodore and its many variants doesnt need to sell that many in the USA since its already a very strong seller in Australia. Its also a very good and highly praised product in other countries, especially in the UK where they will get the 580hp version badged as the VXR8. The VXR8 and the GTS has been slugging it out with the M5 and AMG.

GM should have just got Holden to produce a new platform for them instead of creating the Alpha platform. Even the 260kw ute Holden SS was just a few seconds slower than the hotted up Cadillac CTSVsport around the Nurbuirgring. The more potent 580hp HSV GTS (that outrun the AMG E63s around a track) may even give the Camaro a run for its money around the Nurburgring and should be in the low 7:30 min bracket.

Edited November 13, 2013 by monaroCountry

[daves87rs]

Only 3,000 copies a year.... yet "The Avalanche is no longer a viable product" at over 10 times that???!?

It's called being too lazy to do a full rework of it....they would rather pretend to make these new mini trucks are such a big job....

[GMTruckGuy74]

Remember, sales of the Avalanche fell considerably over the 10-11 years it was offered for sale. Of course GM didn't refresh them, along with the pickups and SUVs, but some Chevy stores were having a hard time selling them. Factor in that GMC was not given a version (still can't understand why Cadillac received a version over GMC?) and now you really limited its appeal (remember, GMC buyers aren't likely to consider Chevy Trucks that easily). The Avalanche had it's core fans/buyers but they were not buying a new Avalanche every year or two, were they? Also factor in that every Avalanche produced was one less Suburban - apparently those still sold well over the Av's lifetime.

monaroCountry has a great point - the Holden is sold in many markets and does not need one country to support 10s of thousands of units to make a go of it. Where else was the Avalanche sold outside of North America?

I think if the Avalanche were to return, it should be based on the new Colorado/Canyon platform - just my though.

[Drew Dowdell]

The Avalanche fell in sales because after the second generation, their pricing was way out of line. They are just a body style variant of the Suburban and Tahoe... it's additional cost to GM was minimal and then they would sell another 25k - 30k trucks.

In contrast, there is a huge expense GM is incurring in selling just 3,000 Chevrolet SS here. I have nothing against the car and I look forward to driving it... but the idea that the SS is a viable business case in the US and the Avalanche is not doesn't pass the sniff test.

I would like to see an Avalanche like variant of the Colorado as well..... having the mid-gate type of feature in both medium and large sizes would be a unique offering in the truck market.

[SAmadei]

Chevy SS is just sucking worse in every news update. Spiffy.

Five colors. Let me guess: Silver, Black, White, Red and Gray.

As far as the Avalanche goes, I feel it should have been integrated into the truck line as an option. Do you want the standard cab, extended cab or the 2 in 1 extended cab extenda-bed.

[G. David Felt]

My gut tells me the SS will get pand once it comes out as it has been too long in the press of coming and not really coming. I call this DOA!

[Camino LS6]

Decision-making really isn't GM's strong suit.

[Potluck]

it is taking so long to get here, it will be old news and the guys that really want one will still have to pay over sticker to get it

[Drew Dowdell]

has anyone seen one in person yet in the wild?

[Z-06]

It should be pretty soon, supposed to be released in late November/early December.

BTW, Car and Driver likes it with reservations for the lack of LT1/manual combo.

[Lamar]

It should be pretty soon, supposed to be released in late November/early December.

BTW, Car and Driver likes it with reservations for the lack of LT1/manual combo.

Yeah, I went to a dealer in VA on Friday looking for one. The salesman told me it was still too early.

And C&D always wants a manual in everything, so no surprise there.

[Camino LS6]

has anyone seen one in person yet in the wild?

Local Chevy store has one in black.

[caddycruiser]

has anyone seen one in person yet in the wild?

Yes, and loved it. It's not over the top, but looks like a high performance, extremely sophisticated sedan. It's an American version of what an M5 used to be, back in the day, but with all the latest tech. Sounds great, interior is perfect (like my G8, a seemingly huge interior but not that large outside) and very comfortable.

I drove an ATS 3.6L AWD Premium after, and for $5k more, it's a terrific lightweight, stiff, and beautiful car, but it didn't click with me like the SS did. Seat comfort, size, etc. all played a part. One feels like a 3-series, one is like an M5. Manual? Eh, some will complain and it may be added, but to start with, give it time.

I asked the Chevy dealer where I played with one if they really sold manual Camaro's or not and he did say yes, even V6 manuals. Not as many as the SS, but they definitely do a split and the buyer is different. Their first SS buyer saw the car I was in but wanted it without a sunroof, and is "a car nut, with Corvettes and other stuff" so they ordered their 2nd one for him after he test drove it, in silver sans sunroof.

GM Performance or other performance car buyers/collectors seem to be the market, as well as other uber performance sedan people who get some seat time in one.

[Camino LS6]

Like I've said before, GM has no idea how to market a car like this - or even who the target market is.

If they did, it wouldn't be tied in with NASCAR, and a manual would have been an option.

[Robert Hall]

Haven't seen one yet..looking forward to seeing one in person.

[Z-06]

Yes, I like the understated looks of the car and it does remind me of the old M5. Plain and a precision tool built for purpose.

Like Camino said, Chevy missed on this big time. Many near misses to call it a failure and now GM PR justifying the failure to lure customers.