Here's Why the Chevy SS Was a Total Failure
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- Опубліковано 15 січ 2018
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The Chevrolet SS looked great on paper -- but it was a total flop. Today I'm reviewing the Chevy SS to see why the Chevy SS was a failure, and whether the SS is worth a look.
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DOUGSCORE CHART: docs.google.com/spreadsheets/... - Авто та транспорт
Poor Chevy SS. You didn't deserve this fate.
Doug can we get a comparo between your AMG wagon and a new one?
Doesn't it look a lot like a Kia Stinger?
I agree
This is why we can't have utes in America
Doug DeMuro well it's a trend, cars that have come from Australia haven't been continued in North America. Hmm!
You’re doing a better job of advertising the car than Chevy did
So true
Holden, the Australian subsidiary of gm manufactured the car in Australia. Even if the car was a success it was going to be discontinued anyway because Holden/GM stopped manufacturing the commodore after 2017 which ended cars being made in Australia. Instead we now import the commodore to Australia from Opel and it's been a giant flop. The commodore was the biggest selling car in Australia and Holden was king. Now Holden is a joke, literally.
@@mickman3582 How is that possible? I thought Holden is still a GM subsidiary. But Opel was sold off to PSA, so they are seriously rebadging cars from 'another' manufacturer?
ᴅᴇᴀʀ ᴍʀ. ɪꜱᴀɪᴀʜ ᴅᴇʀɪɴɢᴇʀ; the new ‘commodore’ is made by the Opel group in France (it’s literally the same car as the Buick Regal) however Holden just announced they have suspended production indefinitely, killing the commodore nameplate in the process. Which is fine by me as an Aussie as this new commodore was a generic front wheel drive sedan that had none of what made the original cars a motoring icon. All GM achieved was to make a formerly popular Aussie car name as popular as lance armstrong at a clean sporting convention, before killing it off.
@@Dear_Mr._Isaiah_Deringer I am *Wiiings* Ss
Imagine releasing a car called the SS in Europe
😏
That went over a lot of ppl heads..lol funny though
@@TheNando1 Hitler
@@TheNando1 Soviet union
@@TheNando1 Not really a joke, It's a name a European would associate with Nazi Germany and it would be a utter and total marketing disaster to release a car with that name.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schutzstaffel
I remember wanting an SS sooo badly, it seemed like the perfect sleeper car, then boom... we had another kid. Welcome to minivan land. 😅
Do you know you can just get an SUV way better for your money
@@fordpower8024 fr im not even a minivan type of guy and i LOVE my chrysler pacifica s. Im not the only one either, all the funeral homes in my area use pacificas for coffin transport, except they usually have the plug in hybrid version
@@fordpower8024 Or you can get something better on gas and more practical for the average person. What benefits do you get with an SUV that you don't get with a minivan?
@@blue-tb2fd benefits with an suv better gas mileage, then a van, suvs are better for your money in the long run, most nowadays have third row seating fold it down for more storage, more comfortable, ride, suspension wise, turning and cornering is a lot better, SUVs have way more power than a van so they can climb numbers if you like speed, 99% of suvs are used by police departments, all that proves how utilitarian suvs are in their job I see more SUVs then minivans
@@da_poopoo_dealer3152 defeats the purpose of you saying that
Holden Australia done a fantastic job designing and building this car. It's also the last Holden Commodore ever built.
Last real commodore yes, last commodore no…
@@SBSanChill that's not a commodore, the one you're referring to is a European GMV insignia, with a commodore badge. I could walk outside now and put a commodore badge on a ford falcon, it doesn't make it a commodore.
@@SBSanChill it should really say it wasn't the last commodore badge made..
Ive owned commodores my whole life, they went out with a bang on the VF. I have a SV6 and it hoons better than my vy clubby did
Last commodore “built “ at Elizabeth
Pro tip: If you wanna sell something tell people about it.
lol right i never knew they existed
Two words : Apex legends
Prior to this video I've never heard of this car!
@@alkalineph9446same
Then you must not read car magazines
In part, it flopped because I had no idea it existed.
The commodore sold amazingly
gm are are great carsss. .-the best in the world.. juts look carefully.
Same
I'm from Australia and only found out Chevy rebadged imported SS Commies this year. More to the point where are the utes? I've heard American buyers can't get enough of em.
@@adifferentangle7064 they did the same with the shitty monaro whatever year it was again as the pontiac gto - if that hadnt of failed so hard probably alot more commodores woul have been exported not just the last one
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...
3? More than that. And let's not forget the Calais line.
it probably depends on how much detail you want to go into - Evoke, SV6 (not 'S'), SS, SS-V SS-V Redline, Calais, Calais V. Sedans, Wagons, Utes. Then there's the HSV variants - Clubsport, GTS, GTSR, Maloo, Senator Signature.
The GM Supercar never is/never was Opel. It is a Chev Camaro (sort of !)
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.
Too bad quality isn't in Holden's vocabulary
@@darthwindu9531 Oh please ! They were the benchmark for locally made quality and service !
@@edwardfletcher7790 Scratchy cheap plasti panels that don't even fit together flush, and a roof lining that sags in a matter of months, yeah cause that's quality. 8 minutes and 19 seconds on the nurburgring for the bogan car vs the M5 Competiton, 7 minutes and 38 seconds. Says alot about "handling" in a Holden.
@@darthwindu9531 You're out of your mind ! Next you'll be saying it's crap because it's not as powerful as a Koenigsegg ! LoL
You're quoting the lap time of the Commodore UTE !
The fastest tradie vehicle ever made ! Perhaps you should compare it to the F-150 or Hilux lap time ? Is Great Wall testing at the Ring yet ?
Of course Nurburgring lap times are so relevant to Australian driving conditions.... LMAO 😂
Cretin
@@darthwindu9531bro the SS is a base model in terms of Holden. Go look a senator interior or a gts
2 Problems
1. Didn't know it existed
2. Once I did i thought it was a Malibu or something 😒
100% Agreed
I own a Malibu and if you'd told me that was a little newer version of it I would believe it.
I like the styling, it's handsome and fine, just not bold enough for a $50K performance sedan.
It was basically a “powerful” Malibu
@@P1995. Malibu was a ute.
It was so much better as a g8.
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.
I saw someone say that GM could've sold it as a new Chevelle if it had a coupe version
jews loved the car thats why they bought so many of them lool
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 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.
And how they failed miserably..what do u expect when the factory workers wanted 30 buks an hr to work.. way to go unions..this was back in 2005
@@stivi739 that $30 AUD is $21.78 USD and that isn’t an absurd price to pay factory workers nowadays with how inflations going. as a wearhouse worker myself unloading trucks all day for 14 an hour i struggle to afford a lot of stuff now.
@@stivi739 30 an hr is standard for factory workers in aus.... imagine complaining that the workers wanted a fair pay...
It was still a failure, they sold 3k units a year rather than the estimated 15-20k
@@tuscanikristian3274 yeah that sucks dude at least u out there working I suppose
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
Freedom Child same here he had to type it in his tablet and even said “wow didn’t even know we had these” and started laughing lol
That’s how you know you’re at a shitty dealership.
woottastic
Dealership for a shitty company.
@@jshepard152 More like *dealershit*
Don't worry the guy who sold me my 2011 charger r/t didn't know what cars in their lot had a v8 engine
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.
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.
You would have if you were parked next to one lol.
Definitely wasn’t a flop in Australia.
Crunchy P “defiantly”
Crunchy P
And sorely missed.
Typical though. Aussie comes up with some good stuff, can’t sell it to anyone.
These cars are an Aussie icon and I'm proud to call it ours
Rebel Rob u can’t really call a Chevy/gmc yours America owns it
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
alexaescht yer he definitely didn't bring up that the cars production was stopped because the issues in the Australian car production industry not just because of the SS
Thanks for bringing all this up. I own an SS and it made me cringe listening to him say all these false points.
alexaescht make Australia great again! #MAGA
Buzz off, Dougy Dugg is the shit! Give him a break.
alexaescht and the owners manual says SS Sedan because we also have an SS Ute (pickup)
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.
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.
This car failed because people didn't know it existed.
Stefan Baars but mate in straya we have known it for 30 years
Just like anything from Australia 😂
Im one of them 🤷
incorrect
You think people are dumb everyone knew about this car
worst part is you STILL can't get a used one for a good price lmao.
Is it just me or do you feel like the price is a little bit of the downfall as well. Because used there going for the same amount as used scat packs so it’s like why choose this over the charger
@@therealdjaux5184 this most likely won’t get stolen in a popular city
@@therealdjaux5184 as much as love those, I’d almost definitely rather have this car, just because it is not an asshole that everyone has.
@@therealdjaux5184 it’s an LS with a manual.... wayyyyy more choices for mods, mag ride, and they hold a hell of a lot more value than a scat
@@joseph_8486 thanks for the clarification Doggy 💪🏾💯
Used, many years later, this car goes for as much as it did new.
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
Despite the unaggressive styling, this car is criminally underrated
In what world is that styling unaggressive? It’s designed to look like a beefy Aussie muscle car but in a sedan body.
rob1811 the styling is as bland as a Chevy Cruze
rob1811 you wouldn’t notice a difference
@Kingy88 yeah, imagine the gtsr w1 appearance over there.....quite aggressive in my opinion. If they sold a few might have justified the different plastic.
Liam Moriarty spot on.. same shitty interior too
If they'd called it a Chevelle SS, the car would have sold 100K units.
Agree, there are so many unused iconic Chevy names that they could've tossed on it. "Monte Carlo" is another.
@@jeffj3213 Monte Carlos were only Coupes.
Horace Hunter so were the chevelles. and even so they could bring either of them back as sedans. just like dodge did with the charger since the original chargers were coupes only
Anything would've been better than the "SS". Heck, it's even difficult to google search it because it just shows the Camaro SS or similar. Real bonehead marketing move.
Jeffrey Jung it just seems they didn’t care for this car to be successful. which sucks cause its a good car, they could’ve continued updating it to compete with the hellcat
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
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.
Doug should’ve made this videos ages ago and help gm to sell this.
Junky DIY guy because GM didn’t do any advertising themselves.
Harrison S You got that right. The marketing director for this car must have phoned in sick for the month when they were working on the SS marketing campaign.
It's another Harrison S!
Lol not his job
Gm? Marketing? HAAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAAA. I love GM. They do 0 marketing, who tf knows why
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
What you're describing is, yes, very average. Many cars have 3x mores practicality features than what you describe.
@@mydemon wtf else is more practical "ugh this car doesn't have heated cup holders, what is this the stone age" do you know what practical means, it means is it good at being a normal car for everyday use
@@heres.ray64 A minivan is a 10 in practicality score. The SS cannot transport 8 people and their cargo. Everything you listed is part of features, not practicality. A S-class with every available feature will still get a 5 in practicality because vehicles like SUVs and Minivans exist.
@@heres.ray64 you're fundamentally misunderstanding this particular scoring system. Noone said the DpugScore was perfect or even useful. At first, I was like you, it didn't make sense. But over time I have come to appreciate it.
In essence it is pitting all cars against all cars. For example, take the best-RAV4 money can buy - it will still score poorly in many aspects because the acceleration is compared to the fastest ferrarris and the interior will be compared the Bugatti Veyron and such. That's the only way to have one raring system compatible across many very different cars.
Otherwise you would have absurd comparisons with high-end Toyotas scoring more than certain luxury cars.
If you don't like this system or find it useful feel free to find other UA-camrs that work better for you.
TBH his whole scoring system is pretty stupid and arbitrary. I enjoy his videos nonetheless but you can't take someone seriously who thinks 0-60 is a vehicle's performance benchmark, or marks down older vehicles on "features" because they don't have useless crap like back-up cameras or parking assist.
Can't be a Holden logo on the dash because a Holden would be RH drive with different dash pad
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
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
Sounds like Texas and it's bigger cities
RedAssassin274 Australia is similar to Texas in many ways, similar population & GDP. (Country vs State)
@@traviesohombre5145 australians are just british texans
RedAssassin274 the state Western Australia is bigger than half of all the USA states
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
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.
@theresnogod onlydeludedbelievers666 Desperate? You must know less about English than you do about cars my dumb little friend!!
This car is amazing. But it falls into a gray area for consumers. People who want a muscle car want a loud in your face flashy car, not an undercover sedan. And someone who wants an unassuming sedan doesn't necessarily want a huge V8 and a manual transmission.
@@lucasw2880 I definitely would prefer this over a loud flashy in your face car, that's not my style but I still love performance cars, especially sedans and wagons. Drove a 5 series bmw with the v8 for years and always loved blowing away obnoxious looking cars. If these weren't so ridiculously priced right now I'd consider a used one but to me it's just not a 40-50k dollar used car. I've thought about one of the late model gto's, I like the subtle styling of them.
@@ourtime-downhere6931 I used to sell cars for Mercedes Benz. And it was interesting that not a lot of people bought the AMG models (The real deal AMG models not just the AMG trim package). Only a select few did, even though most of the folks walking in could more than afford it. But when it came to people who bought the G-Wagon, almost ALL of them bought the AMG G63 model. I rarely saw anyone buy the base model G550. Because if your going to spend $150k on a G-wagon, you might as well get the AMG version for another $20-$30K. When the G65 (V12) came out, people were lined up to throw their 1/4 of a million dollars down on that G-wagon. Craziness...
It's a muscle with class. The SS is amazing a rwd V8 sedan with all the luxuries. The problem is it's awkward in America, it's not American but checks out as American muscle and its not euro but it checks out as a euro car. They could have also badged it as a Buick regal hell it could have been a new gnx
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.
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
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... 😎
Then the car gets repossessed 🤪😭
@Fredo Bull I'm surprised you know how to spell, considering that uneducated look you have going, it screams ghetto.
This car is way nicer than a camaro and more expensive
@@jackwilliam5341 😂😂
now he gets a 2.0T Malibu
GM: *tries to sell this car*
Also GM: *fails to advertise car*
Car: *does not sell well*
GM: _aNoThEr OnE bItEs ThE dUsT_
More like
GM: *kinda wants to sell the car... maybe*
Also GM: *kinda doesn't want to sell the car because of their fickle thinking and habits and that it came from the foreign outcast brand they own*
Result: *GM puts the car on sale but doesn't advertise or promote it with no effort for localization to suit the market because they don't want it to sell too well so it can die off and avoid outshining their crappy domestic lineup*
These cars were sold in only a certain amount in this Country. That's why they weren't well advertised at all, I mean that's what also makes them super rare! I don't know about you, but I'd rather have something that you don't see much at all which catches people's attention plus I'd rather have something that everyone and their grandmother doesn't have...lmao!!!
fly high cadillac STS
GM also does the same with its hi end Cad cars. Certain "performance" models just die off. Likely because of hi price, bad quality control/reliability, and no support from GM for warranty repairs.
Tbh I hate that they did that to the Pontiac G8. I have one and it’s such an awesome car
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.
I was stoked when these came out because I always loved the Pontiac G8 which is essentially the same Holden Commodore.
Doug Logic:
Maserati Levante: TOO MANY LOGOS!!
Chevy SS: NOT ENOUGH LOGOS!!
Roboplex both are true though lol
Well, there is a happy middle ground between zero and eleventy-billion.
Doug DeMuro I like them odds Dougy
12:59
Doug is the type of guy to slip on ice and say, "whoopsie daisy".
Preston Landscaping True lol
LOL
I wonder if he would rate his fall with a "Doug Score"?
Yasssss lol
LMAOO
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
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.
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.
leloodallasmultipass - Thanks for saving me the time of having to post the correct information.
its general motors, dont be surprised, they dont even tell people their buying an aztek C7 made by the same guy who made pontiacs look terrible and sell awful.
Not only that but the did what they've alway done. Priced them out of raange of the average Joe that wanted it. Add in the list of standard options that you can't delete if you want a stripped down model & NO PROMOTION, you have a "flop". They did the same with the SSR. Plus they made that one totally useless as a Truck.
Rizzo- That's right. And if you consider that all the people who manufacture and install the higher trim parts ALSO needed to keep their jobs until the pre-planned factory closing, you can see that it makes sense that these cars would have all options ticked.
It really is so strange to me that we were told from the beginning that they would stop making the SS in 2017, but now everyone seems to think that it's lack of demand that led to the end of production.
also forgotten; The Monaro was sold as the Pontiac GTO in the US but because of Union rules in the US they were only imported in small numbers, I imagine that the same is here.
Plot twist: these cars are 6 years old and still 40k
Average 32k. for a 2014
14s are auto only. 15+ reasonable mileage, Mag Ride, Manual cars still trade at around original MSRP. It's crazy
@@maxbrap thanks for the input man. Does the magnetic ride make a big difference?
@@nignoggotya I have a '16 6MT. I haven't driven one without mag ride. I can say that in tour mode bumps that threw my BRZ all over the place are unnoticed in the SS, I've hit things that I expected would knock my molars loose accidentally and felt little to nothing. The more performance oriented modes are noticeably stiffer with a confident ride
@@maxbrap cant wait till theyre in my price range 😌
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.
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
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!
Brandon Carlson so you want a 1973 holden one tonna.
Kingswood country
Brandon Carlson.
Maloo utes are available in the USA, look up, Left Hand Utes, in Northglenn, Colorado.
Chevy never even tried to sell it. GM has a habit of sabotaging cars that they should support.
That's what happens when your ceo is a female globalist who is more concerned about the chinese market.
🤬😡 and that's is why I hate AMERICAN CARS!!!! They killed my faveourit best car in the world!!!! GM KILLED HOLDEN!!!!!!!!
@Silver N Black Mopar yeah so abandoning the US market for the sake of model consolidation is a smart business move in your view? I have no problem with US companies selling overseas but the US market is still worth their time.
@Silver N Black Mopar yeah true, that's why all the foreign companies put their auto plants in the south.
GM pulled out here because the government stopped giving them handouts. Unlike the USA the market here is not protected from imports.
Holden is failing as a brand as a result. In part as well because Isuzu are now their own entity.
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 an aussie who sees these cars every day its so weird to think they are like a neiche car in america lol. the ss commadore was built by aussies for aussies though so no wonder chevy didnt advitise it that much in the state's
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👍
I have one in Australia and it's the same under bonnet windscreen washer system.
Also, you forgot the SV6.
He's talking about various models of the SS numb nuts
Well the SV6 is forgettable...
I have a 07 sv6 and I love how the reverse lights come on when I lock it cos it means I can see at the back at night when walking round back of car
I think it's a gts rebadged. For those playing at home ss is Holdens top model .Then above that the hsv models sort of like amg for merc. They badged it ss for USA brand recognition
I wonder why German car makers don't also make a car called SS. 🤔
Jack Le ya maybe a whole line, like audi adolph, or mercedes beglaitcommando, or bmw blitzkrieg
John Sabp shut up beach
You answered youre own question
Carlos Ramirez no he didn't
Lol
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.
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.
The Holden logo would not be on the dash because in Australia cars are right hand drive. Nice try Doug
Love this
Nicholas Smith womp womp wooooommmppp
But Holden made the car left side drive
He said its made in Australia.... Not made for Australia
Don't get a 5 out of 10 for significance in oz mate!
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.
And that makes sense how?
Jonathan Paulin You must be right
I have never heard of this car! .
Sir you are point on.. this car is originally the GTO with some different styling modifications. the original GTO we have now was assembled and Sold in Australia. the assembly line was completely dismantled and shipped to Kansas City. GM removed one of the old assembly lines for an old model they stopped building and installed the entire assembly line from Australia to build the GTOs here. the SS Impala was never meant to be built in the first place it was just a temporary filler because of the Australian people demanded the car. really they sold some here ? it was never meant to sell.
All that being said I absolutely love this car when it first came out watched all the reviews went down and drooled on one but the price made me pull my tail in and go home lol
Jonathan Paulin So so true, GM really didn’t want the competition from Holden, but one thing that most Americans don’t know is that GMH (which is General Motors Holden) is a sub company of General Motors Chevrolet.
dedalliance1 It makes sense when you’re a corporation and you are closing your manufacturing facilities for your Australian subsidiary, Holden.
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.
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.
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
THANK YOU!! WE HAVE A WINNER! Better than all this guessing this guy did. He could have at least done some research and looked up the Australian car first. So much for journalism these days.
z352kdaf8324 i suppose i should correct him on other cars as well. Have grown up with Top Gear, and there really isn't that much more entertainment out there..
Holdens are popular in Australia and New Zealand especially as a copcar.
Correct except it’s based on a SSV redline, not an Omega
The omega is the base model in Australia and the SS/SSV is the more luxurious model.
The SS is a mature understated sedan for people who prefer substance instead of style. If you want fancy illuminated door sills instead of an engaging driving experience then get a German turbo 4-cylinder...
Did he just pull up to some random person's house and start filming
Basically
It’s most likely the owners house...
😂
Dough is the type of guy who sees a random car on the car and start recordings his tweaks and quirks.
I think that is his house because that house appears in almost every video
The reason there is a large pass with the rear cupholders down is for easy access to the car fridge. Works great on family trips
Correction Doug. The hood vents are actually real. When you open the hood you can see there is an indeed an opening where the vents are.
I can’t believe that Malibu survived while this car is cancelled
Malibu is significantly cheaper it makes since
@@baronvonjo1929 sense* idiot lmao
That's because most people prefer crappy FWD cars like the Camry, Accord and Malibu.
@@SCHMALLZZZ camry and accord are crappy cars? LOL, you're hilarious. My dad's Honda went 275k my camrys at 160 with absolutely no problems whatsoever besides a small leak in my power streering return hose, got it fixed for 95 bucks. This thing will go another 150 easy. You're bonkers.
The Malibu wasn’t made in Aus the SS was. Holden Aus was closing down which meant no matter how successful the SS/Commodore was over in the US, there’d never be anymore. As they were only sending some to the US to keep jobs going until they fully shut up shop anyway. And they weren’t going to bother marketing what was already a “dead” car. Being made in Aus and shipped to the US is also a reason why it was kind of pricey for what it was. Fact is if they wanted the commodore/SS to be successful in the US they should have properly introduced it a decade earlier than they did and actually built the thing over there to keep the Cost down and not waited until Holden was basically dead.
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.
Weren't they talking about making the ute version the new El Camino? I'd love it if they did.
@@thorthunderlungs5171 yeah except gm killed Australian manufactured holdens so no more rwd holdens
ford and Toyota also got scrapped (the ford Falcon and Toyota Camry)
I've always preferred a Ford.
But nothing looks better than a clubsport wagon..
RoboAddy t
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.
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$
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.
Some of us up here do appreciate these cars made down under.Unfortunately most people with kids op for an suv. The younger people are in love with the asian imports. So sad. Just know l love the Gm ss and the gto. I just do not get.
Get it , that is. You get alot for the money. We just did not hear about these cars. Some people still do not know that they were even offered.Poor marketing no doubt.
Sad state of affairs. I grew up driving V8 cars.
I am not in Australia. But here in America people are lazy and suck at driving therefore they hate manual cars. And therefore car makers don't make them because they don't sell. Is Australia also getting away from manuals?
As a Ford enthusiast it saddens me to see this car didn't receive the proper recognition it deserves
Randy NoLastName google Barra turbo and you’ll get over it.
It’s dumb really, Ford Australia had a car here that was perfect replacement for the crown vic and a performance alternative to the gay mustang.
@@bobbob-fg5wy I see why you only have 1 sub after 5 years
Toochee Downs well sheet, it seems to me it woulda been more insulting if you’d just said nothing. gaf what you think, you’ve got nothing to add to the conversation.
Indeed. Not quite total Ford enthusiast (own 5 cars, 72 mini ls clubman, 79 XC 351c, 83 XE 351c, 99 VS 350, 00 MX5 worked (turbo)) but totally could not understand why the yanks didn't take to our down under v8 rear wheel drive sedans. Shit, our cars go around corners (left or right) have shittons of power, and the legs to take you long distances in comfort. Australia is the epitome of the tyranny of distance, we (used to) build cars capable of comfortably transporting you between those long distance destinations, how TF did North Americ not notice.
@@TheMDHoover cause 'Merica. Haha. Nah, I think generally they struggle to see/think outside their own sphere. If it's too foreign, it can't be trusted. Saw a different vid talking bout the Tesla truck, and the dude mentioned that a lot of Americans will by one car/brand for life, without trying alternatives. Eg. First car was an F150, and they will buy F150's till the day they die, cause that's what they know.
A real insult to call this holden ss a chevy. This vehicle is the product of fantastic Ausustralian engineering.. and if this beast had been given the HSV (think AMG) custom upgrdade your mind would have been blown away.
I'm a former employee of futuris automotive suppliers of interiors, my opinion is GM didn't like being shown how to make a real car, jealously, but how dare they shut down an aussie icon ! It's completely barbaric, GM owes aussie s an Australian made car factory !😐
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.
Does it go?
Doug the type of guy to buy an SS just to rip off the passenger side dash board to see if it says Holden
Funny Bunny and then make a rant video holding an Australian and U.S. Flag when he's disappointed.
its funny because there was a shitload being sold here in Austraila and then GM USA pulled funding so production stopped and now we are importing cars from the US that are falling apart after six months anyone wish to comment.
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
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.
same wtf ive seen a few of them in nj and thought they were an ss version of a different model car lol
Impala came with v8 engine and front wheel drive. Caprice ss is related to pontiac g8
i have a 2014 and honestly its such a good daily car.
They're all Holden Commodores SS commodores. The Pontiac GTO is a Holden Monaro. The Pontiac G8 is a hsv gto
They are all Holden's from Australia we cannot blame you for thinking they were American
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.
They couln't build it anywhere because Holden had all the blue-prints. For GM, it would be huge investment which would never pay off
theodorekell
That's part of my point. GM didn't want to mess with it. It was 100% trade agreement based. They sold it here so they didn't get fined. They didn't want to make money because doing that would have required extensive investments they were prepared to make.
sargvsu Thanks for explaining that.
Actually makes sense! Good insight
I think the last point is the most important. GM didn't have another car that fit the NASCAR platform anymore.
Doug, I love your show! If you haven't already done it, can you do an episode on the Chevy El Camino?
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.
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.
I knew someone with a poop brown sleeper Mitsubishi Mirage that was heavily turbo'd to over 400hp... lol. It was one hell of a sleeper back in the day.
Chris Napoleon A sleeper also draws less attention from the cops.
Hi handsome ❤how are you doin ..??😊
This car is gorgeous. But zero marketing. Sad end
Jose Vega i know a little bit about cars but i dont do a lot of research unless im making a purchase generally. With that said, i have never even heard of this car before just now.
Jose Vega I wasnt even aware this car existed.
I seen a black one of these outside a restaurant about a year ago. IT sounded so awesome and looked amazing. This car is NOT bad, just didnt sell great.
I've always seen it on the lot but it's usually just 2. The car is WELL MADE. But if I wasn't on budget I would of gotten this as a luxury car. The body is a little ugly tho.
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.
the chevy SS was so low key so sleeper that people slept on its potential
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
In Australia they are SS commodores up until 2018
Daniel Hedger in Germany was a SS too
Police driver Chrysler's and M5's now
@@danielhedger5904 depends on the state
resiL SRT8 but I'm pretty sure it's a diesel 5 series not M5. Personally loved the use of the commodore and falcons though..sad
None of the places you think had a Holden logo ever did. That’s just how they are :)
Exactly, they didn’t just save money by not putting Chevrolet on those parts, they never had anything there to start with.
Quick bit of research would've fixed that.
That is because it was a half ass job making that car.
Hold on... really?
@@mrvang8077 you don't know nothing about Aussie cars
Didn't know anything about this car until I saw it in the showroom. Bought it on the spot and loved it.
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.
Maybe it’s the name. They couldn’t sell that in Germany...
lol
Lmaooo
Dude, snap !!
Well played
Lmfao! Good one!
Hyuk
Doug the type of dude to come review your car and call it a total failure.
TypeR1911 lmao
Good one!
except he pretty much had nothing but praise for it, so no idea what you're going on about
@@flexmasterize But he did call it a total failure, Kanye East is not wrong
lol
This is before Doug went crazy style with the THIS! And the Cars and Bids excitement.
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.
Hi handsome ❤how are you doin ..??
Maybe it failed because no one knew it existed?
Sammyjeans1 they didn't advertise the car because the factory that made them was closing so they made more of these cars because they needed to give the workers something to do.
If you know about performance sedans, you know about the Holden Commodore, hence you know about the SS
It didn't fail, they sold every one that they ever intended to produce plus some because people found out about them and that the plant was closing at the beginning of MY '17 production and put their orders in while they still could.
GM closed the factory because the Australian Government was not propping the car industry up anymore. Ford and Toyota have also canned manufacturing in Australia.
Sammyjeans1 Exactly, never saw the first ad for one even though it was Chevy's entrant in NASCAR. Being a fan of most sedan racing, especially V8 Supercars, i was geeked when i heard the SS was actually a Commodore. Have seen only 1-2 locally but, at least one of the owners knows what it really is because, they had the bowties on the front and back replaced with Holden badges! Wish i hadn't been going the opposite direction when i saw it. I would've made it a point to let them know my approval. 👍😀😍👏
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
klonik79 good point your right
I laughed at that too, no real homework done there.
Maybe the steering wheel is under there
+kmakky underrated comment of the year right there.
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
They are outrageously expensive now. Cost more than they did brand new.
SS embroidery wouldn't cover up 'holden' on the dash, because the holden dashes were right hand drive. this left hand drive dash was built specially for the US, so they could have put SS directly on there if they wanted to
1:39 you can tell this isn’t just your regular Chevy sedan in a few ways...
1. It’s a Holden
Sheet metal only--everything under the skin is regular old Chevrolet.
12:59
Why would the SS embroidery be something to cover up a Holden logo when the Holdens are RHD cars?
MTC0316 very good
Every one was embroidered differently depending on the model it was going into. There was about a dozen different variations from memory, maybe a little more.
Its basically a Chevrolet . Holden stoppped making the ORIGINAL Holden back in the 1950z So GM jumped on board and instead of calling it a Chevrolet they kpet the dead and buried name. Was a terrible car in many ways and were always being recalled for inheritent problems
steinwaygrande Found the Ford fan.
Point well made
In Australia the Holden Commodore and the Ford Falcon were VERY Popular, now they sell for good money because there are NO new ones production stopped about 2013??
SS? Don't drive this car in Germany!
Y
NEWYORK BOSS Google Schutz Staffel
@Joe Lynott that's fucked up 😅😅
Sensitive germans as always
How about forgetting the old bad events that happened during WW Time?
I have the Chevy ‘waffen’ SS. There are nozzles in the back seat that release ze zyKlon B