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Why the Chevy SS Was a Failure

Calaber

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Well, I'm not a fool and definitely NO fan of O'Bummer. Boy, lots of "assumptions" about "Yanks". Come on over some time and have a look see.

Don't take Zeke as being representative of the rest of us.

He's a little odd. Sometimes.
 

PeteSS

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When you read a lot of YouTube comments from Americans on these cars, their reason for it not succeeding is no one knew it existed. GM did a woeful job of marketing it. Another issue was that by US standards, and compared to cars like the Mustang, Camaro and the handful of Dodges, it was a bit bland looking. Someone mentioned here that it looks like a Malibu, and that's what you hear from most of the Yanks. A better bodykit and more aggressive looking wheels would've improved it's looks tenfold.

Lets be honest, it wasn't exactly a sales success in Oz the last half dozen years either
 

Sandman

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Another thing on the marketing side of things too is the colours is was always presented in, it always looked like a camry or a fleet car, or something subdued. By Comparison a SS Commodore here is normally bright lairy boasting colours that suit the lines and actually stand out. Think about the flagship colour of the last few models on release. VF: Fantale & Red, VE: Ignition Orange, VE Ute Atomic Green. VZ Impulse Blue, VY Hothouse Green. The car was trying not to beat the Yanks, and they achieved just that...
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9-1711518-holden%20commodore%20ss%20vf%20a_ct677x380.jpg
 

426Cuda

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Is it acceptable for me to bristle just a little bit at this on behalf of yank mates, or is that considered too PC these days?

May I point you to the top 10 best-selling cars in Australia in July, in order; Hilux, Ranger, Corolla, Mazda3, Mazda CX5, Hyundai I30, Rav4, Golf, Nissan Entrail, Hyundai Tucson.
The 3 is best categorised as "the most interesting of a dull category", the Golf & I30 have interesting variants that sell so few they add nothing to sales figures on those cars, and the rest of that lot falls somewhere between "dull as dishwater" (Corolla") and "so bad I'd top myself if I was stuck in one" (Hilux).

Something something stones glass houses something … :)
Nope. I bristled up too.
@LodiBruce There are rednecks here too. We call them bogans.
 

villn808

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Why it failed ? it failed because of the same reason the ZB might , it came from a foreign source. It is a good car , as is the ZB , the yanks just did not like it .

The ones that did buy it can’t get enough of them.
 

figjam

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Somewhere (on this forum ?), I saw a clip from a movie where the baddies are driving a ChevySS in an aggressive manner and doing anti-social deeds, until they dump the car and burn it.
Look closely, and the burning car is a Malibu. At least the producers saw fit not to needlessly destroy a sought after vehicle.
 

Anthony121

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Some of the stupid things he criticised illustrate gross ignorance. V8 engine cover, no-name sill plates. Really? Well, hell yeah. Can't have that.

Wanker.
The IP emblem was the best. Don't they know we drive on the right side and the dash would be the complete opposite? No research done at all. And the reverse lights coming on when doors opened. That must be a USA requirement as our cars don't do that.
 

.05

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holden never intended to sell large numbers of cars to the USA, just a small number to help out with more volume for the Elizabeth production line, that's why no marketing , it just added extra work to help keep plant running ,
 

LastV8?

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Obama started printing money to make himself look good to fools and that increased our Aussie Dollar and that's why the cost of it was so high for USA standards and so GM did not want to promote the car, we were set to sell Statesman, sedan and ute to the USA.

But what does that bloke drive, some FWD 4 CYL s box wagon ?

I think that yank cars come std and you then option them up, but here we go with up spec models of that car to keep resale up as well as having a better car over all.

Most Yanks are boring people who do not know any better, they have driven big FWD s boxes for so long with crap shocks for a smooth floaty ride, you see a lot of roads over their that just follow the lay of the land, they do not cut into and over the way we do so as to get a good flat road.
So you've never driven from Las Vegas to Utah on I-15? Fantastic road, unlike many crap potholed roads on the West Coast generally
 

Zeke Topanaga

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Is it acceptable for me to bristle just a little bit at this on behalf of yank mates, or is that considered too PC these days?

May I point you to the top 10 best-selling cars in Australia in July, in order; Hilux, Ranger, Corolla, Mazda3, Mazda CX5, Hyundai I30, Rav4, Golf, Nissan Entrail, Hyundai Tucson.
The 3 is best categorised as "the most interesting of a dull category", the Golf & I30 have interesting variants that sell so few they add nothing to sales figures on those cars, and the rest of that lot falls somewhere between "dull as dishwater" (Corolla") and "so bad I'd top myself if I was stuck in one" (Hilux).

Something something stones glass houses something … :)
Sure that's true, but we were not fed big FWD crap, what I was on about was they did not know any better.
Mom and dad drive crap and the kids have no idea, so they drive crap as well. but like the dude on the test, what does he drive ? a crap 4cyl wagon, jumps into a good SS and he knows it's a good thing, but starts passion on about some crap, but would he buy one, I don't think so, he is a wimp. if he was a real man he would not piss on about some of the crap he was on about and just got in and drove it and said it's a great V8 sedan, yanks are all into 2 door hardtop mainly but, it's a 4door.

I think in USA that rad dudes always piss on about BMW etc or the Coups and hardtops but the brain does not reg when it's a sedan, that it can respond like all that the best can, they would be like, what the fock is this when they drove it and another thing is they will not get cred back from other rad dudes because they do not know what it can do.
They would have to market the SS on TV to show what it can do, then the penny may drop what it truly is in fact.

I am an Aussie and I like and buy my 4door sedans for practical reasons, I like the 2 door hardtops but would not buy one.
 
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