In the U.S., the birthplace of NASCAR and big-block V-8 engines, you’d expect General Motors discontinuing the Chevrolet SS to cause riots in the streets. But instead there’s barely a whimper.
GM sent the SS off in style in the Australian market, making a Holden Special Vehicles-branded performance version fitted with a 636-horsepower Corvette LS9 supercharged V-8. Stateside, in contract, it can’t sell the sports sedan fast enough.
With the SS now out of production, GM is offering big discounts to move the last remaining examples off dealer lots. A company representative confirmed to Jalopnik the V-8-powered sedan qualifies for a 20 percent off discount until March 31.
Whether it’s due to the reduced price or just desire to get an SS before it’s gone for good, the model did see an increase in sales through the first two months of 2017. Year-over-year deliveries were up 50.3 percent in February and 23.3 percent in January, according to GM.
That said, the rear-wheel-drive sedan’s sales still are minuscule compared to Chevy’s total sales. In February, for example, Chevy moved 164,095 total vehicles, of which just 248 were SS sedans.
For some reason, Chevrolet never heavily promoted the SS. Its V-8, rear-drive layout, four doors and $46,625 MSRP could have made it very appealing to Chevrolet fans who couldn’t afford a Corvette — or could, but wanted something more practical.
GM’s Australian arm Holden recognized the model’s appeal, which is why it had no trouble selling its Commodore, which is the SS without a Chevy badge. That’s why, according to Car Advice, the Holden Commodore is the sixth-best-selling car down under.
Aussies love V-8s even more than Americans — we have NASCAR, but they have a series called V8 Supercars that races on city streets — so Holden also made the Ute, basically a modern El Camino based on the Commodore. To top it off, HSV made sportier versions of both the pickup and sedan, such as the aforementioned LS9-powered GTSR W1.
U.S.-born SS fans might be upset GM is showing the model more love in Australia than here, but it’s done so for years. Instead, be glad other people don’t want an SS, as it means you can get one for more than $5,000 below list price.
Thumbnail photo via Chevrolet
