Chevrolet Finally Killing Off SS Sedan
Saying Goodbye to America’s Four-Door, Three-Pedal, V8 Unicorn
It is indeed a sad day for America. We knew it was coming, but Alan Batey, GM North American President, has confirmed to Wards Auto that the Chevy SS sedan will cease to exist past 2017. If you are unfamiliar with this particular piece of awesome, the SS sedan is a rebadged Holden from Australia. It’s also the car that Chevy has been fielding in NASCAR for the past few years. It’s a full-size four-door that comes powered by the 6.3L V8 from the last-generation Corvette. It is also RWD and is available with a manual transmission. It is arguably one of the most enthusiast-oriented machines GM is producing.
Despite it being a wonderful enthusiast unicorn, sales are less than stellar. Chevrolet was barely able to move 3,000 units in 2016, and there were plans to shut down the Australian plant that builds the SS for years, but it doesn’t make this sting any less. The SS has lived such a strange and interesting life that we can’t help but be sad about its passing. It started life as the Pontiac GTO in 2004. From there it morphed into the Pontiac G8 sedan. Then, finally after the Pontiac brand was shuttered, the car was revived as the Chevrolet SS.
All heroes tend to come from troubled pasts, we suppose.
If you are in the market for a dynamic performance sedan that is a great American alternative to things like the BMW 5 Series, the SS is the best option out there right now. But production ends this year. And the stock likely won’t last past summer of 2018. So, start saving your pennies if you want to own one of these rigs.
As a side note, while we don’t recommend buying any car as an investment piece, it is not hard to imagine the SS gaining some pretty stout value in a decade or two when the world is electrified and the pleasures of a manual, V8 sedan are most desired.
