Jump to content
News
Reviews
Discussons
Activity
Create New...
Close
  • William Maley
    William Maley

    By William Maley •

    Quick Drive: 2014 Chevrolet SS

      The Car That Came From Australia

    General Motors' track record with bringing and selling vehicles from Australia to the U.S. has been very checkered. All of the attempts see to have ambitious sales goals, and then not meeting them. GM hopes the third (or the fourth as some would argue) try might be it. That try is the 2014 Chevrolet SS.

    The SS got many criticisms for its exterior design and how blah it is. But let's be honest for a moment; the GTO and G8 (to a point) weren't really that exciting to look at either. Sure both models down the line (or trim line in the case of the G8) got bits and pieces that made them look more aggressive. To me, I think the SS looks great, especially in the black with the nineteen-inch aluminum wheels. The overall look adds a bit of a sleeper element to vehicle, which consider what lies under the hood is a very good thing.

    Speaking of which, under the hood lies a 6.2L V8 with 415 horsepower and 415 pound-feet of torque. This is paired up to a six-speed automatic which sends all of that power to the rear wheels. GM quotes a 0-60 MPH time of under five seconds and it feels that quick. Step on the accelerator and V8 roars into life and moves you at a rate that you cannot believe is possible in a big sedan. The six-speed automatic is quick and responsive, but some will be wishing for a manual transmission to add to the enjoyment.

    As for handling, the SS feels like a proper performance car. Body lean and roll are kept to a minimum and steering is very responsive. Now I kind of wished for a little bit more feel and weight with the steering, but overall I was impressed. The drawback for some is that the sport suspension tuning means an uncomfortable ride. I noticed that somewhat, but it wasn't that bad compared some other models.

    With an as-tested pricetag of $45,570 (includes a $1,300 Gas Guzzler Tax) and a load of standard equipment such as leather sport seats, Chevrolet's MyLink, keyless entry and start, and much more; the SS may be the charm that GM has been looking for.

    Disclaimer: Chevrolet Provided the SS for the MAMA Spring Rally

    Year: 2014

    Make: Chevrolet

    Model: SS

    Trim: N/A

    Engine: 6.2L V8

    Driveline: Six-Speed Automatic, Rear-Wheel Drive

    Horsepower @ RPM: 415 @ 5900

    Torque @ RPM: 415 @ 4600

    Fuel Economy: City/Highway/Combined - 14/21/17

    Curb Weight: 3,975 lbs

    Location of Manufacture: Elizabeth, Australia

    Base Price: $43,475

    As Tested Price: $45,770 (Includes $995.00 Destination Charge and $1,300 Gas Guzzler Tax)

    Options:

    N/A

    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.

    Go to articles

    User Feedback

    Recommended Comments

    balthazar

    General Motors gets undue critical pressure RE sales volume.

     

    Sure, if you're making a profit per vehicle, you make more profit, but GM (or any other maker for that matter) will never again see 50% marketshare, and crushing volume is not going to be the best indicator of 'success'. IOW, while volume projections for a particular model are all well & good, not meeting that goal does not mean the model was better off not being built.

     

    It just gets tiresome to so frequently read GM = huge volume... except these 'failures'.

     

    Was not the GTO production-volume / import restricted, and actually sold right up to that quantity?

    - - - - -

    I haven't seen an SS up close yet, have to see if my local dealer has one.

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites
    riviera74

    Sounds like what a lot of people have been waiting for.  Who needs 50% market share when higher profits and better cash flow are the real name of the game?

     

    As for the car itself, this is really great.  Now if only there were a 6cyl version to directly compete with the 300/Charger twins. . . . .

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites
    William Maley

    Sounds like what a lot of people have been waiting for.  Who needs 50% market share when higher profits and better cash flow are the real name of the game?

     

    As for the car itself, this is really great.  Now if only there were a 6cyl version to directly compete with the 300/Charger twins. . . . .

     

    Keep dreaming on that last part.

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites
    Z-06

    A couple of comments on the car:

    1. The car is 98% there. Two things missing that prevents SS from greatness - a) LT1 and b) 7-speed Tremec and/or 8-speed GM/Aisin auto.
    2. Dimensionally and performance-wise the car is really close to the CTS V-Sport. Yet both vehicles are distinct. If CTS-V sport gets 17/25 mpg, so should the SS. However, possibly due to aggressive transmission setup and having lower number of cogs, the vehicle is being handed the GG Tax.
    Link to comment
    Share on other sites
    David

    Is it possible that it has the transmission due to already being a produced auto for Australia and as such would require more work to upgrade the transmission?

     

    I would think if the transmission could handle the HP / Torque and it would get better gas mileage, then GM should have upgraded the transmission before importing it. This seems like a common sense upgrade that should have been applied before importing the engine. Or is it that GM needs to fulfill a contract and figure those that want the performance will pay the GG Tax and we get the contract fulfilled and if all sales go well then upgrade the Transmission in year two?

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites
    Z-06

    I do not think logistics is the issue. IIRC, transmissions and engines (V8s at least) for zeta cars are built in USA and shipped to Australia. That is why GTO power-train could be upgraded within 1 year of production or G8-GXP then had the 6.2, while other zetas did not have that engine.

     

    I think by 2018 SS in its current form will disappear as Australian production terminates, unless GM retools one of the Oshawa or Lansing lines and continues the production. There is a darn possibility that given GM mentality more resources won't be put in the car. Thus, the engine will not be changed and there may be some hollowness to the rumor of the car getting stick-shift.

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites
    Z-06

    It is more, I think about, not killing the sacred cows. I can see LT1 would have been held up for Corvette and such would be the case for the 8-speed due to it going in the Cadillac CTS first.

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites
    William Maley

    It is more, I think about, not killing the sacred cows. I can see LT1 would have been held up for Corvette and such would be the case for the 8-speed due to it going in the Cadillac CTS first.

     

    Also, I think GM's sales goal for the SS (which is 3,000 per year I think) doesn't make any sense to that stuff at the moment. Which is a shame, because I really think an eight-speed could do some wonderful things.

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites
    Z-06

     

    It is more, I think about, not killing the sacred cows. I can see LT1 would have been held up for Corvette and such would be the case for the 8-speed due to it going in the Cadillac CTS first.

     

    Also, I think GM's sales goal for the SS (which is 3,000 per year I think) doesn't make any sense to that stuff at the moment. Which is a shame, because I really think an eight-speed could do some wonderful things.

     

     

    Is 3,000 per annum a capacity restriction in the Victoria plant or GM's reluctance to build more?

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites
    William Maley

     

     

    It is more, I think about, not killing the sacred cows. I can see LT1 would have been held up for Corvette and such would be the case for the 8-speed due to it going in the Cadillac CTS first.

     

    Also, I think GM's sales goal for the SS (which is 3,000 per year I think) doesn't make any sense to that stuff at the moment. Which is a shame, because I really think an eight-speed could do some wonderful things.

     

     

    Is 3,000 per annum a capacity restriction in the Victoria plant or GM's reluctance to build more?

     

     

    More of the latter

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites
    Z-06

     

     

     

    It is more, I think about, not killing the sacred cows. I can see LT1 would have been held up for Corvette and such would be the case for the 8-speed due to it going in the Cadillac CTS first.

     

    Also, I think GM's sales goal for the SS (which is 3,000 per year I think) doesn't make any sense to that stuff at the moment. Which is a shame, because I really think an eight-speed could do some wonderful things.

     

     

    Is 3,000 per annum a capacity restriction in the Victoria plant or GM's reluctance to build more?

     

     

    More of the latter

     

     

    That is what I figured. Then GM is to blame for not giving this car a chance to be what it wanted the car to be. If executives make excuse that people didn't buy it, even though we offered a "great car", then they need to be "shown the light".

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites
    David

     

     

     

     

    It is more, I think about, not killing the sacred cows. I can see LT1 would have been held up for Corvette and such would be the case for the 8-speed due to it going in the Cadillac CTS first.

     

    Also, I think GM's sales goal for the SS (which is 3,000 per year I think) doesn't make any sense to that stuff at the moment. Which is a shame, because I really think an eight-speed could do some wonderful things.

     

     

    Is 3,000 per annum a capacity restriction in the Victoria plant or GM's reluctance to build more?

     

     

    More of the latter

     

     

    That is what I figured. Then GM is to blame for not giving this car a chance to be what it wanted the car to be. If executives make excuse that people didn't buy it, even though we offered a "great car", then they need to be "shown the light".

     

    AKA Show them the DOOR! We need young people who are willing to think long term on building quality auto's that people can love.

    They can be older people also as long as they are still willing to learn and change and not set in their way.

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites


    Join the conversation

    You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
    Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

    Guest
    Add a comment...

    ×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

      Only 75 emoji are allowed.

    ×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

    ×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

    ×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

    ×

  • google-news-icon.png



  • Community Hive Community Hive

    Community Hive allows you to follow your favorite communities all in one place.

    Follow on Community Hive

  • google-news-icon.png

  • Subscribe to Cheers & Gears

    Cheers and Gears Logo

    Since 2001 we've brought you real content and honest opinions, not AI-generated stuff with no feeling or opinions influenced by the manufacturers.

    Please consider subscribing. Subscriptions can be as little as $1.75 a month, and a paid subscription drops most ads.*
     

    You can view subscription options here.

    *a very limited number of ads contain special coupon deals for our members and will show

  • Similar Content

  • Posts

    • David
      Permanent Car Spotters

      By David · Posted

      Was driving so I could not snap a picture, but the local Kia dealership is clearly getting a ton of new EVs as two trucks went by, one with EV9's and the other with EV6's.
    • David
      2020 Land Rover Range Rover Sport SVR

      By David · Posted

      Congratulations, nice looking SUV, Hope all goes well for you with this as I can understand not wanting to have her get stuck with your kid in the car.
    • ccap41
      Random Thoughts Thread

      By ccap41 · Posted

    • trinacriabob
      Random Thoughts Thread

      By trinacriabob · Posted

      Happy Tax Day . . . whew
    • ccap41
      2020 Land Rover Range Rover Sport SVR

      By ccap41 · Posted

      Welp, we finally got rid of my wife's G55 AMG. I've talked about it here a few times but there was something inherently wrong with it. It had left her stranded at least 5 times and us once. Luckily everything was covered under an extended warranty, so it was minimal out of picket and the loaners were covered or just given to us via a couple different Merc dealerships. Anyway, after getting stranded once since we've had our lil baby, my wife finally had enough of it. I tried convincing her a year or two ago when the market was nuts to bail on it and just make a bunch off of it. That didn't happen, hahaha. When we got her G55 back about a month ago, we were looking for a replacement. She's been spoiled and had to have something of a luxury brand. She never said this but anything she'd look at had a luxury brand...of course.. She was stuck on the shape of the SUV and she hates how everything modern is bubbly or rounded. There's nothing "old school boxy" that's mainstream, really. I had her look at X5, GLE, Aviators, Q7 anything in that range. I ALMOST had her into an SQ7. We test drove one but there just weren't anything around us in the price and miles we were looking for. She didn't like the exterior of an X5, GLE, or GV80. @David She's a part of the "electric vehicles just aren't there yet" crew.  Well, after a lot of looking and she was getting more and more anxious about the lack of faith in her vehicle, we came across a 2020 Range Rover Sport SVR that she fell in love with and it was fairly local. Typically, we have no issue driving up to 5hrs one way for a vehicle we find for the right price. She had zero faith in doing that with her G55 at this point. So the range and available vehicles decreased by soooo much. Normally we'd have Chicago, Indianapolis, Memphis, Kansas City, Louisville as potential places to buy from.  2020 13,550 miles. SVR = 575hp, s/c 5.0 V8. All of the auto lane keep stuff, auto braking stuff, head-up display, heated cooled front AND rear seats, 4 zone climate control, massive sunroof (that we don't care about), active exhaust (that we LOVE - exhaust note was actually high on her priority list - her list was...confusing, to say the least). Apple CarPlay, all sorts of off-road goodies that we will never use, hahaha, air suspension,  I was waaaaay off of another all-black vehicles but, again, that was on her list. I hate the black maintenance and just how quickly it looks dirty/bad. I'm pretty sure I was all over the place with my little story but feel free to ask about any detail I probably skipped over, forgot, or jumped around and made confusing. 

  • Who's Online (See full list)

    • There are no registered users currently online

  • My Clubs

×
×
  • Create New...

Hey there, we noticed you're using an ad-blocker. We're a small site that is supported by ads or subscriptions. We rely on these to pay for server costs and vehicle reviews.  Please consider whitelisting us in your ad-blocker, or if you really like what you see, you can pick up one of our subscriptions for just $1.75 a month or $15 a year. It may not seem like a lot, but it goes a long way to help support real, honest content, that isn't generated by an AI bot.

See you out there.

Drew
Editor-in-Chief

I've whitelisted
Continue without support

Write what you are looking for and press enter or click the search icon to begin your search

Change privacy settings