monaroCountry

2014 Chevrolet SS: A Sleeper Really Wakes up on the Track Written by: Elana Scherr on May 1 2014 4:32 PM Driving the 2014 Chevrolet SS is like meeting some boring middle manager for a lunch date and finding out they take part in those strong man competitions where flabby-looking men and women lift tree trunks over their heads and pull city buses with ropes of their own hair. Its performance far exceeds the mild promises of its exterior. Of course, when I was offered the chance to try out the SS on track at Sonoma Raceway in Sonoma, California, I should have been prepared for its tire-smoking, corner-chomping abilities. HRM staffer Brandan Gillogly called it “a four-door Camaro” in his 2014 Chevy SS first drive story back in 2013, and he meant it as a compliment. Chevrolet campaigns the SS in NASCAR, the only factory entry that’s anything close in real life to its rear-wheel drive race configuration. The course we’d be driving at Sonoma wasn’t the NASCAR version, but we’d be covering some of the same ground as the pros, and I had to remind myself that rubbin’ isn’t racin’ at a track day. Helping me evaluate the Chevy’s track manners was friend of HOT ROD, and occasional tire tester, Kevin Wesley. The SS looked a little out of place surrounded by Mustangs and Ferraris, but it held its own. Kevin liked the understated looks of the SS as soon as we saw it, pointing out the flared front fenders and describing it as “basic and to the point.” My first impressions of the SS were less than overwhelming. The exterior design sure is basic, basic “Car,” and I wouldn’t look twice if I saw one on the street. Open the door though (any of them) and the interior will slap you in the face for thinking the SS was just some bland-o commuter box sent to torment you by cruising at 55 in the fast lane. Leather and something suede-like intermingle on big, fashionable, adjustable buckets in the front, and the multi-material and contrast stitching carries through to a roomy back seat offering plenty of leg room, even for adults. The steering wheel is leather-wrapped and paddle-shifty, and the leather carries down to the traditional shifter as well. The 2014 is only available with the 6L80 six-speed automatic, but Motor Trend has hinted that a six-speed manual might be coming for the 2015 Chevrolet SS. That’s good news both for those who will actually buy a stick-shift car, and the vast majority who simply like to complain about the looming extinction of the three-pedal. She with the best helmet goes first. Also, nice seats. We drew straws to see who would go out first, and by that I mean, I grabbed the keys and left Kevin in the parking lot. With my limited track experience, and on the unfamiliar-to-me Sonoma Raceway, I can’t say I set any blistering lap times, but the sedan felt light and willing. I knew I wasn’t in a sports car, but it certainly wasn’t squiggling around like the jello-salad I had been expecting. The dual exhaust made it sound really good on-throttle, almost beefy enough to imagine we were in NASCAR trim, catching air over the berms in the chicane. Kevin took it out for the second session, and came back full of positive reviews. “I was expecting an understeering pig with an automatic I wouldn’t like,” he said, “but it’s surprisingly very neutral and I really like the paddle shift transmission. I had to be quick on the 1-2 shift, but other than that it really shifted very nicely. The little electronic rev match (on downshift) was cool. It’s very easy to rotate and toss into the corners. It definitely wanted to go faster than the tires that were on it, and the suspension was slightly floaty. If I were going to make this a track car, I’d have to put on stickier tires and more aggressive brake pads. Maybe some adjustable struts that you could dial in for track days. I wouldn’t slam it on the ground with coilovers. You need to keep the ability to drive the car every day and just drive it to the track on the weekends.” While Kevin and I were discussing the track aptitude of the SS, one of the corner workers came over for a closer look. “Is this the Impala SS?” he asked. “Just the SS,” we answered, and he said it looked good on the track. A few minutes later one of the other drivers came over somewhat sheepishly. He’d been in a McLaren, and wanted to figure out how Kevin had passed him in a sedan. I think he was hoping it was supercharged or heavily modified. A glance at the naturally aspirated 415hp 6.2L LS3, and 245/35-19 street tires sent him back to his turbocharged 600hp supercar with a little less swagger than he started out with. How much more miserable would the McLaren owner be if he knew that the SS is even more satisfying on the street? The visibility is very good, the interior is as comfortable as it looks and if you get the urge to shake up the neighborhood a bit, satisfying burnouts are just a traction-control-off button away. So who is the SS for? It’s not cheap, with a starting price of $43,475, and a nasty gas guzzler tax added on as punishment for eight cylinders worth of amusement. It’s quick for sure, and comfortable, but you’d get more attention, and more horsepower in Chrysler’s SRT 300, or even a Charger. Neither of the Pentastars though, can match the SS on weigh-in day, and you really can feel the benefit of being under 4000 pounds when it comes time to turn a corner, or even nab a clear spot in the next lane in Northern California’s evil traffic jams. We’d say the happiest buyer for the SS would be someone who wants a Camaro, but is being forced to compromise for family or business reasons. Basically, it’s the perfect car for a middle manager with a secretly exciting life. Read more: 2014 Chevrolet SS: A Sleeper Really Wakes up on the Track - Hot Rod Magazine Blog Follow us: @HotRodMagazine on Twitter | HotRodMag on Facebook

The commodore and its many variants doesnt need to sell that many in the USA since its already a very strong seller in Australia. Its also a very good and highly praised product in other countries, especially in the UK where they will get the 580hp version badged as the VXR8. The VXR8 and the GTS has been slugging it out with the M5 and AMG. GM should have just got Holden to produce a new platform for them instead of creating the Alpha platform. Even the 260kw ute Holden SS was just a few seconds slower than the hotted up Cadillac CTSVsport around the Nurbuirgring. The more potent 580hp HSV GTS (that outrun the AMG E63s around a track) may even give the Camaro a run for its money around the Nurburgring and should be in the low 7:30 min bracket.

Lexus IS-F racer actually a 2004 Opel Vectra DTM car? Posted Jan 21st 2008 4:57PM by Jonathon Ramsey Remember that luscious Lexus IS-F racer study that received its fair share of unrequited attention the Tokyo Auto Salon? According to AutoBild, it turns out the car isn't an IS-F racer at all -- well, at least not beyond the hood and fact that it has four doors. The German paper reports that the car is actually a Lexus reskin of a 2004 Opel Vectra DTM racer (above, top). Even the engine is from the Opel DTM car, and not a Toyota V8. This could explain why no one at the Lexus stand at the salon would say a word about the car. So Lexus might get away with never claiming it was a Lexus... cough, cough... but it's a bit odd that they would let Winding Road get the idea that it's the pet project of the IS-F's chief engineer, designed to show the true potential of Lexus' hot sedan and "something of what a full race IS-F might just feel like." Perhaps what a full-race IS-F might look like. Unless Lexus really intends for a full-race IS-F to feel like a 4-year-old Opel. Thanks for the tip, Georg! http://www.autoblog.com/2008/01/21/lexus-i...-vectra-dtm-car

Holden has increased its fleet prices and are now shying away from the fleet market. I guess toyota has taken up the slack with the Police department. The taxi rank has held off buying FWD Camry's, apparently FWD costs much more to maintain than their RWD commodore and falcon counterparts. Also notice that they compared it to the older version V8 powered FPV and monaro. The monaro is really only used for high visibility purposes and is not that powerful to begin with and is heavier than the V8 SS police sedans, the main police FPV strike weapon is not the V8 model but the I6 turbo model.

McDonald's ad made a meal of driving safety Christine Sams December 2, 2007 A McDONALD'S advertisement showing a carload of male teenagers ordering a drive-through meal is off the air after an investigation by an industry watchdog. The advertisement, which shows a P-plater who drives his friends to the fast food restaurant after getting his licence, will not be screened again following claims it promoted unsafe driving. After airing between November 4 and 12 it was investigated by the Advertising Standards Bureau. "I think it was one of the most complained about for the month,"Advertising Standards Bureau chief executive officer Fiona Jolly said. "The complaints made about this ad were that it depicted young boys driving in a manner that wasn't safe. The board noted that a carload of kids in the middle of the day isn't illegal but the board felt that the depiction of the kids really was contrary to all the public safety messages that are out there at the moment to young men on safe driving and safe behaviour in cars. They really felt that this was an ad that did breach the code." A McDonald's spokeswoman said it was a short-run campaign, with the advertisement only scheduled to screen between those dates in November. But it will never air again because of the ruling. McDonald's voluntarily follows the code of ethics set by the standards bureau. In NSW it is illegal for P-platers to carry more than one peer-aged passenger between 11pm and 5am. The McDonald's campaign shows the carload of teenage boys in daylight, but the complaints flowed in to the Advertising Standards Bureau. "We are killing more people every year on our roads yet McDonald's is promoting having fun behind the wheel, regardless if you can drive with any degree of real experience and confidence. It is just sending the absolute wrong message to our youth," wrote one complainant. Another said: "I am appalled … I feel this ad should never have been allowed to go to air." In defence of its advertisement, McDonald's filed a written submission that detailed its research for the campaign. "We also deliberately included a scene within the commercial where the mother voices 'Be careful' to her son upon handing her keys to him," said the McDonald's submission. The Advertising Standards Bureau ruled the advertisement breached Section 2.6 of the Advertisers Code, because it contradicted prevailing community standards of health and safety. http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/mcdona...6394682307.html

Why doesnt Lexus sell this car for $45k? Like the comments ive heard in the Buick Park Avenue thread. Why? because its a quality product.

This is one of the reason why Americans wont get this car. You expect all the features present in a $70+k BMW/Lexus, with handling better than the BMW and far better than Lexus, chassis balance better again than both, and are only willing to pay for $45k? Your dreaming, Holden can look for other customers willing to pay for their cars/CKD units at a reasonable price - in this case Buick China. The car basically gets designed by Holden shipped and assembled in China. Its a win win for both countries.....................sorry America your not part of it.

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Pictures up.....................garbage? I think not Look out Lexus, BMW and Merc

For those that might bad the VE based Pontiac G8, and claim that it resembles the Cadillac Catera Cadillac Catera Side Interior Front Holden VE and soon to be Pontiac G8 Side Interior Front

Dont change the front, we all know what happened the last time Pontiac changed the front of the monaro. Keep the design and change the badges.

Think of it this way. The new VE isnt styled for american tastes but for australians (which is closer to european tastes). A car like this should not have confusing styling themes i.e. the trans am or the mustangs. This car have many BMW lines and proportions, with the exception of the Bangled designs. In real life this car is imposing, sleek, classy and muscular.............this look is backed up by RWD layout and huge 6L (Gen4) engine.