Holden, the Australian subsidiary of gm manufactured the car in Australia. Even if the car was a success it was going to be discontinued anyway because Holden/GM stopped manufacturing the commodore after 2017 which ended cars being made in Australia. Instead we now import the commodore to Australia from Opel and it's been a giant flop. The commodore was the biggest selling car in Australia and Holden was king. Now Holden is a joke, literally.
@@mickman3582 How is that possible? I thought Holden is still a GM subsidiary. But Opel was sold off to PSA, so they are seriously rebadging cars from 'another' manufacturer?
ᴅᴇᴀʀ ᴍʀ. ɪꜱᴀɪᴀʜ ᴅᴇʀɪɴɢᴇʀ; the new ‘commodore’ is made by the Opel group in France (it’s literally the same car as the Buick Regal) however Holden just announced they have suspended production indefinitely, killing the commodore nameplate in the process. Which is fine by me as an Aussie as this new commodore was a generic front wheel drive sedan that had none of what made the original cars a motoring icon. All GM achieved was to make a formerly popular Aussie car name as popular as lance armstrong at a clean sporting convention, before killing it off.
I'm from Australia and only found out Chevy rebadged imported SS Commies this year. More to the point where are the utes? I've heard American buyers can't get enough of em.
@@adifferentangle7064 they did the same with the shitty monaro whatever year it was again as the pontiac gto - if that hadnt of failed so hard probably alot more commodores woul have been exported not just the last one
@@fordpower8024 fr im not even a minivan type of guy and i LOVE my chrysler pacifica s. Im not the only one either, all the funeral homes in my area use pacificas for coffin transport, except they usually have the plug in hybrid version
@@fordpower8024 Or you can get something better on gas and more practical for the average person. What benefits do you get with an SUV that you don't get with a minivan?
@@blue-tb2fd benefits with an suv better gas mileage, then a van, suvs are better for your money in the long run, most nowadays have third row seating fold it down for more storage, more comfortable, ride, suspension wise, turning and cornering is a lot better, SUVs have way more power than a van so they can climb numbers if you like speed, 99% of suvs are used by police departments, all that proves how utilitarian suvs are in their job I see more SUVs then minivans
Please read: -The hood vents are not fake, they help with cooling -The engine cover only says ‘V8’ in Australia too -The door sills are blank in Australia too -There is no Holden logo on the dash in Australia -Commodores don’t turn the reverse lights on when you lock/unlock in Australia -Skip shift is not activated in Australia -The Australian Holden factory closed forever in October 2017. And Toyota. And Ford in 2016. Australia now has no car industry and we’ve lost some of the best cars in the world (such as the SS in this video). Good review, Doug
alexaescht yer he definitely didn't bring up that the cars production was stopped because the issues in the Australian car production industry not just because of the SS
This car was not a failure. It was never meant to sell in large numbers. It was just GM getting what they could out of Australian production before the factory closed it's doors.
@@stivi739 that $30 AUD is $21.78 USD and that isn’t an absurd price to pay factory workers nowadays with how inflations going. as a wearhouse worker myself unloading trucks all day for 14 an hour i struggle to afford a lot of stuff now.
@@SBSanChill that's not a commodore, the one you're referring to is a European GMV insignia, with a commodore badge. I could walk outside now and put a commodore badge on a ford falcon, it doesn't make it a commodore.
@@TheNando1 Not really a joke, It's a name a European would associate with Nazi Germany and it would be a utter and total marketing disaster to release a car with that name. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schutzstaffel
I own a Malibu and if you'd told me that was a little newer version of it I would believe it. I like the styling, it's handsome and fine, just not bold enough for a $50K performance sedan.
I live a 20 min drive from the closed Holden factory. These cars were benchmarked against the BMW 5 series during design & production. That's why they drive so well and have nice neutral handling. They were much loved as the standard family car in Australia from the 1980's till early 2000's when manufacturing costs and fuel prices pushed them out of the top sales spot. The magna track suspension system was an incredible feature for such a low priced car. Aussie roads can be brutal outside the major cities, all our dirt roads have corrugations.
@@edwardfletcher7790 Scratchy cheap plasti panels that don't even fit together flush, and a roof lining that sags in a matter of months, yeah cause that's quality. 8 minutes and 19 seconds on the nurburgring for the bogan car vs the M5 Competiton, 7 minutes and 38 seconds. Says alot about "handling" in a Holden.
@@darthwindu9531 You're out of your mind ! Next you'll be saying it's crap because it's not as powerful as a Koenigsegg ! LoL You're quoting the lap time of the Commodore UTE ! The fastest tradie vehicle ever made ! Perhaps you should compare it to the F-150 or Hilux lap time ? Is Great Wall testing at the Ring yet ? Of course Nurburgring lap times are so relevant to Australian driving conditions.... LMAO 😂 Cretin
I remember going to a Chevy dealer in 2014 when SS just came out, I asked if I could see one and the salesman did not even know what I was talking about. He thought I was talking about a Camaro SS
@Kingy88 yeah, imagine the gtsr w1 appearance over there.....quite aggressive in my opinion. If they sold a few might have justified the different plastic.
As stated, this is the Holden Commodore in Australia. It came in 3 variants. The standard Commodore, the 'S' (both of these V6 engines) and the 'SS' being the V8. It came as a Sedan, a Station Wagon and a Ute. Very popular family car. It spawned a big rivalry between Ford and Holden, producing a racing class being The V8 Supercar series. Unfortunately both these companies no longer manufacture cars in Australia. The series now sports Mustangs vs Opel (rebadged Holden). Both V8's of course...
it probably depends on how much detail you want to go into - Evoke, SV6 (not 'S'), SS, SS-V SS-V Redline, Calais, Calais V. Sedans, Wagons, Utes. Then there's the HSV variants - Clubsport, GTS, GTSR, Maloo, Senator Signature.
he mentioned how comfortable it was and how he could drive for miles in it, that's because everything in australia is 8 hours away from everything else
the Doug- I am seriously confused as to how you don't know that the SS is only here because GM made an agreement with the Holden factory to bring some of the cars here to keep the factory doors open. This was not a test. No one at GM thought these would sell because they were never planning to market it. And they didn't. The factory closed in 2017 according to the plan. There are no more Aussie made Holden Commodores made either. It's not a flop. We just got a few of them because the factory was closing and they were just making sure the unions still had their jobs up until the last day. They needed to make X number of cars to give all the workers enough to do. I can't believe how few journalists know this.
its general motors, dont be surprised, they dont even tell people their buying an aztek C7 made by the same guy who made pontiacs look terrible and sell awful.
Not only that but the did what they've alway done. Priced them out of raange of the average Joe that wanted it. Add in the list of standard options that you can't delete if you want a stripped down model & NO PROMOTION, you have a "flop". They did the same with the SSR. Plus they made that one totally useless as a Truck.
Rizzo- That's right. And if you consider that all the people who manufacture and install the higher trim parts ALSO needed to keep their jobs until the pre-planned factory closing, you can see that it makes sense that these cars would have all options ticked. It really is so strange to me that we were told from the beginning that they would stop making the SS in 2017, but now everyone seems to think that it's lack of demand that led to the end of production.
also forgotten; The Monaro was sold as the Pontiac GTO in the US but because of Union rules in the US they were only imported in small numbers, I imagine that the same is here.
This car is amazing. But it falls into a gray area for consumers. People who want a muscle car want a loud in your face flashy car, not an undercover sedan. And someone who wants an unassuming sedan doesn't necessarily want a huge V8 and a manual transmission.
@@lucasw2880 I definitely would prefer this over a loud flashy in your face car, that's not my style but I still love performance cars, especially sedans and wagons. Drove a 5 series bmw with the v8 for years and always loved blowing away obnoxious looking cars. If these weren't so ridiculously priced right now I'd consider a used one but to me it's just not a 40-50k dollar used car. I've thought about one of the late model gto's, I like the subtle styling of them.
@@ourtime-downhere6931 I used to sell cars for Mercedes Benz. And it was interesting that not a lot of people bought the AMG models (The real deal AMG models not just the AMG trim package). Only a select few did, even though most of the folks walking in could more than afford it. But when it came to people who bought the G-Wagon, almost ALL of them bought the AMG G63 model. I rarely saw anyone buy the base model G550. Because if your going to spend $150k on a G-wagon, you might as well get the AMG version for another $20-$30K. When the G65 (V12) came out, people were lined up to throw their 1/4 of a million dollars down on that G-wagon. Craziness...
It's a muscle with class. The SS is amazing a rwd V8 sedan with all the luxuries. The problem is it's awkward in America, it's not American but checks out as American muscle and its not euro but it checks out as a euro car. They could have also badged it as a Buick regal hell it could have been a new gnx
It was just called SS. It needed a better name. Plus, it wasn't advertised very well. Not many people even heard of this car. I liked the car. Unfortunately, me liking it alone doesn't help a great car sell. It's a shame.
Is it just me or do you feel like the price is a little bit of the downfall as well. Because used there going for the same amount as used scat packs so it’s like why choose this over the charger
@@therealdjaux5184 I’d chose this because it’s more of a sleeper. No extra attention from cops. You could rev that shit as they go by and they’d never guess it came from you lmao
Chevy SS: 4 door sedan, plenty of room for taller passenger, blind spot assist, parking assist, great trunk room for groceries or decent luggage Doug Demuro: Practicality... 5 out of 10
@@mydemon wtf else is more practical "ugh this car doesn't have heated cup holders, what is this the stone age" do you know what practical means, it means is it good at being a normal car for everyday use
@@heres.ray64 A minivan is a 10 in practicality score. The SS cannot transport 8 people and their cargo. Everything you listed is part of features, not practicality. A S-class with every available feature will still get a 5 in practicality because vehicles like SUVs and Minivans exist.
@@heres.ray64 you're fundamentally misunderstanding this particular scoring system. Noone said the DpugScore was perfect or even useful. At first, I was like you, it didn't make sense. But over time I have come to appreciate it. In essence it is pitting all cars against all cars. For example, take the best-RAV4 money can buy - it will still score poorly in many aspects because the acceleration is compared to the fastest ferrarris and the interior will be compared the Bugatti Veyron and such. That's the only way to have one raring system compatible across many very different cars. Otherwise you would have absurd comparisons with high-end Toyotas scoring more than certain luxury cars. If you don't like this system or find it useful feel free to find other TH-camrs that work better for you.
TBH his whole scoring system is pretty stupid and arbitrary. I enjoy his videos nonetheless but you can't take someone seriously who thinks 0-60 is a vehicle's performance benchmark, or marks down older vehicles on "features" because they don't have useless crap like back-up cameras or parking assist.
@Silver N Black Mopar yeah so abandoning the US market for the sake of model consolidation is a smart business move in your view? I have no problem with US companies selling overseas but the US market is still worth their time.
GM pulled out here because the government stopped giving them handouts. Unlike the USA the market here is not protected from imports. Holden is failing as a brand as a result. In part as well because Isuzu are now their own entity.
Every one was embroidered differently depending on the model it was going into. There was about a dozen different variations from memory, maybe a little more.
Its basically a Chevrolet . Holden stoppped making the ORIGINAL Holden back in the 1950z So GM jumped on board and instead of calling it a Chevrolet they kpet the dead and buried name. Was a terrible car in many ways and were always being recalled for inheritent problems
as an aussie who sees these cars every day its so weird to think they are like a neiche car in america lol. the ss commadore was built by aussies for aussies though so no wonder chevy didnt advitise it that much in the state's
Horace Hunter so were the chevelles. and even so they could bring either of them back as sedans. just like dodge did with the charger since the original chargers were coupes only
Anything would've been better than the "SS". Heck, it's even difficult to google search it because it just shows the Camaro SS or similar. Real bonehead marketing move.
Jeffrey Jung it just seems they didn’t care for this car to be successful. which sucks cause its a good car, they could’ve continued updating it to compete with the hellcat
Hi Doug😊 Living in Australia and working in the auto industry I have a ton of experience working on these cars so I thought I would put my two cents worth in. The windscreen washers on the Commodore are integrated into the wipers so that under bonnet system is unique to the US market. Also the SS stitching on the dash is the same here so no cheap cover up was done and the reverse lights don't turn on when you lock/unlock the car. Our Commodore SS also did not come with MRC. That was reserved for top spec HSV models. We also got three versions of the car, the SS, the SSV and the SSV Redline so if you wanted a stripped out version or all the fruit, the choice was yours. Love the channel,keep up the great work👍
I think it's a gts rebadged. For those playing at home ss is Holdens top model .Then above that the hsv models sort of like amg for merc. They badged it ss for USA brand recognition
The scuff pads without the manufacturer or model name embossed onto it is common for all variants in this Holden/Chev line up, mine are blank like yours. You can get SS ones I think but as an option or aftermarket. The engine covers are also pretty generic for us too, they just say V6/V8. As for the SS monogram on the passenger side, it's not covering a Holden logo. The Aus version has SSV monogrammed into that position. Line for line the Aus and US versions are the same thing, only very minor aesthetic changes really.
More like GM: *kinda wants to sell the car... maybe* Also GM: *kinda doesn't want to sell the car because of their fickle thinking and habits and that it came from the foreign outcast brand they own* Result: *GM puts the car on sale but doesn't advertise or promote it with no effort for localization to suit the market because they don't want it to sell too well so it can die off and avoid outshining their crappy domestic lineup*
These cars were sold in only a certain amount in this Country. That's why they weren't well advertised at all, I mean that's what also makes them super rare! I don't know about you, but I'd rather have something that you don't see much at all which catches people's attention plus I'd rather have something that everyone and their grandmother doesn't have...lmao!!!
GM also does the same with its hi end Cad cars. Certain "performance" models just die off. Likely because of hi price, bad quality control/reliability, and no support from GM for warranty repairs.
There will be no Holden logo under embroidered SS logo because aussie version has steering on that side ... thus us dash is completely different to aussie one
Hi Doug, always watch everything you testdrive. Here are some corrections on your assumptions. 1. Chevy SS is based on the Holden SS V8 Omega. 2. The Holden Factory in Australia closed in October 2017. This is the reason why the Australian made Chevy SS was discontinued. 3. Door sill on the Holden is blank too. 4. Passenger side dashboard is blank. Incudentally, Australian has Right-hand drive, not left like in the US, Canada, Europe. 5. Plastic engine cover says V8 only in the Holden, just like the Chevy. Hope that helps
THANK YOU!! WE HAVE A WINNER! Better than all this guessing this guy did. He could have at least done some research and looked up the Australian car first. So much for journalism these days.
z352kdaf8324 i suppose i should correct him on other cars as well. Have grown up with Top Gear, and there really isn't that much more entertainment out there.. Holdens are popular in Australia and New Zealand especially as a copcar.
The SS is a mature understated sedan for people who prefer substance instead of style. If you want fancy illuminated door sills instead of an engaging driving experience then get a German turbo 4-cylinder...
I'm in Australia the holden ss has a v8 symbol on the plastic engine cover so they didn't change any stamps in the end saving them money. The commodores have been icon for us its sad we never got to see it take off in the US
Why would there be a holden logo behind the embroidery on the dash? That dash is only made for the left hand drive car and you can't get the holden as left hand drive.
It failed because it wasn't made for America? Come to Australia and New Zealand and every second car is a Commodore. Even the Police drive SV6 Commodores here in NZ
The light issue you mentioned in the video is really clever actually. It actually turns on all of the lights. Its so you can verify on your own whether or not you have an out light without having to have someone else sit in the car and flip switches and press the brakes, or without the need to go back and forth.
Yeah, I wish cars had a "Light Test" button. I've been pulled over for a bad brake light that I had no idea it was out because I could never see it when on. My other thought is turning on the backup lights helps you find and navigate to and from the car in a dark parking lot.
Randy NoLastName google Barra turbo and you’ll get over it. It’s dumb really, Ford Australia had a car here that was perfect replacement for the crown vic and a performance alternative to the gay mustang.
Toochee Downs well sheet, it seems to me it woulda been more insulting if you’d just said nothing. gaf what you think, you’ve got nothing to add to the conversation.
Indeed. Not quite total Ford enthusiast (own 5 cars, 72 mini ls clubman, 79 XC 351c, 83 XE 351c, 99 VS 350, 00 MX5 worked (turbo)) but totally could not understand why the yanks didn't take to our down under v8 rear wheel drive sedans. Shit, our cars go around corners (left or right) have shittons of power, and the legs to take you long distances in comfort. Australia is the epitome of the tyranny of distance, we (used to) build cars capable of comfortably transporting you between those long distance destinations, how TF did North Americ not notice.
@@TheMDHoover cause 'Merica. Haha. Nah, I think generally they struggle to see/think outside their own sphere. If it's too foreign, it can't be trusted. Saw a different vid talking bout the Tesla truck, and the dude mentioned that a lot of Americans will by one car/brand for life, without trying alternatives. Eg. First car was an F150, and they will buy F150's till the day they die, cause that's what they know.
They will never make a car like this again. Glad you enjoyed it and thanks to the generations of families on the production plants (e.g Elizabeth South Australia) who lost their livelihoods overnight.
Doug.... Love your videos but... why would there be a Holden logo under the SS dash stitching when Holdens are right hand drive? There would normally be a steering wheel there...
I agree. Watching this again, and thinking that parts aren’t different - the engine cover and the door sills don’t say Holden, it’s literally the same here in Australia
The door sills and engine covers are just GM Holden export-proofing their lineup for sale outside of Australia as Chevrolets and Buicks. The weird stitching, however, is just GM's attempt at "luxury".
The Holdens were sold in the middle east as a Chevy and were all left hand drive. Some may have been sold in Africa (right hand) and South America (left hand) for a couple of years.
Doug DeMuro I worked in a prominent Chevy dealership in new car sales during this car’s time. I often times would take the SS home over the Camaro SS because it was essentially a Camaro in Malibu clothing. It was within fractions of a second performance wise (stoplight to stoplight and on the streets ) I did like it because of its “sleeper” ability. You’re right….. most people had no clue what it was and thought they were sitting beside a 6 cylinder Malibu until you embarrassed them when the light turned green. I either missed it or you didn’t mention the fact that it was a Camaro power plant under the hood. But ultimately, I too decided that if I was paying nearly 45-50 grand for that level of performance, I’d rather spend my $$$ on the Camaro than a sleeper Malibu. The Camaro was still better overall performance and for nearly the same money you got better performance and the Camaro’s sinister styling
When this car first came out, I honestly thought it was a special edition of the Impala (kind of like the Impala SS of the mid-90s). I didn’t realize it was a completely different model until a couple of years ago.
This car just popped in my head today, I remember when they first came out how it was one of the more appealing cars I had seen. I only saw one on the road to this day, probably around 2017, it pulled right passed me on the highway...sounded amazing and looked even better. I remember thinking, how is it that the Camaros sell thousands times more than it?....and never saw another one since...damn shame.
Jose Vega i know a little bit about cars but i dont do a lot of research unless im making a purchase generally. With that said, i have never even heard of this car before just now.
I seen a black one of these outside a restaurant about a year ago. IT sounded so awesome and looked amazing. This car is NOT bad, just didnt sell great.
I've always seen it on the lot but it's usually just 2. The car is WELL MADE. But if I wasn't on budget I would of gotten this as a luxury car. The body is a little ugly tho.
It was not a flop, GM never intended to sell it, it was just made to respect a contract. GM never marketed it, they literally didn't want you to buy one. They even refused to sell the SS to rental fleets. It was never mean to sell, let alone succeed, it was a contractual obligation. If you own one, be proud, it's a good car.
Sir you are point on.. this car is originally the GTO with some different styling modifications. the original GTO we have now was assembled and Sold in Australia. the assembly line was completely dismantled and shipped to Kansas City. GM removed one of the old assembly lines for an old model they stopped building and installed the entire assembly line from Australia to build the GTOs here. the SS Impala was never meant to be built in the first place it was just a temporary filler because of the Australian people demanded the car. really they sold some here ? it was never meant to sell. All that being said I absolutely love this car when it first came out watched all the reviews went down and drooled on one but the price made me pull my tail in and go home lol
Jonathan Paulin So so true, GM really didn’t want the competition from Holden, but one thing that most Americans don’t know is that GMH (which is General Motors Holden) is a sub company of General Motors Chevrolet.
Unfortunately with the writing on the wall for Holden in Australia being before 2014, when these were released in the US, production probably would've ended regardless of sales over in the US.
Yeah that's something they miss. They act like if it sold decently holden in the US would keep production. By 2014 the next Holden was known to be a global model, they would've have continued the Zeta platform from the VE, it was just a question of it we would make the Opel based Holdens domestically.
Probably wouldn't have had a Holden logo under the embroidery on the dash because in Australia they would have made the dash to suit a right-hand drive car.
9:18 actually in Australia there’s a wagon and a Ute/utility sport version of this car. edit: there’s also there’s a two door version called the Monaro there much more expensive also extremely cool
I had no idea this car existed....I have driven nothing but GM muscle my whole life. My first car was a 1994 25th Anniversary Trans-Am LT1 V8 w/6-speed I got in 1998 at 17. I went to a 2002 Firehawk Trans-Am after that, and so on. My last car was a 2012 SS Camaro that I drove until last year. I tried to like the new SS Camaro, I truly did. I just couldn't see out of the damn thing and it was far too European looking...oh and skip shift is annoying! I hate, hate, hate, hate it. I begrudgingly looked at other options (never a Ford) and came close to getting a C6 Vette. I finally stepped out of Chevy's embrace and went with a 2018 Stinger Yellow Dodge Challenger RT+P SCAT and I freaking love, love, love it! However, had I known about this car I may have stayed with GM. Too bad we'll never know... Addendum- I want that key fob holder in my car. I'm a teacher and therefore I have so many freaking keys/extra junk on my ring that it would be nice to put it somewhere. Typically, since drinking or eating in my car warrants a death sentence (I'm not kidding) I just huck the pile of mismash nonsense in my cup holder.
I loved the video. I used to work in the Holden Elizabeth Vehicle Assembly Plant. The Chevy SS was, for us, the Holden Commodore SS. The SS was luxury/sport model of Commodore with Commodore Executive being the base model, Commodore Berlina, Calais, S (The sport model based on executive trim). The SS trim and inclusion were based on the Calais. The US got pretty much the exact same trim and features as the Australian SS. Perhaps GM should have sold the S model in the US. There were V8 S models, but they were rare, mostly the S model got a supercharged V6. I just want to note the SS embroidery is how they come. The embroidery on the dash is standard for the SS in Australia too. And the Commodore never had badges on the engine cover or footplates. One interesting thing that the US Chevy SS got that we didn't in Australia is the exhaust. That exhaust was specifically developed and tuned by GM for the Pontiac GTO. They carried it over to the Chevy SS and specifically the pops and bubbles when you take your foot off the accelerator as well as the deeper growl were not a feature of the Commodore SS. The Chevy SS exhaust does not pass Australian noise pollution laws. I remember being on the factory floor we all knew when a GTO and later an SS had just reached the end of the production line, that first ignition of a brand new car off the line always lit up smiles throughout the entire factory floor. That growl... OMG. One final reminiscence: A supervisor on the line bought himself a Commodore SS. When his Commodore was scheduled for assembly he walked the line with his car being built and helped and supported all the production workers in each cell along the way. He made sure the vehicle was fitted with Chevy Badges and had it programmed with the Chevy infotainment OS for the real Chevy SS inside feel. The vehicle went through QA and nothing unusual was noted it went through dealer delivery and again nothing unusual was noted. For some strange reason a mechanic on the vehicles first service asked the service manager how a left hand drive Chevy SS could exist. It got rolled up the line and senior Holden management got involved. The vehicle was impounded by Holden and eventually crushed. The supervisor was sacked and his money was refunded. So there's an interesting story, possibly the only factory-built left-hand drive Chevy SS was on Australian roads for a month or two. Imagine that.
That's an amazing story, and sad! I have seen a number of SS here in Dallas TX area with Chevy badges replaced by Holden badges, which is a pretty good look and not just for the exclusivity, IMO. Too bad it worked out that way for the supervisor, that's a raw deal (even if not entirely unpredictable for a giant corporation, it's a d*ck move for sure).
To be fair to the g8, GFC swatted the poor thing with Pontiac. This one, IMO, looks like it was intended as a rerun of the g8. But then the LNP got in, refused support for Holden and AU manafacturing was canned by GM. Just wasn't a point in properly pushing a car that wouldn't have a successor
True. They just rebranded these cars from Australia but US didn’t like the looks. But I love em all. And the thing I love best about my GTO is I rarely ever seen them. Rare car and good power.
my mother in law sold my deceased FIL's 1957 e code Thunderbird to a guy in Australia, I might have to return the favor and get a Holden SS from Australia
There is at least one company in the US which imports Holdens & HSV's. They mostly do utes, but they also do some sedans & wagons. The wagon is a very good looking, practical car & is available in upspec lixury/sports configs similar to the SS. www.lefthandutes.com/gallery.html
I would disagree on the significance factor, this car is the last car ever designed and built by Holden Australia and the Commodore being an absolute icon down under, and this being the vf Commodore which was a face lifted ve Commodore not only was is exported as the Pontiac G8 but it was the billion dollar baby of Holden and it is the chassis of muricas beloved Camaro... You're welcome
Sleepers can be more fun than an equally powerful "fast" looking car; knowing that you can go from grocery run to unidentifiable blur at any moment is always entertaining. Sad to see subdued styling disappearing from new model lineups.
I knew someone with a poop brown sleeper Mitsubishi Mirage that was heavily turbo'd to over 400hp... lol. It was one hell of a sleeper back in the day.
Exactly my first thought. I just discovered this car and when I saw a listing for a used one, I thought it was a typo. SS what? That’d be like Chevy releasing a truck called the LTZ or SLT. There was definitely a reason behind all of their decisions.
As I sit here in my home office in Australia, having just arrived home from driving my 10 year old Holden Commodore SS V8 manual, I came across your video and thought it was worth 22 minutes of my time to watch , mostly to see how Americans talk about us down under but also intrigued by the car we supposedly exported to the US, there haven't been many cases of this happening in the past. I think it's fair to say GM is a big part of why the car you showcased in your video has ended up being the way it is. I would also assume GM is the reason the car was not marketed in the US. The Holden factory in Australia was recently closed and I suspect GM decided a long time ago to off-load a bunch of cars into the US market knowingly there will not be a follow up model. The new Holden Commodores are now made in Germany, are hatch-backs, V6 based, front-wheel drive, and manual is not even an option. The car you are driving in this video is the best we have ever made and unfortunately the last. It's a sad sad time in Australian Motoring, we grew up idolising the Holden as a pure bred Australian muscle car, even our Jingle bells song references the good old Holden ute (look it up) with a Kelpie in the back. RIP you amazing Aussie icon, we will love you until the last one of your breed fades away to rust heaven.
Some of us up here do appreciate these cars made down under.Unfortunately most people with kids op for an suv. The younger people are in love with the asian imports. So sad. Just know l love the Gm ss and the gto. I just do not get.
Get it , that is. You get alot for the money. We just did not hear about these cars. Some people still do not know that they were even offered.Poor marketing no doubt. Sad state of affairs. I grew up driving V8 cars.
I am not in Australia. But here in America people are lazy and suck at driving therefore they hate manual cars. And therefore car makers don't make them because they don't sell. Is Australia also getting away from manuals?
I grew up in NZ and I swear Holden commodore was the dream car of almost every boy growing up. Back then, I thought Ford and Holden were NZ and Australian companies lol. In my late teenage years, I moved over to the states and was exposed to a whole range of cars from all over the world. Looking back at the commodores, they are absolutely hideous!!!
I wonder if the Holden is sold under that name anywhere else with a left-hand drive… Otherwise yes the steering wheel is on the right side and there would be no logo there at all.
Spencer D ya charger will have trouble catching it around corners that rite ya only have straight roads over there ya need to watch Bathurst in Australia because they are the winners
That’s the thing, Chevy never advertised the car. It didn’t stand a chance with no ads and it leased like crap. If you could’ve gotten one without all the luxury features and MSRP was under $40k, I bet it would’ve done a lot better.
Jon Doe no I’m sorry but no V6 impala is keeping up with any SRT model point blank even the slower first gen srt models run mid 13s to mid 12s 1/4 , the new scatpacks run can easily run into the high 11s.
Take most of the electronics off and add AWD and this would sell so fast. Drop most of that unnecessary garbage. 60 or 65 percent power to the rear with wider tires and this car would be it.
I have the 2017 in white with the manual and it is a wonderful car to drive and listen to. While I keep hearing that the styling is "boring" in reviews, I have received numerous positive comments, looks and thumbs up. If fact, my regular barber shop emptied out (including the barbers) to look at, and hear, the car when I first got it. The hood vents are NOT fake, but the side vents are.
Honestly these are pretty badass. It’s similar to the G8 which I always loved. Plus I’d much rather hear one of these fly by then a Toyota Corolla, a 5 series bmw or some other relatively boring sedan.
I get shit for what I spent on a new CTS-V. "Why didn't you get an M5, e63, etc, etc." Because I didn't want to. I wanted a sedan that could go faster than a McLaren. So there. I love your choice in car. I think it's awesome. I think it's gorgeous, muscular, and sounds amazing.
Smminco. Thanks. I think that Cadillac in making some of the best sport sedans in the world, but most people are sheep. It takes time to change minds and return Cadillac to its glory years. The CTS-V and the ATS-V were both in my mind when I was car shopping, but I got such a good deal on the SS that it was a no- brainer to buy it.
bring the ute to the US and Chevy would've had a new El Camino. there's a company called Smyth, they have ute kits. look them up and see what they came up with for the charger.
I have the SS Starwagon, the station wagon version of that sedan. It is a gorgeous car and it really goes especially with a 500 kilo load in the back to hold the rear wheels down on the road.
Daughter moved to Australia and bought the wagon. Put a Magnuson Supercharger on it! Had the Magnuson on her SS while in the US then transferred it to the new car when she emigrated to Australia.
This got me too - the whole video gives the impression the car left the production line with Holden branding, and someone then goes around covering it up.
Actually he's a bit wrong throughout - in the VE Commodore (that the Pontiac G8 was based on) the handbrake was set up for LHD, and on the Australian RHD spec cars we just had to deal with it - it was planned as an international model from the get go. Originally, GM's plan was to have the commodore sold in multiple international markets - even as a large SAAB for Europe?! but these plans fell through thanks to the GFC. The VF that morphed into the Chevy SS was the last of the line, and GM gave Holden very little budget to develop the car, hence there are relatively few custom bits on it to differentiate it from the Commodore, although why more bits weren't used from the Camaro - which is also a variation of the Commodore underneath - is a bit of a mystery.
I think the main reason the Chevy SS didn't sell well was GM's lack of marketing. I bet GM would've sold way more SS's if they ran even a few ads about it. Instead, people who never knew about this car who otherwise would've bought it, didn't.
It wasn't supposed to sell mega numbers. Where do you people get off thinking it was supposed to sell 1,000s per month? The target was 100 a month and that was achieved and then some.
If they advertised it and drove more desire it would have sold the same amount of units. They only made 12k on purpose. They only imported what they needed to sell.
The investment to bring the car to the USA was already made with the Pontiac G8, When Ponitac was killed off the car moved to Chevy. Not giving the car a name was a major marketing mistake.
In my eyes, the most under rated car today. It was Chevy's hidden gem and I liked it that way. People talk about wanting manufacturers to make sleepers, but they slept on this?
christian sylvia lol those body modes make a big difference, when looking at the vehicles side by side, plus bigger wheels,bigger brakes, different suspension. interior with different sports seats , different options and different drive options. Different exhaust system, super charged kits for the engine. Plus more. 100% they would have sold more, cause the car just looked tougher.
@@condidilis9621 and with the price difference you could buy an ss then spend 50k on it and still be cheaper than an hsv and blow a hsv off the road while still costing less than a hsv.
This car failed because no one knew what it was. They did next to zero advertising for the car actually is. People know Chevy SS as a trim level of an existing car. Not an individual car.
@@MS3DALE Personally, based on how things went down, I think they had intended it as a retry of the G8 thanks to that being screwed by the GFC. But thanks to circumstances in Aus (Aus Gov denying any financial assistance for Holden after the LNP got power in the 2013 election) manafacturing was basically forced into closure and thus putting effort into making it Chevys flagship sedan would've been wasted. Holden had a nasty run those few years. G8 was intended to have a Ute varient but got screwed, even the sedan version barely got a run thanks to the GFC.
Doug, the engine cover in this Chevy ss is the exact same as a Holden commodore both dont have any badging, and why would the ss embroidered badge be covering a holden badge because holdens are right hand drive, and the inner doors dont have any holden badging in australia either, and ss does come in wagon and ute in australia aswell as sedan. Stuffed up in a bit of basic research
i hate how they come on when you start the car on every goddamn GM vehicle so someone can be sitting in the parking spot in park looking like they're about to reverse out and you sit there waiting for them like a fuckin dumbass
I have a 2011 Chrysler minivan that has all the features that car has except the cooled seats, and it has automatic headlights and wipers. You just get in and drive....it does everything else for you. Sure it's only just over half the horsepower, and drives like a van....but I need to carry stuff, and cops don't even glance at it.
Failed as US Auto unions threatened action to stop it getting shipped to the US. That’s the reason why over 20 years various Commodores were supposed to go to the US but GM bottled it each time
Its not an ugly car , the fact of the matter is , that it lacks looks altogether lol. if you owned a white or silver one you could park it in the rental car return parking lot at an international airport for a month and no one would notice. Its a 4 door practical 400hp sleeper you can park at an airport for free.
There is a lot about this car you don't know. Let me sum it up. 1) the only reason the G8 and SS even came stateside was because of a trade agreement. Holden had to export x number of vehicles per year. 2) gm didn't market this car on purpose. Due to high labor costs and unfavorable exchange rates, there was almost no profit selling it stateside. A lot of choices were made so gm wouldn't lose money on the deal, and cutting marketing was an easy decision to make. 3) it was not supposed to sell in volume. Again, there was no money to make here. If GM wanted to profit as much as a Silverado, they would have had to sold this car for almost $60,000. With all that in mind, it didn't fail. It did exactly what GM wanted it to do. The point was never to sell them and make money; the point was to fulfill a trade agreement, and later for racing in NASCAR. Had gm actually cared about selling this car in the US, they would have built it on this side of the pond to reduce cost.
theodorekell That's part of my point. GM didn't want to mess with it. It was 100% trade agreement based. They sold it here so they didn't get fined. They didn't want to make money because doing that would have required extensive investments they were prepared to make.
The SS was not a sales winner but it was bad ass. Thank Holden for this gorgeous car. No marketing = poor or no sales. I had one stop next to me at a red light years ago and I had no clue what it was. Great video Doug !
I really don’t know why people didn’t buy it and even bought more corvettes and Camaros than this caprice, as the caprice was just as powerful yet twice the practicality
@@TopG800 at that time there was a push for smaller cars. Using less fuel. And now everyone had cars twice the size using more fuel. 4wd built for dirt with leaf springs in the rear as the family car haha
the vents on the hood are functional. the ss embroidery is not covering anything because that is where the steering wheel goes in Oz. the plastic engine cover is the same for Holden so there is no badge missing. the skip shift is to save on gas guzzler tax ($1000. still sucks).
actually the ss logo is on the passenger side in oz too, and the door strips are blank as well . A notable difference ,I own a ssv redline, is the mags.In Aus they're black ,which looks far meaner than the silver and helps make the styling more aggressive ,oh and no skip shift here either. if you're considering one, test drive one, they are brilliant for the price, very engaging
Just a little gas will turn skip shift off. In my other chevys with skip shift I could just lean it back into first to turn of the skip shift then into second. It's really no big deal. It sounds worse than it is, and its easy to remove. It can be programmed out or unplug the solenoid from the trans in put a resistor in to keep the ecm from throwing a code.
John Becker- I have the dongle to turn it off, but I don't want to install it until I'm out of warranty as my dealer gave me a little friendly warning. You can't always give it gas because there are, every so often, people driving in front of you. Maybe that doesn't happen in your town. The scenario is usually that I am making a left turn and the person in front of me gives it a little too much gas and then lets off, so I get a false positive for how much speed we are going to be carrying through the turn. I accelerate and then slow down as my hand is shifting. No chance to do anything about it and now I am actually slowing down and can only shift into 4th.
Chevy didn’t cancel. They stopped making it in Australia, mainly because its not economical to make cars here anymore. Bit of research may serve you well. Chevy basically did zero marketing on the SS, and they sold more than they expected to. Also bonnet vents are functional. Embroidery guess? Wrong.
RandomUser M Butthurt? What even does that mean? Not up with the schoolyard lingo. And no, I was just stating facts that can easily be found in a google search if Doug wanted to put some time into his work.
Great video and you hit the nail on the head - both Holden and Ford Australia never had the balls to design a truly agressive mean looking car on those V6/V8 RWD platforms (Commodore and Falcon) like they used to in 70's they reverted to bland designs intended for families and taxis and that was part of their downfall. They did OK with some HSV/FPV editions but still nothing on the mean modern US muscle car designs like you show at the end. Real shame as I used to work in Aussie Auto industry. Fun Fact: The Chevy Camaro is (or was) actually a Holden SS Commodore under the skin - fully engineering out of Holden Fishermans Bend. When I drove a Camaro in LA I could straight away feel the similarity and it was confirmed that night by a Detroit GM engineer headed to Holden FB on our flight to Melbourne in 2012.
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Poor Chevy SS. You didn't deserve this fate.
Doug can we get a comparo between your AMG wagon and a new one?
Doesn't it look a lot like a Kia Stinger?
I agree
This is why we can't have utes in America
Doug DeMuro well it's a trend, cars that have come from Australia haven't been continued in North America. Hmm!
You’re doing a better job of advertising the car than Chevy did
So true
Holden, the Australian subsidiary of gm manufactured the car in Australia. Even if the car was a success it was going to be discontinued anyway because Holden/GM stopped manufacturing the commodore after 2017 which ended cars being made in Australia. Instead we now import the commodore to Australia from Opel and it's been a giant flop. The commodore was the biggest selling car in Australia and Holden was king. Now Holden is a joke, literally.
@@mickman3582 How is that possible? I thought Holden is still a GM subsidiary. But Opel was sold off to PSA, so they are seriously rebadging cars from 'another' manufacturer?
ᴅᴇᴀʀ ᴍʀ. ɪꜱᴀɪᴀʜ ᴅᴇʀɪɴɢᴇʀ; the new ‘commodore’ is made by the Opel group in France (it’s literally the same car as the Buick Regal) however Holden just announced they have suspended production indefinitely, killing the commodore nameplate in the process. Which is fine by me as an Aussie as this new commodore was a generic front wheel drive sedan that had none of what made the original cars a motoring icon. All GM achieved was to make a formerly popular Aussie car name as popular as lance armstrong at a clean sporting convention, before killing it off.
@@Dear_Mr._Isaiah_Deringer I am *Wiiings* Ss
Pro tip: If you wanna sell something tell people about it.
lol right i never knew they existed
Two words : Apex legends
Prior to this video I've never heard of this car!
@@alkalineph9446same
Then you must not read car magazines
In part, it flopped because I had no idea it existed.
The commodore sold amazingly
gm are are great carsss. .-the best in the world.. juts look carefully.
Same
I'm from Australia and only found out Chevy rebadged imported SS Commies this year. More to the point where are the utes? I've heard American buyers can't get enough of em.
@@adifferentangle7064 they did the same with the shitty monaro whatever year it was again as the pontiac gto - if that hadnt of failed so hard probably alot more commodores woul have been exported not just the last one
I remember wanting an SS sooo badly, it seemed like the perfect sleeper car, then boom... we had another kid. Welcome to minivan land. 😅
Do you know you can just get an SUV way better for your money
@@fordpower8024 fr im not even a minivan type of guy and i LOVE my chrysler pacifica s. Im not the only one either, all the funeral homes in my area use pacificas for coffin transport, except they usually have the plug in hybrid version
@@fordpower8024 Or you can get something better on gas and more practical for the average person. What benefits do you get with an SUV that you don't get with a minivan?
@@blue-tb2fd benefits with an suv better gas mileage, then a van, suvs are better for your money in the long run, most nowadays have third row seating fold it down for more storage, more comfortable, ride, suspension wise, turning and cornering is a lot better, SUVs have way more power than a van so they can climb numbers if you like speed, 99% of suvs are used by police departments, all that proves how utilitarian suvs are in their job I see more SUVs then minivans
Mini van??? That just tells me your wife wears the pants.
Please read:
-The hood vents are not fake, they help with cooling
-The engine cover only says ‘V8’ in Australia too
-The door sills are blank in Australia too
-There is no Holden logo on the dash in Australia
-Commodores don’t turn the reverse lights on when you lock/unlock in Australia
-Skip shift is not activated in Australia
-The Australian Holden factory closed forever in October 2017. And Toyota. And Ford in 2016. Australia now has no car industry and we’ve lost some of the best cars in the world (such as the SS in this video). Good review, Doug
alexaescht yer he definitely didn't bring up that the cars production was stopped because the issues in the Australian car production industry not just because of the SS
Thanks for bringing all this up. I own an SS and it made me cringe listening to him say all these false points.
alexaescht make Australia great again! #MAGA
Buzz off, Dougy Dugg is the shit! Give him a break.
alexaescht and the owners manual says SS Sedan because we also have an SS Ute (pickup)
This car was not a failure. It was never meant to sell in large numbers. It was just GM getting what they could out of Australian production before the factory closed it's doors.
And how they failed miserably..what do u expect when the factory workers wanted 30 buks an hr to work.. way to go unions..this was back in 2005
@@stivi739 that $30 AUD is $21.78 USD and that isn’t an absurd price to pay factory workers nowadays with how inflations going. as a wearhouse worker myself unloading trucks all day for 14 an hour i struggle to afford a lot of stuff now.
@@stivi739 30 an hr is standard for factory workers in aus.... imagine complaining that the workers wanted a fair pay...
It was still a failure, they sold 3k units a year rather than the estimated 15-20k
@@tuscanikristian3274 yeah that sucks dude at least u out there working I suppose
Holden Australia done a fantastic job designing and building this car. It's also the last Holden Commodore ever built.
Last real commodore yes, last commodore no…
@@SBSanChill that's not a commodore, the one you're referring to is a European GMV insignia, with a commodore badge. I could walk outside now and put a commodore badge on a ford falcon, it doesn't make it a commodore.
@@SBSanChill it should really say it wasn't the last commodore badge made..
Ive owned commodores my whole life, they went out with a bang on the VF. I have a SV6 and it hoons better than my vy clubby did
Last commodore “built “ at Elizabeth
Definitely wasn’t a flop in Australia.
Crunchy P “defiantly”
Crunchy P
And sorely missed.
Typical though. Aussie comes up with some good stuff, can’t sell it to anyone.
These cars are an Aussie icon and I'm proud to call it ours
Rebel Rob u can’t really call a Chevy/gmc yours America owns it
Imagine releasing a car called the SS in Europe
😏
That went over a lot of ppl heads..lol funny though
@@TheNando1 Hitler
@@TheNando1 Soviet union
@@TheNando1 Not really a joke, It's a name a European would associate with Nazi Germany and it would be a utter and total marketing disaster to release a car with that name.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schutzstaffel
2 Problems
1. Didn't know it existed
2. Once I did i thought it was a Malibu or something 😒
100% Agreed
I own a Malibu and if you'd told me that was a little newer version of it I would believe it.
I like the styling, it's handsome and fine, just not bold enough for a $50K performance sedan.
It was basically a “powerful” Malibu
@@P1995. Malibu was a ute.
It was so much better as a g8.
I live a 20 min drive from the closed Holden factory. These cars were benchmarked against the BMW 5 series during design & production. That's why they drive so well and have nice neutral handling.
They were much loved as the standard family car in Australia from the 1980's till early 2000's when manufacturing costs and fuel prices pushed them out of the top sales spot.
The magna track suspension system was an incredible feature for such a low priced car.
Aussie roads can be brutal outside the major cities, all our dirt roads have corrugations.
Too bad quality isn't in Holden's vocabulary
@@darthwindu9531 Oh please ! They were the benchmark for locally made quality and service !
@@edwardfletcher7790 Scratchy cheap plasti panels that don't even fit together flush, and a roof lining that sags in a matter of months, yeah cause that's quality. 8 minutes and 19 seconds on the nurburgring for the bogan car vs the M5 Competiton, 7 minutes and 38 seconds. Says alot about "handling" in a Holden.
@@darthwindu9531 You're out of your mind ! Next you'll be saying it's crap because it's not as powerful as a Koenigsegg ! LoL
You're quoting the lap time of the Commodore UTE !
The fastest tradie vehicle ever made ! Perhaps you should compare it to the F-150 or Hilux lap time ? Is Great Wall testing at the Ring yet ?
Of course Nurburgring lap times are so relevant to Australian driving conditions.... LMAO 😂
Cretin
@@darthwindu9531bro the SS is a base model in terms of Holden. Go look a senator interior or a gts
Doug should’ve made this videos ages ago and help gm to sell this.
Junky DIY guy because GM didn’t do any advertising themselves.
It's another Harrison S!
Lol not his job
Gm? Marketing? HAAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAAA. I love GM. They do 0 marketing, who tf knows why
They market their trucks like the're the best trucks to grace the earth. They do put a lot of ads for cars on youtube.
I remember going to a Chevy dealer in 2014 when SS just came out, I asked if I could see one and the salesman did not even know what I was talking about. He thought I was talking about a Camaro SS
Freedom Child same here he had to type it in his tablet and even said “wow didn’t even know we had these” and started laughing lol
That’s how you know you’re at a shitty dealership.
woottastic
Dealership for a shitty company.
@@jshepard152 More like *dealershit*
Don't worry the guy who sold me my 2011 charger r/t didn't know what cars in their lot had a v8 engine
Despite the unaggressive styling, this car is criminally underrated
In what world is that styling unaggressive? It’s designed to look like a beefy Aussie muscle car but in a sedan body.
rob1811 the styling is as bland as a Chevy Cruze
rob1811 you wouldn’t notice a difference
@Kingy88 yeah, imagine the gtsr w1 appearance over there.....quite aggressive in my opinion. If they sold a few might have justified the different plastic.
Liam Moriarty spot on.. same shitty interior too
As stated, this is the Holden Commodore in Australia. It came in 3 variants. The standard Commodore, the 'S' (both of these V6 engines) and the 'SS' being the V8. It came as a Sedan, a Station Wagon and a Ute. Very popular family car. It spawned a big rivalry between Ford and Holden, producing a racing class being The V8 Supercar series. Unfortunately both these companies no longer manufacture cars in Australia. The series now sports Mustangs vs Opel (rebadged Holden). Both V8's of course...
3? More than that. And let's not forget the Calais line.
it probably depends on how much detail you want to go into - Evoke, SV6 (not 'S'), SS, SS-V SS-V Redline, Calais, Calais V. Sedans, Wagons, Utes. Then there's the HSV variants - Clubsport, GTS, GTSR, Maloo, Senator Signature.
The GM Supercar never is/never was Opel. It is a Chev Camaro (sort of !)
he mentioned how comfortable it was and how he could drive for miles in it, that's because everything in australia is 8 hours away from everything else
Sounds like Texas and it's bigger cities
RedAssassin274 Australia is similar to Texas in many ways, similar population & GDP. (Country vs State)
@@traviesohombre5145 australians are just british texans
RedAssassin274 the state Western Australia is bigger than half of all the USA states
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
the Doug- I am seriously confused as to how you don't know that the SS is only here because GM made an agreement with the Holden factory to bring some of the cars here to keep the factory doors open. This was not a test. No one at GM thought these would sell because they were never planning to market it. And they didn't. The factory closed in 2017 according to the plan. There are no more Aussie made Holden Commodores made either. It's not a flop. We just got a few of them because the factory was closing and they were just making sure the unions still had their jobs up until the last day. They needed to make X number of cars to give all the workers enough to do. I can't believe how few journalists know this.
leloodallasmultipass - Thanks for saving me the time of having to post the correct information.
its general motors, dont be surprised, they dont even tell people their buying an aztek C7 made by the same guy who made pontiacs look terrible and sell awful.
Not only that but the did what they've alway done. Priced them out of raange of the average Joe that wanted it. Add in the list of standard options that you can't delete if you want a stripped down model & NO PROMOTION, you have a "flop". They did the same with the SSR. Plus they made that one totally useless as a Truck.
Rizzo- That's right. And if you consider that all the people who manufacture and install the higher trim parts ALSO needed to keep their jobs until the pre-planned factory closing, you can see that it makes sense that these cars would have all options ticked.
It really is so strange to me that we were told from the beginning that they would stop making the SS in 2017, but now everyone seems to think that it's lack of demand that led to the end of production.
also forgotten; The Monaro was sold as the Pontiac GTO in the US but because of Union rules in the US they were only imported in small numbers, I imagine that the same is here.
The Chevy SS is badass, I just don't know why GM didn't ever really advertise this car. It's amazing to drive and pretty luxurious inside.
@theresnogod onlydeludedbelievers666 Desperate? You must know less about English than you do about cars my dumb little friend!!
This car is amazing. But it falls into a gray area for consumers. People who want a muscle car want a loud in your face flashy car, not an undercover sedan. And someone who wants an unassuming sedan doesn't necessarily want a huge V8 and a manual transmission.
@@lucasw2880 I definitely would prefer this over a loud flashy in your face car, that's not my style but I still love performance cars, especially sedans and wagons. Drove a 5 series bmw with the v8 for years and always loved blowing away obnoxious looking cars. If these weren't so ridiculously priced right now I'd consider a used one but to me it's just not a 40-50k dollar used car. I've thought about one of the late model gto's, I like the subtle styling of them.
@@ourtime-downhere6931 I used to sell cars for Mercedes Benz. And it was interesting that not a lot of people bought the AMG models (The real deal AMG models not just the AMG trim package). Only a select few did, even though most of the folks walking in could more than afford it. But when it came to people who bought the G-Wagon, almost ALL of them bought the AMG G63 model. I rarely saw anyone buy the base model G550. Because if your going to spend $150k on a G-wagon, you might as well get the AMG version for another $20-$30K. When the G65 (V12) came out, people were lined up to throw their 1/4 of a million dollars down on that G-wagon. Craziness...
It's a muscle with class. The SS is amazing a rwd V8 sedan with all the luxuries. The problem is it's awkward in America, it's not American but checks out as American muscle and its not euro but it checks out as a euro car. They could have also badged it as a Buick regal hell it could have been a new gnx
It was just called SS. It needed a better name. Plus, it wasn't advertised very well. Not many people even heard of this car. I liked the car. Unfortunately, me liking it alone doesn't help a great car sell. It's a shame.
I saw someone say that GM could've sold it as a new Chevelle if it had a coupe version
jews loved the car thats why they bought so many of them lool
worst part is you STILL can't get a used one for a good price lmao.
Is it just me or do you feel like the price is a little bit of the downfall as well. Because used there going for the same amount as used scat packs so it’s like why choose this over the charger
@@therealdjaux5184 this most likely won’t get stolen in a popular city
@@therealdjaux5184 it’s an LS with a manual.... wayyyyy more choices for mods, mag ride, and they hold a hell of a lot more value than a scat
@@joseph_8486 thanks for the clarification Doggy 💪🏾💯
@@therealdjaux5184 I’d chose this because it’s more of a sleeper. No extra attention from cops. You could rev that shit as they go by and they’d never guess it came from you lmao
Chevy SS: 4 door sedan, plenty of room for taller passenger, blind spot assist, parking assist, great trunk room for groceries or decent luggage
Doug Demuro: Practicality... 5 out of 10
What you're describing is, yes, very average. Many cars have 3x mores practicality features than what you describe.
@@mydemon wtf else is more practical "ugh this car doesn't have heated cup holders, what is this the stone age" do you know what practical means, it means is it good at being a normal car for everyday use
@@heres.ray64 A minivan is a 10 in practicality score. The SS cannot transport 8 people and their cargo. Everything you listed is part of features, not practicality. A S-class with every available feature will still get a 5 in practicality because vehicles like SUVs and Minivans exist.
@@heres.ray64 you're fundamentally misunderstanding this particular scoring system. Noone said the DpugScore was perfect or even useful. At first, I was like you, it didn't make sense. But over time I have come to appreciate it.
In essence it is pitting all cars against all cars. For example, take the best-RAV4 money can buy - it will still score poorly in many aspects because the acceleration is compared to the fastest ferrarris and the interior will be compared the Bugatti Veyron and such. That's the only way to have one raring system compatible across many very different cars.
Otherwise you would have absurd comparisons with high-end Toyotas scoring more than certain luxury cars.
If you don't like this system or find it useful feel free to find other TH-camrs that work better for you.
TBH his whole scoring system is pretty stupid and arbitrary. I enjoy his videos nonetheless but you can't take someone seriously who thinks 0-60 is a vehicle's performance benchmark, or marks down older vehicles on "features" because they don't have useless crap like back-up cameras or parking assist.
Chevy never even tried to sell it. GM has a habit of sabotaging cars that they should support.
That's what happens when your ceo is a female globalist who is more concerned about the chinese market.
🤬😡 and that's is why I hate AMERICAN CARS!!!! They killed my faveourit best car in the world!!!! GM KILLED HOLDEN!!!!!!!!
@Silver N Black Mopar yeah so abandoning the US market for the sake of model consolidation is a smart business move in your view? I have no problem with US companies selling overseas but the US market is still worth their time.
@Silver N Black Mopar yeah true, that's why all the foreign companies put their auto plants in the south.
GM pulled out here because the government stopped giving them handouts. Unlike the USA the market here is not protected from imports.
Holden is failing as a brand as a result. In part as well because Isuzu are now their own entity.
Been looking for almost 2 years all over the US found my 2015 with 8800 miles on it 30 minutes down the road. The more I drive it the more I love it
This car failed because people didn't know it existed.
Stefan Baars but mate in straya we have known it for 30 years
Just like anything from Australia 😂
Im one of them 🤷
incorrect
You think people are dumb everyone knew about this car
I wonder why German car makers don't also make a car called SS. 🤔
Jack Le ya maybe a whole line, like audi adolph, or mercedes beglaitcommando, or bmw blitzkrieg
John Sabp shut up beach
You answered youre own question
Carlos Ramirez no he didn't
Lol
Why would the SS embroidery be something to cover up a Holden logo when the Holdens are RHD cars?
MTC0316 very good
Every one was embroidered differently depending on the model it was going into. There was about a dozen different variations from memory, maybe a little more.
Its basically a Chevrolet . Holden stoppped making the ORIGINAL Holden back in the 1950z So GM jumped on board and instead of calling it a Chevrolet they kpet the dead and buried name. Was a terrible car in many ways and were always being recalled for inheritent problems
steinwaygrande Found the Ford fan.
Point well made
as an aussie who sees these cars every day its so weird to think they are like a neiche car in america lol. the ss commadore was built by aussies for aussies though so no wonder chevy didnt advitise it that much in the state's
If they'd called it a Chevelle SS, the car would have sold 100K units.
Agree, there are so many unused iconic Chevy names that they could've tossed on it. "Monte Carlo" is another.
@@jeffj3213 Monte Carlos were only Coupes.
Horace Hunter so were the chevelles. and even so they could bring either of them back as sedans. just like dodge did with the charger since the original chargers were coupes only
Anything would've been better than the "SS". Heck, it's even difficult to google search it because it just shows the Camaro SS or similar. Real bonehead marketing move.
Jeffrey Jung it just seems they didn’t care for this car to be successful. which sucks cause its a good car, they could’ve continued updating it to compete with the hellcat
Hi Doug😊 Living in Australia and working in the auto industry I have a ton of experience working on these cars so I thought I would put my two cents worth in. The windscreen washers on the Commodore are integrated into the wipers so that under bonnet system is unique to the US market. Also the SS stitching on the dash is the same here so no cheap cover up was done and the reverse lights don't turn on when you lock/unlock the car. Our Commodore SS also did not come with MRC. That was reserved for top spec HSV models. We also got three versions of the car, the SS, the SSV and the SSV Redline so if you wanted a stripped out version or all the fruit, the choice was yours. Love the channel,keep up the great work👍
I have one in Australia and it's the same under bonnet windscreen washer system.
Also, you forgot the SV6.
He's talking about various models of the SS numb nuts
Well the SV6 is forgettable...
I have a 07 sv6 and I love how the reverse lights come on when I lock it cos it means I can see at the back at night when walking round back of car
I think it's a gts rebadged. For those playing at home ss is Holdens top model .Then above that the hsv models sort of like amg for merc. They badged it ss for USA brand recognition
The Holden logo would not be on the dash because in Australia cars are right hand drive. Nice try Doug
Love this
Nicholas Smith womp womp wooooommmppp
But Holden made the car left side drive
He said its made in Australia.... Not made for Australia
Don't get a 5 out of 10 for significance in oz mate!
The scuff pads without the manufacturer or model name embossed onto it is common for all variants in this Holden/Chev line up, mine are blank like yours. You can get SS ones I think but as an option or aftermarket. The engine covers are also pretty generic for us too, they just say V6/V8. As for the SS monogram on the passenger side, it's not covering a Holden logo. The Aus version has SSV monogrammed into that position. Line for line the Aus and US versions are the same thing, only very minor aesthetic changes really.
We don't want a Holden Commodore with a bow tie on it we want an HSV Maloo ute with a bow tie on it disguised as an El Camino!
Brandon Carlson so you want a 1973 holden one tonna.
Kingswood country
Brandon Carlson.
Maloo utes are available in the USA, look up, Left Hand Utes, in Northglenn, Colorado.
GM: *tries to sell this car*
Also GM: *fails to advertise car*
Car: *does not sell well*
GM: _aNoThEr OnE bItEs ThE dUsT_
More like
GM: *kinda wants to sell the car... maybe*
Also GM: *kinda doesn't want to sell the car because of their fickle thinking and habits and that it came from the foreign outcast brand they own*
Result: *GM puts the car on sale but doesn't advertise or promote it with no effort for localization to suit the market because they don't want it to sell too well so it can die off and avoid outshining their crappy domestic lineup*
These cars were sold in only a certain amount in this Country. That's why they weren't well advertised at all, I mean that's what also makes them super rare! I don't know about you, but I'd rather have something that you don't see much at all which catches people's attention plus I'd rather have something that everyone and their grandmother doesn't have...lmao!!!
fly high cadillac STS
GM also does the same with its hi end Cad cars. Certain "performance" models just die off. Likely because of hi price, bad quality control/reliability, and no support from GM for warranty repairs.
Tbh I hate that they did that to the Pontiac G8. I have one and it’s such an awesome car
There will be no Holden logo under embroidered SS logo because aussie version has steering on that side ... thus us dash is completely different to aussie one
klonik79 good point your right
I laughed at that too, no real homework done there.
Maybe the steering wheel is under there
+kmakky underrated comment of the year right there.
Used, many years later, this car goes for as much as it did new.
Did he just pull up to some random person's house and start filming
Basically
It’s most likely the owners house...
😂
Dough is the type of guy who sees a random car on the car and start recordings his tweaks and quirks.
I think that is his house because that house appears in almost every video
There is actually an SS wagon and ute version of this car in Australia, so saying "SS sedan" on the owner's manual is somewhat justified.
Weren't they talking about making the ute version the new El Camino? I'd love it if they did.
@@thorthunderlungs5171 yeah except gm killed Australian manufactured holdens so no more rwd holdens
ford and Toyota also got scrapped (the ford Falcon and Toyota Camry)
I've always preferred a Ford.
But nothing looks better than a clubsport wagon..
RoboAddy t
Hi Doug, always watch everything you testdrive.
Here are some corrections on your assumptions.
1. Chevy SS is based on the Holden SS V8 Omega.
2. The Holden Factory in Australia closed in October 2017. This is the reason why the Australian made Chevy SS was discontinued.
3. Door sill on the Holden is blank too.
4. Passenger side dashboard is blank.
Incudentally, Australian has Right-hand drive, not left like in the US, Canada, Europe.
5. Plastic engine cover says V8 only in the Holden, just like the Chevy.
Hope that helps
THANK YOU!! WE HAVE A WINNER! Better than all this guessing this guy did. He could have at least done some research and looked up the Australian car first. So much for journalism these days.
z352kdaf8324 i suppose i should correct him on other cars as well. Have grown up with Top Gear, and there really isn't that much more entertainment out there..
Holdens are popular in Australia and New Zealand especially as a copcar.
Correct except it’s based on a SSV redline, not an Omega
The omega is the base model in Australia and the SS/SSV is the more luxurious model.
The SS is a mature understated sedan for people who prefer substance instead of style. If you want fancy illuminated door sills instead of an engaging driving experience then get a German turbo 4-cylinder...
I'm in Australia the holden ss has a v8 symbol on the plastic engine cover so they didn't change any stamps in the end saving them money. The commodores have been icon for us its sad we never got to see it take off in the US
A guy who wants a Camaro, but has a family walks into a Chevy dealership: I need a 4 door Camaro homie! 😦
Salesman: I got you, fam... 😎
Then the car gets repossessed 🤪😭
@Fredo Bull I'm surprised you know how to spell, considering that uneducated look you have going, it screams ghetto.
This car is way nicer than a camaro and more expensive
@@jackwilliam5341 😂😂
now he gets a 2.0T Malibu
Why would there be a holden logo behind the embroidery on the dash? That dash is only made for the left hand drive car and you can't get the holden as left hand drive.
Casper Danielsen You beat me to it.
and me...
There isn't a logo on the Holden dash (RHD) nor is there any logos on the Holden door sill plates.
and it's an ss commodore so probably has ss on it in aus as well just on the other side
I'm certain that Doug intended it to be a subtle dig about GM cutting costs. Remember how he talked about "30 cents saved.." and "90 cents saved..."?
It failed because it wasn't made for America? Come to Australia and New Zealand and every second car is a Commodore. Even the Police drive SV6 Commodores here in NZ
In Australia they are SS commodores up until 2018
Daniel Hedger in Germany was a SS too
Police driver Chrysler's and M5's now
@@danielhedger5904 depends on the state
resiL SRT8 but I'm pretty sure it's a diesel 5 series not M5. Personally loved the use of the commodore and falcons though..sad
The light issue you mentioned in the video is really clever actually. It actually turns on all of the lights. Its so you can verify on your own whether or not you have an out light without having to have someone else sit in the car and flip switches and press the brakes, or without the need to go back and forth.
Yeah, I wish cars had a "Light Test" button. I've been pulled over for a bad brake light that I had no idea it was out because I could never see it when on.
My other thought is turning on the backup lights helps you find and navigate to and from the car in a dark parking lot.
As a Ford enthusiast it saddens me to see this car didn't receive the proper recognition it deserves
Randy NoLastName google Barra turbo and you’ll get over it.
It’s dumb really, Ford Australia had a car here that was perfect replacement for the crown vic and a performance alternative to the gay mustang.
@@bobbob-fg5wy I see why you only have 1 sub after 5 years
Toochee Downs well sheet, it seems to me it woulda been more insulting if you’d just said nothing. gaf what you think, you’ve got nothing to add to the conversation.
Indeed. Not quite total Ford enthusiast (own 5 cars, 72 mini ls clubman, 79 XC 351c, 83 XE 351c, 99 VS 350, 00 MX5 worked (turbo)) but totally could not understand why the yanks didn't take to our down under v8 rear wheel drive sedans. Shit, our cars go around corners (left or right) have shittons of power, and the legs to take you long distances in comfort. Australia is the epitome of the tyranny of distance, we (used to) build cars capable of comfortably transporting you between those long distance destinations, how TF did North Americ not notice.
@@TheMDHoover cause 'Merica. Haha. Nah, I think generally they struggle to see/think outside their own sphere. If it's too foreign, it can't be trusted. Saw a different vid talking bout the Tesla truck, and the dude mentioned that a lot of Americans will by one car/brand for life, without trying alternatives. Eg. First car was an F150, and they will buy F150's till the day they die, cause that's what they know.
None of the places you think had a Holden logo ever did. That’s just how they are :)
Exactly, they didn’t just save money by not putting Chevrolet on those parts, they never had anything there to start with.
Quick bit of research would've fixed that.
That is because it was a half ass job making that car.
Hold on... really?
@@mrvang8077 you don't know nothing about Aussie cars
Doug Logic:
Maserati Levante: TOO MANY LOGOS!!
Chevy SS: NOT ENOUGH LOGOS!!
Roboplex both are true though lol
Well, there is a happy middle ground between zero and eleventy-billion.
Doug DeMuro I like them odds Dougy
12:59
They will never make a car like this again. Glad you enjoyed it and thanks to the generations of families on the production plants (e.g Elizabeth South Australia) who lost their livelihoods overnight.
Doug....
Love your videos but... why would there be a Holden logo under the SS dash stitching when Holdens are right hand drive?
There would normally be a steering wheel there...
Ha ha do details matter
I agree. Watching this again, and thinking that parts aren’t different - the engine cover and the door sills don’t say Holden, it’s literally the same here in Australia
The door sills and engine covers are just GM Holden export-proofing their lineup for sale outside of Australia as Chevrolets and Buicks. The weird stitching, however, is just GM's attempt at "luxury".
The Holdens were sold in the middle east as a Chevy and were all left hand drive. Some may have been sold in Africa (right hand) and South America (left hand) for a couple of years.
@@kegapr181 yip as Luminas in South Africa. sedan and UTE (which might explain the printing on the owners manual)
Maybe it’s the name. They couldn’t sell that in Germany...
lol
Lmaooo
Dude, snap !!
Well played
Lmfao! Good one!
Hyuk
I've driven a 2016 SS for four years. I think it's the best car I've owned over the 50 years I've been a car enthusiast.
Does it go?
Doug DeMuro I worked in a prominent Chevy dealership in new car sales during this car’s time. I often times would take the SS home over the Camaro SS because it was essentially a Camaro in Malibu clothing. It was within fractions of a second performance wise (stoplight to stoplight and on the streets ) I did like it because of its “sleeper” ability. You’re right….. most people had no clue what it was and thought they were sitting beside a 6 cylinder Malibu until you embarrassed them when the light turned green. I either missed it or you didn’t mention the fact that it was a Camaro power plant under the hood. But ultimately, I too decided that if I was paying nearly 45-50 grand for that level of performance, I’d rather spend my $$$ on the Camaro than a sleeper Malibu. The Camaro was still better overall performance and for nearly the same money you got better performance and the Camaro’s sinister styling
I doubt there is a Holden logo under the SS logo under the dash.
In a Holden there would be the steering wheel there.
oh yeh well spotted cobber
That's why there's a Vauxhall or Opel bagde under that SS, who's game to find out? any SS owners?
😂😂
Zvonimir Krajina 😂😂😂🤣
SS? Don't drive this car in Germany!
Y
NEWYORK BOSS Google Schutz Staffel
@Joe Lynott that's fucked up 😅😅
Sensitive germans as always
How about forgetting the old bad events that happened during WW Time?
I have the Chevy ‘waffen’ SS. There are nozzles in the back seat that release ze zyKlon B
When this car first came out, I honestly thought it was a special edition of the Impala (kind of like the Impala SS of the mid-90s). I didn’t realize it was a completely different model until a couple of years ago.
same wtf ive seen a few of them in nj and thought they were an ss version of a different model car lol
Impala came with v8 engine and front wheel drive. Caprice ss is related to pontiac g8
i have a 2014 and honestly its such a good daily car.
They're all Holden Commodores SS commodores. The Pontiac GTO is a Holden Monaro. The Pontiac G8 is a hsv gto
They are all Holden's from Australia we cannot blame you for thinking they were American
This car just popped in my head today, I remember when they first came out how it was one of the more appealing cars I had seen. I only saw one on the road to this day, probably around 2017, it pulled right passed me on the highway...sounded amazing and looked even better. I remember thinking, how is it that the Camaros sell thousands times more than it?....and never saw another one since...damn shame.
Doug is the type of guy to slip on ice and say, "whoopsie daisy".
Preston Landscaping True lol
LOL
I wonder if he would rate his fall with a "Doug Score"?
Yasssss lol
LMAOO
This car is gorgeous. But zero marketing. Sad end
Jose Vega i know a little bit about cars but i dont do a lot of research unless im making a purchase generally. With that said, i have never even heard of this car before just now.
Jose Vega I wasnt even aware this car existed.
I seen a black one of these outside a restaurant about a year ago. IT sounded so awesome and looked amazing. This car is NOT bad, just didnt sell great.
I've always seen it on the lot but it's usually just 2. The car is WELL MADE. But if I wasn't on budget I would of gotten this as a luxury car. The body is a little ugly tho.
It was not a flop, GM never intended to sell it, it was just made to respect a contract. GM never marketed it, they literally didn't want you to buy one. They even refused to sell the SS to rental fleets.
It was never mean to sell, let alone succeed, it was a contractual obligation. If you own one, be proud, it's a good car.
And that makes sense how?
Jonathan Paulin You must be right
I have never heard of this car! .
Sir you are point on.. this car is originally the GTO with some different styling modifications. the original GTO we have now was assembled and Sold in Australia. the assembly line was completely dismantled and shipped to Kansas City. GM removed one of the old assembly lines for an old model they stopped building and installed the entire assembly line from Australia to build the GTOs here. the SS Impala was never meant to be built in the first place it was just a temporary filler because of the Australian people demanded the car. really they sold some here ? it was never meant to sell.
All that being said I absolutely love this car when it first came out watched all the reviews went down and drooled on one but the price made me pull my tail in and go home lol
Jonathan Paulin So so true, GM really didn’t want the competition from Holden, but one thing that most Americans don’t know is that GMH (which is General Motors Holden) is a sub company of General Motors Chevrolet.
dedalliance1 It makes sense when you’re a corporation and you are closing your manufacturing facilities for your Australian subsidiary, Holden.
Unfortunately with the writing on the wall for Holden in Australia being before 2014, when these were released in the US, production probably would've ended regardless of sales over in the US.
Yeah that's something they miss. They act like if it sold decently holden in the US would keep production. By 2014 the next Holden was known to be a global model, they would've have continued the Zeta platform from the VE, it was just a question of it we would make the Opel based Holdens domestically.
1:39 you can tell this isn’t just your regular Chevy sedan in a few ways...
1. It’s a Holden
Sheet metal only--everything under the skin is regular old Chevrolet.
12:59
Probably wouldn't have had a Holden logo under the embroidery on the dash because in Australia they would have made the dash to suit a right-hand drive car.
It's embroided here too.
In Australia, it is the Holden Commodore SS. The logo is the same.
with the standard options it has i'd say it was a ss/v
thats immediately what I thought
Al T isn’t it the SS-V Calais?
9:18 actually in Australia there’s a wagon and a Ute/utility sport version of this car. edit: there’s also there’s a two door version called the Monaro there much more expensive also extremely cool
The States never gets anything cool damn
@@peterortiz237 you guys get heaps of cool shit the Holden’s are the only affordable “nice” cars here
We had Monaros in the USA in 2004-2006, they called it a Pontiac GTO.
And South Africa has both the sedan and bakkie (ute) version called the Lumina SS.
Monaros/GTOs are awesome, they never grt talked about
I had no idea this car existed....I have driven nothing but GM muscle my whole life. My first car was a 1994 25th Anniversary Trans-Am LT1 V8 w/6-speed I got in 1998 at 17. I went to a 2002 Firehawk Trans-Am after that, and so on. My last car was a 2012 SS Camaro that I drove until last year. I tried to like the new SS Camaro, I truly did. I just couldn't see out of the damn thing and it was far too European looking...oh and skip shift is annoying! I hate, hate, hate, hate it.
I begrudgingly looked at other options (never a Ford) and came close to getting a C6 Vette. I finally stepped out of Chevy's embrace and went with a 2018 Stinger Yellow Dodge Challenger RT+P SCAT and I freaking love, love, love it! However, had I known about this car I may have stayed with GM. Too bad we'll never know...
Addendum- I want that key fob holder in my car. I'm a teacher and therefore I have so many freaking keys/extra junk on my ring that it would be nice to put it somewhere. Typically, since drinking or eating in my car warrants a death sentence (I'm not kidding) I just huck the pile of mismash nonsense in my cup holder.
I loved the video. I used to work in the Holden Elizabeth Vehicle Assembly Plant. The Chevy SS was, for us, the Holden Commodore SS. The SS was luxury/sport model of Commodore with Commodore Executive being the base model, Commodore Berlina, Calais, S (The sport model based on executive trim). The SS trim and inclusion were based on the Calais. The US got pretty much the exact same trim and features as the Australian SS. Perhaps GM should have sold the S model in the US. There were V8 S models, but they were rare, mostly the S model got a supercharged V6. I just want to note the SS embroidery is how they come. The embroidery on the dash is standard for the SS in Australia too. And the Commodore never had badges on the engine cover or footplates. One interesting thing that the US Chevy SS got that we didn't in Australia is the exhaust. That exhaust was specifically developed and tuned by GM for the Pontiac GTO. They carried it over to the Chevy SS and specifically the pops and bubbles when you take your foot off the accelerator as well as the deeper growl were not a feature of the Commodore SS. The Chevy SS exhaust does not pass Australian noise pollution laws. I remember being on the factory floor we all knew when a GTO and later an SS had just reached the end of the production line, that first ignition of a brand new car off the line always lit up smiles throughout the entire factory floor. That growl... OMG. One final reminiscence: A supervisor on the line bought himself a Commodore SS. When his Commodore was scheduled for assembly he walked the line with his car being built and helped and supported all the production workers in each cell along the way. He made sure the vehicle was fitted with Chevy Badges and had it programmed with the Chevy infotainment OS for the real Chevy SS inside feel. The vehicle went through QA and nothing unusual was noted it went through dealer delivery and again nothing unusual was noted. For some strange reason a mechanic on the vehicles first service asked the service manager how a left hand drive Chevy SS could exist. It got rolled up the line and senior Holden management got involved. The vehicle was impounded by Holden and eventually crushed. The supervisor was sacked and his money was refunded. So there's an interesting story, possibly the only factory-built left-hand drive Chevy SS was on Australian roads for a month or two. Imagine that.
interesting read, thanks
holy f
That's an amazing story, and sad! I have seen a number of SS here in Dallas TX area with Chevy badges replaced by Holden badges, which is a pretty good look and not just for the exclusivity, IMO. Too bad it worked out that way for the supervisor, that's a raw deal (even if not entirely unpredictable for a giant corporation, it's a d*ck move for sure).
We never got ventilated seats in our Commodores sadly
holden quality is trash tho
GM swung 3 times, (GTO, G8 and SS) and whiffed all 3. All great cars, mis-priced and poorly marketed.
The Legend 27 Returns to TH-cam well, like any Lawyer would tell’ya, you can’t win ‘em all....
To be fair to the g8, GFC swatted the poor thing with Pontiac.
This one, IMO, looks like it was intended as a rerun of the g8. But then the LNP got in, refused support for Holden and AU manafacturing was canned by GM. Just wasn't a point in properly pushing a car that wouldn't have a successor
GTO was badass. 6.0 V8. 4 sec. 0-60 was unheard of.
True. They just rebranded these cars from Australia but US didn’t like the looks. But I love em all. And the thing I love best about my GTO is I rarely ever seen them. Rare car and good power.
except that now you can't get a used GTO or G8 for anywhere near a reasonable price.
These are everywhere in Australia
my mother in law sold my deceased FIL's 1957 e code Thunderbird to a guy in Australia, I might have to return the favor and get a Holden SS from Australia
There is at least one company in the US which imports Holdens & HSV's. They mostly do utes, but they also do some sedans & wagons. The wagon is a very good looking, practical car & is available in upspec lixury/sports configs similar to the SS.
www.lefthandutes.com/gallery.html
ulisscarple my FIL has a 57 T.bird here in Aus, imported from the US. Couldn't say if it's e code or not. Hmmmm?
what color is it ? when did he get it ? what color is the engine ?
ulisscarple it's red, with a white top. Engine code? Who knows. It's 4:30am here. I'll call when he's likely to be awake.
I would disagree on the significance factor, this car is the last car ever designed and built by Holden Australia and the Commodore being an absolute icon down under, and this being the vf Commodore which was a face lifted ve Commodore not only was is exported as the Pontiac G8 but it was the billion dollar baby of Holden and it is the chassis of muricas beloved Camaro... You're welcome
Sleepers can be more fun than an equally powerful "fast" looking car; knowing that you can go from grocery run to unidentifiable blur at any moment is always entertaining. Sad to see subdued styling disappearing from new model lineups.
I knew someone with a poop brown sleeper Mitsubishi Mirage that was heavily turbo'd to over 400hp... lol. It was one hell of a sleeper back in the day.
Chris Napoleon A sleeper also draws less attention from the cops.
Hi handsome ❤how are you doin ..??😊
Doug the type of guy to buy an SS just to rip off the passenger side dash board to see if it says Holden
Funny Bunny and then make a rant video holding an Australian and U.S. Flag when he's disappointed.
There is no Holden logo under the SS embroidery because the steering wheel is there in Australia.
@ its not our fault, blame the French
ahhhh...that makes more sense
@NoPain NoGain he's teasing calm down sissy boy
Ahh ha!!!! Smart thinking there. I didn't think about that.
@Oggy But it is called the Commodore SS Goober
Exactly my first thought. I just discovered this car and when I saw a listing for a used one, I thought it was a typo. SS what? That’d be like Chevy releasing a truck called the LTZ or SLT. There was definitely a reason behind all of their decisions.
As I sit here in my home office in Australia, having just arrived home from driving my 10 year old Holden Commodore SS V8 manual, I came across your video and thought it was worth 22 minutes of my time to watch , mostly to see how Americans talk about us down under but also intrigued by the car we supposedly exported to the US, there haven't been many cases of this happening in the past. I think it's fair to say GM is a big part of why the car you showcased in your video has ended up being the way it is. I would also assume GM is the reason the car was not marketed in the US. The Holden factory in Australia was recently closed and I suspect GM decided a long time ago to off-load a bunch of cars into the US market knowingly there will not be a follow up model. The new Holden Commodores are now made in Germany, are hatch-backs, V6 based, front-wheel drive, and manual is not even an option. The car you are driving in this video is the best we have ever made and unfortunately the last. It's a sad sad time in Australian Motoring, we grew up idolising the Holden as a pure bred Australian muscle car, even our Jingle bells song references the good old Holden ute (look it up) with a Kelpie in the back. RIP you amazing Aussie icon, we will love you until the last one of your breed fades away to rust heaven.
Some of us up here do appreciate these cars made down under.Unfortunately most people with kids op for an suv. The younger people are in love with the asian imports. So sad. Just know l love the Gm ss and the gto. I just do not get.
Get it , that is. You get alot for the money. We just did not hear about these cars. Some people still do not know that they were even offered.Poor marketing no doubt.
Sad state of affairs. I grew up driving V8 cars.
I am not in Australia. But here in America people are lazy and suck at driving therefore they hate manual cars. And therefore car makers don't make them because they don't sell. Is Australia also getting away from manuals?
Doug DeMuro, the kind of guy who uses heated and cooled seats at the same time
Should have been called a Chevelle. They would have sold way more.
That would make sense
It would make sense but people would have been pissed
I mean... If you tilt your head the right way you can see SS as a steriod infused bodybuilder, with 100k put into plastic surgery.
That didn't really work with the GTO
Or Nova
I grew up in NZ and I swear Holden commodore was the dream car of almost every boy growing up. Back then, I thought Ford and Holden were NZ and Australian companies lol. In my late teenage years, I moved over to the states and was exposed to a whole range of cars from all over the world. Looking back at the commodores, they are absolutely hideous!!!
How would the dash say Holden under it when the steering wheel is there in Australia?
Smart ass comment. I think Doug has been mesmerized for the past 7 months since you commented 🤣
@@ssj02 how is that a smart ass comment ? its a fact dumbass, you look like an idiot laughing at your own pitiful attempt at a joke
@@johnyoud3760 thank you for your kind words. Have you ever read or heard about something called sarcasm?
@@ssj02 seems my sarcasm detector is on the blink, the "Smart ass comment" was referring to your comment ?
I wonder if the Holden is sold under that name anywhere else with a left-hand drive… Otherwise yes the steering wheel is on the right side and there would be no logo there at all.
I doubt there's a Holden logo under that dash embroidery. In Australia where Holdens are sold there's a steering wheel over there.
Bad marketing? You mean no marketing? If I had the money I’d love an SS. My buddy has a charger and I’d love to compare the two
Spencer D probably take the charger, My 2018 v6 impala will keep up with the str8 and blow the V-6
Spencer D ya charger will have trouble catching it around corners that rite ya only have straight roads over there ya need to watch Bathurst in Australia because they are the winners
*two
That’s the thing, Chevy never advertised the car. It didn’t stand a chance with no ads and it leased like crap. If you could’ve gotten one without all the luxury features and MSRP was under $40k, I bet it would’ve done a lot better.
Jon Doe no I’m sorry but no V6 impala is keeping up with any SRT model point blank even the slower first gen srt models run mid 13s to mid 12s 1/4 , the new scatpacks run can easily run into the high 11s.
Take most of the electronics off and add AWD and this would sell so fast. Drop most of that unnecessary garbage.
60 or 65 percent power to the rear with wider tires and this car would be it.
I have the 2017 in white with the manual and it is a wonderful car to drive and listen to. While I keep hearing that the styling is "boring" in reviews, I have received numerous positive comments, looks and thumbs up. If fact, my regular barber shop emptied out (including the barbers) to look at, and hear, the car when I first got it. The hood vents are NOT fake, but the side vents are.
Chester it's an awesome car. Real men know this car and it's capabilities.
Honestly these are pretty badass. It’s similar to the G8 which I always loved. Plus I’d much rather hear one of these fly by then a Toyota Corolla, a 5 series bmw or some other relatively boring sedan.
I get shit for what I spent on a new CTS-V. "Why didn't you get an M5, e63, etc, etc." Because I didn't want to. I wanted a sedan that could go faster than a McLaren. So there.
I love your choice in car. I think it's awesome. I think it's gorgeous, muscular, and sounds amazing.
Chester never hear that from me... love this car..
Smminco. Thanks. I think that Cadillac in making some of the best sport sedans in the world, but most people are sheep. It takes time to change minds and return Cadillac to its glory years. The CTS-V and the ATS-V were both in my mind when I was car shopping, but I got such a good deal on the SS that it was a no- brainer to buy it.
"SS Sedan" well in Australia it also came as a utility and a wagon
bring the ute to the US and Chevy would've had a new El Camino. there's a company called Smyth, they have ute kits. look them up and see what they came up with for the charger.
I have the SS Starwagon, the station wagon version of that sedan. It is a gorgeous car and it really goes especially with a 500 kilo load in the back to hold the rear wheels down on the road.
@@cassandrafoxx4171 the wagon looks sweet
Daughter moved to Australia and bought the wagon. Put a Magnuson Supercharger on it! Had the Magnuson on her SS while in the US then transferred it to the new car when she emigrated to Australia.
Actually Holden made the ss first
Holdens are right hand drive. I doubt the dashboard would have any commonality, so no HOLDEN are under the embroidery.
Yea... I agree.. I work for gm.
I heard that statement and instantly just shook my head and thought "idiot" lol
This got me too - the whole video gives the impression the car left the production line with Holden branding, and someone then goes around covering it up.
Same as for his comment about the 'ss sedan' on the manual, cos you sure as shit can get an ss wagon in Australia.
Actually he's a bit wrong throughout - in the VE Commodore (that the Pontiac G8 was based on) the handbrake was set up for LHD, and on the Australian RHD spec cars we just had to deal with it - it was planned as an international model from the get go. Originally, GM's plan was to have the commodore sold in multiple international markets - even as a large SAAB for Europe?! but these plans fell through thanks to the GFC. The VF that morphed into the Chevy SS was the last of the line, and GM gave Holden very little budget to develop the car, hence there are relatively few custom bits on it to differentiate it from the Commodore, although why more bits weren't used from the Camaro - which is also a variation of the Commodore underneath - is a bit of a mystery.
You are Correct, the dash says the model in the Holdens, SS,SSV, Calais etc , and in the HSV's, they all say H@SV, the @ is replaced by the HSV logo.
You are right. 10/10 on value. 1/2 price of the BMW M5. Why low sales? Because the car media (that includes you, Doug) failed to tell anyone about it.
I think the main reason the Chevy SS didn't sell well was GM's lack of marketing. I bet GM would've sold way more SS's if they ran even a few ads about it. Instead, people who never knew about this car who otherwise would've bought it, didn't.
It wasn't supposed to sell mega numbers. Where do you people get off thinking it was supposed to sell 1,000s per month? The target was 100 a month and that was achieved and then some.
If they advertised it and drove more desire it would have sold the same amount of units. They only made 12k on purpose. They only imported what they needed to sell.
The investment to bring the car to the USA was already made with the Pontiac G8, When Ponitac was killed off the car moved to Chevy. Not giving the car a name was a major marketing mistake.
The only reason they brought it to the U.S. is because they needed to sell 5000 in order to use its likeness in NASCAR
These are a dime a dozen in Australia.....SS Commodore started in 97 and went through until factory closed .....we miss our car 😠
In my eyes, the most under rated car today. It was Chevy's hidden gem and I liked it that way. People talk about wanting manufacturers to make sleepers, but they slept on this?
Revitalyzed yeah but $50k for a sleeper? And with fake vents
There was a few here selling for 36k brand new.
Those vents are real in Australia
Its a Holden... You are better of sleeping! RUN!
The vents are functional on the hood. And it's a bargain at $50k....unless you've driven one, you don't really know what it's like.
If only they sold the HSV range in America. They are SS cars on steroids lol.
Agreed
NOT REALLY they just had body mods and a little bit more power
christian sylvia lol those body modes make a big difference, when looking at the vehicles side by side, plus bigger wheels,bigger brakes, different suspension. interior with different sports seats , different options and different drive options. Different exhaust system, super charged kits for the engine. Plus more. 100% they would have sold more, cause the car just looked tougher.
@@condidilis9621 and with the price difference you could buy an ss then spend 50k on it and still be cheaper than an hsv and blow a hsv off the road while still costing less than a hsv.
christian sylvia lol you have taken the conversation in a completely different direction now. Happy to have it with you if you like?
This car failed because no one knew what it was. They did next to zero advertising for the car actually is. People know Chevy SS as a trim level of an existing car. Not an individual car.
The only marketing that GM did for this thing is NASCAR
That was the only reason why GM imported it over here, strictly for NASCAR racing, they never intended to sell very many at all.
@@MS3DALE Personally, based on how things went down, I think they had intended it as a retry of the G8 thanks to that being screwed by the GFC. But thanks to circumstances in Aus (Aus Gov denying any financial assistance for Holden after the LNP got power in the 2013 election) manafacturing was basically forced into closure and thus putting effort into making it Chevys flagship sedan would've been wasted.
Holden had a nasty run those few years. G8 was intended to have a Ute varient but got screwed, even the sedan version barely got a run thanks to the GFC.
@@TheAussieNinja84 they're commodores. The G8 is a ve and the SS I's a vf
Thats the only reason why i know this car exists
@@thepaperybull2921 You know I'm still having trouble finding out who cares because we all know that
Doug, the engine cover in this Chevy ss is the exact same as a Holden commodore both dont have any badging, and why would the ss embroidered badge be covering a holden badge because holdens are right hand drive, and the inner doors dont have any holden badging in australia either, and ss does come in wagon and ute in australia aswell as sedan. Stuffed up in a bit of basic research
and ute
He's so used to seeing badges on everything that it bothers him to see a normal piece of trim.
wait, so doug sees car badges as a feature or as a quirk? O.o
Mason Hogg p
I was writing that exact thing. Glad I saw this. Spot on.
I HATE the reverse lights on GM vehicles.
New camaro rear lights are good and corvette lights too .
i hate how they come on when you start the car on every goddamn GM vehicle so someone can be sitting in the parking spot in park looking like they're about to reverse out and you sit there waiting for them like a fuckin dumbass
aka Amy he meant when you lock the car and reverse lights come on moron
Alan C I hate how basically every other car manufacturer, besides certain cars from Toyota and Ford, doesn’t have automatic headlights
I have a 2011 Chrysler minivan that has all the features that car has except the cooled seats, and it has automatic headlights and wipers. You just get in and drive....it does everything else for you. Sure it's only just over half the horsepower, and drives like a van....but I need to carry stuff, and cops don't even glance at it.
Failed as US Auto unions threatened action to stop it getting shipped to the US. That’s the reason why over 20 years various Commodores were supposed to go to the US but GM bottled it each time
Its not an ugly car , the fact of the matter is , that it lacks looks altogether lol. if you owned a white or silver one you could park it in the rental car return parking lot at an international airport for a month and no one would notice. Its a 4 door practical 400hp sleeper you can park at an airport for free.
There is a lot about this car you don't know. Let me sum it up.
1) the only reason the G8 and SS even came stateside was because of a trade agreement. Holden had to export x number of vehicles per year.
2) gm didn't market this car on purpose. Due to high labor costs and unfavorable exchange rates, there was almost no profit selling it stateside. A lot of choices were made so gm wouldn't lose money on the deal, and cutting marketing was an easy decision to make.
3) it was not supposed to sell in volume. Again, there was no money to make here. If GM wanted to profit as much as a Silverado, they would have had to sold this car for almost $60,000.
With all that in mind, it didn't fail. It did exactly what GM wanted it to do. The point was never to sell them and make money; the point was to fulfill a trade agreement, and later for racing in NASCAR. Had gm actually cared about selling this car in the US, they would have built it on this side of the pond to reduce cost.
They couln't build it anywhere because Holden had all the blue-prints. For GM, it would be huge investment which would never pay off
theodorekell
That's part of my point. GM didn't want to mess with it. It was 100% trade agreement based. They sold it here so they didn't get fined. They didn't want to make money because doing that would have required extensive investments they were prepared to make.
sargvsu Thanks for explaining that.
Actually makes sense! Good insight
I think the last point is the most important. GM didn't have another car that fit the NASCAR platform anymore.
The SS was not a sales winner but it was bad ass. Thank Holden for this gorgeous car. No marketing = poor or no sales. I had one stop next to me at a red light years ago and I had no clue what it was. Great video Doug !
I really don’t know why people didn’t buy it and even bought more corvettes and Camaros than this caprice, as the caprice was just as powerful yet twice the practicality
@@TopG800 at that time there was a push for smaller cars. Using less fuel. And now everyone had cars twice the size using more fuel. 4wd built for dirt with leaf springs in the rear as the family car haha
I disagree with the significance score, because Holden is a really important brand to Australians
the vents on the hood are functional. the ss embroidery is not covering anything because that is where the steering wheel goes in Oz. the plastic engine cover is the same for Holden so there is no badge missing. the skip shift is to save on gas guzzler tax ($1000. still sucks).
actually the ss logo is on the passenger side in oz too, and the door strips are blank as well . A notable difference ,I own a ssv redline, is the mags.In Aus they're black ,which looks far meaner than the silver and helps make the styling more aggressive ,oh and no skip shift here either. if you're considering one, test drive one, they are brilliant for the price, very engaging
should be a way to bypass the relay.
Very easy to bypass the skip shift. You just plug in a dongle to the transmission. Skipshift solved.
Just a little gas will turn skip shift off. In my other chevys with skip shift I could just lean it back into first to turn of the skip shift then into second. It's really no big deal. It sounds worse than it is, and its easy to remove. It can be programmed out or unplug the solenoid from the trans in put a resistor in to keep the ecm from throwing a code.
John Becker- I have the dongle to turn it off, but I don't want to install it until I'm out of warranty as my dealer gave me a little friendly warning. You can't always give it gas because there are, every so often, people driving in front of you. Maybe that doesn't happen in your town. The scenario is usually that I am making a left turn and the person in front of me gives it a little too much gas and then lets off, so I get a false positive for how much speed we are going to be carrying through the turn. I accelerate and then slow down as my hand is shifting. No chance to do anything about it and now I am actually slowing down and can only shift into 4th.
Chevy didn’t cancel. They stopped making it in Australia, mainly because its not economical to make cars here anymore. Bit of research may serve you well.
Chevy basically did zero marketing on the SS, and they sold more than they expected to.
Also bonnet vents are functional.
Embroidery guess? Wrong.
he is right though, the bonnet vents do go through, and the embroidery is wrong because in australia the wheel is on the side lmao
RandomUser M ayy gottem
Looks like one too
Well the Chevy cars in NASCAR were SS's. So thats some marketing
RandomUser M Butthurt? What even does that mean? Not up with the schoolyard lingo. And no, I was just stating facts that can easily be found in a google search if Doug wanted to put some time into his work.
Doug the type of dude to come review your car and call it a total failure.
TypeR1911 lmao
Good one!
except he pretty much had nothing but praise for it, so no idea what you're going on about
@@flexmasterize But he did call it a total failure, Kanye East is not wrong
lol
Great video and you hit the nail on the head - both Holden and Ford Australia never had the balls to design a truly agressive mean looking car on those V6/V8 RWD platforms (Commodore and Falcon) like they used to in 70's they reverted to bland designs intended for families and taxis and that was part of their downfall. They did OK with some HSV/FPV editions but still nothing on the mean modern US muscle car designs like you show at the end. Real shame as I used to work in Aussie Auto industry. Fun Fact: The Chevy Camaro is (or was) actually a Holden SS Commodore under the skin - fully engineering out of Holden Fishermans Bend. When I drove a Camaro in LA I could straight away feel the similarity and it was confirmed that night by a Detroit GM engineer headed to Holden FB on our flight to Melbourne in 2012.