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Old 02-28-2015, 12:53 AM   #29
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Originally Posted by its a syn View Post
The chevelle changed drastically through the generations. Why not this car? Do you want it to be just like your '70 Chevelle? That would be boring. Quite a useless argument anyway as one said the last thing GM wants is interbrand competition.
Never said it had to look like a 70 but the Chevelle carried some looks through most of it's lifespan like the four headlights. The render posted was a generic sedan with the Chevy corporate grille. If you asked a group of Chevelle owners of any year, none of them would think it's a Chevelle.
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Old 02-28-2015, 09:27 AM   #30
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Not even that, it has to draw people in that otherwise wouldn't be buying a Camaro (or Corvette or Impala or CTS or other GM vehicle).

Just to make my point clearer, I'll pull some numbers out of thin air. The Camaro sells roughly 80k units a year. A Chevelle would probably max out at half that, so 40k units. There's a good chance that half of them (20k) are poached from Camaro sales. Of the remaining 20k, quite a few would probably be coming from folks that would otherwise be buying something else in the GM lineup -lets say half of that remainder (10k).

So, in this little exercise a new Chevelle selling 40k units a year (a marginal number for a model to begin with) adds 10k sales to GMs total while bringing Camaro sales down from 80k to 60k and a variety of other models take a slight hit as well. Not worth the investment on their end. Even changing the numbers around a bit and it still gets hard to see more than 20k added sales per year.

About the only 'muscle car' that would have a chance at being brought back would be a Grand National/GNX because it wouldn't have any immediate competition from its own brand but even that would poach quite a few sales directly from the ATS & CTS as well as the Camaro.





GM ditched Pontiac and Saturn largely because those brands caused too much internal competition. Even now there's still quite a bit. Its one thing to fill a niche with a trim package or import an already built car from overseas. But to spend a billion and a half developing an all new model for a handful of sales would be a gigantic waste of money.
Pretty much this right here.

Coupes don't sell ladies and gentlemen. Why do you think the Cruze is a Sedan only? Cobalt Sedan died from poor sales.

Back in the day GM needed 2 plants to build F-bodies (Van Nuyes - now building Teslas I think and Norwood - now a shopping mall). They built 400,000 F-bodies. And yes, in the late 70's the number 1 selling car was the Olds Cutlass.

Those days are gone and not likely to return. And on top of that you don't put 2 similar vehicles in the same showroom at the same price point. They would simply compete with each other.

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Thats likely why it was cancelled when it was, but very few people bought them before it was cancelled & therefore its deemed a failure.
Was actually a decent car. I got to drive one of the CTFs. But it had 2 things against it. 1 it was a coupe and 2 it didn't have retro styling. Retro styling didn't mean anything to me with this car but it got such bad rap for that.

Also there was a replacement in the works that never had a chance due to GM financials.

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The BNX was a monster, and (for the time) a marvel of engineering.
It was also a V6 turbo.

Build it to compete with the new turbo cars coming out.

My point about the GTO is that the original GTO's were ICONIC, and trendsetting for their looks and power.
They brought it back with no looks whatsoever, yet badged it with the moniker of a legend. At that time there was no Camaro in production. had they done it right and really mad a sweet retro restyling it would have been way more successful.
GNX was a very low volume car retrofitted by McClaren (or some outside shop). I'd be happy with a GN. It will likely be a sedan though. Not sure how you carve out a high performance Buick coupe or sedan when you have Cadillac.

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I myself am hoping for a Mid-Engine Corvette to compete with the Ford GT. Lol I know i'll never be able to afford one but at least Chevy will have something I can start to drool over again.
FYI, from what we know GM is ahead of Ford in this part of the arms race. Ford let us see a show car that won't be out until at least the end of next year. GM has already had a mid engine Mule car spy shots. Ford is desperate and showed a lot of their future hand at the NAIAS. GM is holding pretty tight and is being more Japanese OEM like right now on showing future products.

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That is the main reason that I stepped away from GM they ruined the Cutlass and came out with a FWD Cutlass killed all the good Olds cars like the 98, 88, Cutlass. They did such a bad job of Olds that they killed off the whole division.
GM piled a ton of $$$$ into the Intrigue and Aurora. Both were really good cars if you ever drove them. I had the chance to enjoy both on many occasions. The problem became cost. If you took an Intrigue and added the outstanding uplevel suspension and a pretty decent OHC V6 you had a car that went over $30,000.............back in the 90s. So if you had a really great Oldsmobile for $30,000 or would you pick a BMW 3 Series or a MB to put in your driveway? Same thing with the Aurora. It went over $40,000 with the V8. GM really did try here. Got crucified for it. And in the end died well before the bankruptcy. The only car that sold was the full size 88 and that was generally the bench seat model for the older folks that wanted a big Oldsmobile.

If you look at the history, they did not do a bad job at all. It's jus the historic problem GM has had for the past 30 years. Price a good car up to the point where you can have a German or Japanese Luxury brand in the driveway and GM loses that transaction. It's the reason why a really and truly great ATS and CTS aren't selling. GM went toe to toe with BMW on content and pricing and as of today.......................they are slowing the plant down because both cars are selling poorly.
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Old 02-28-2015, 11:16 AM   #31
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Car Companies need to stop digging up older models. They will never be able to bring a design forward that is worth an Iconic name like the Chevelle. Hell look what they did to the Charger, one of the biggest muscle car names of its time, AND THEY MADE IT A FAMILY SEDAN?!?! Da Fuq?

Come out with something new instead. Make something new that will eventually become Iconic.
Yeah a lame sedan with 707hp that does 200+!!!!! Total fail....
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Old 02-28-2015, 12:09 PM   #32
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I don't see it happening. They just released the "SS" and it is struggling to sell. Bland styling and a high price will kill this car in a few years.
So much fail in your post.
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Old 03-02-2015, 01:45 AM   #33
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I don't see it happening. They just released the "SS" and it is struggling to sell. Bland styling and a high price will kill this car in a few years.
The SS was never meant to sell millions of units. Your point is moot.
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Old 03-02-2015, 08:38 AM   #34
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So much fail in your post.
They've sold tons of them? A good friend of mine is the GM of a very large Chevy dealer. He informed me that they are struggling to sell. Just because you own one doesn't mean I'm misinformed. Enjoy your car. Here are the sales figures:
http://www.goodcarbadcar.net/2013/11...s-figures.html
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The SS was never meant to sell millions of units. Your point is moot.
So they were only meant to sell 2000 units/year? Seems quite silly and absurd from a business standpoint.
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Old 03-02-2015, 09:02 AM   #35
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Originally Posted by DRKS1D3 View Post
So they were only meant to sell 2000 units/year? Seems quite silly and absurd from a business standpoint.
As absurd as it sounds, it is true that the number is within projected sales

Quote:
Speaking with Automotive, Chevrolet’s marking executive for its performance cars, John Fitzpatrick, said that introducing more powerful versions of the SS in the U.S. was possible, though it will depend on initial sales of the car. He explained that Chevy is only targeting 2,000 to 3,000 sales per year, the amount the more affordable Pontiac G8, also based on the SS’ Holden Commodore donor, sold before Pontiac’s demise, which meant variations of the new SS were limited to keep the project profitable.

Should sales of the SS exceed those targets, then Chevy might look at introducing more versions of the car, including manual-equipped versions, Fitzpatrick said.
Chevy did a better job expecting low sales compared to Chrysler who thought they were going to make 2,000 Vipers a year (something which the Viper has only done one year in its whole history)

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The original goal was to limit production to 2,000 a year, but as of now they've only sold 426 in the United States and dealers are sitting on 565 unsold models. SRT brand boss Ralph Gilles said he is now aware that the aforementioned number proved overly optimistic.

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Old 03-02-2015, 09:08 AM   #36
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As absurd as it sounds, it is true that the number is within projected sales
Interesting to say the least.
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Old 03-02-2015, 09:19 AM   #37
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Interesting to say the least.
I know, at times truth is stranger than fiction
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Old 03-02-2015, 09:25 AM   #38
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If you look at the history, they did not do a bad job at all. It's jus the historic problem GM has had for the past 30 years. Price a good car up to the point where you can have a German or Japanese Luxury brand in the driveway and GM loses that transaction. It's the reason why a really and truly great ATS and CTS aren't selling. GM went toe to toe with BMW on content and pricing and as of today.......................they are slowing the plant down because both cars are selling poorly.
Coupes don't sell well NOW. They used to. Used to be I'd never ever ever ever consider anything but a 2-door. I think car companies lately aren't as slow to react as they used to be. It took them 5 years to shrink the body sizes for gas mileage considerations from the oil crisis in '73, but at least they looked a bit smarter when the second gas crunch hit by default. But when you produce a pricey vehicle and present it to the finicky public, sometimes you miss. Used to be the car companies could absorb the hits, but now they need to ensure the styling is still relevant as well as pleasing a lot of buyers to make the car successful.

Don't forget in the mid 80s, the Cutlass was a monster seller as well, in 1984 it was the 3rd top seller at 334,060 units (Chevy Cavalier was the best selling at over 371,836 units). But when the "foreign" makers started making better cars and slicing into GM's sales everywhere, they had to give up some of the redundancy and bloat that eventually made some models unmarketable. Again, using 84 numbers, the final 10 days in Sep, GM sold 102,000 units. Honda?...2,641. And Chevy sold 1.1 MILLION trucks in 84 and STILL was behind Ford Truck sales. (For reference, 84 Mustang sales were off 135,678 to Camaro's 261,591, nearly a 2:1 advantage!)

Speaking of the CTS, the wife's 2010 CTS Wagon is, mechanically, the best GM car I've ever experienced. In fact, the CTS is on sale now and we're considering a new one.
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Old 03-02-2015, 09:26 AM   #39
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I know, at times truth is stranger than fiction
I personally like the SS. I just wish it was a little more aggressive with the styling. The interior looks great (especially the seats). The exterior; however, just needs to be a little more sinister IMO.
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Old 03-02-2015, 10:17 AM   #40
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I don't know where anything that could be called a Chevelle would fit in the line up. There isn't a gap for it. Not to mention, I feel like the retro window is closed. I don't see many more old school nameplates being brought back in the near future.
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Old 03-02-2015, 12:37 PM   #41
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Originally Posted by DRKS1D3 View Post
They've sold tons of them? A good friend of mine is the GM of a very large Chevy dealer. He informed me that they are struggling to sell. Just because you own one doesn't mean I'm misinformed. Enjoy your car. Here are the sales figures:
http://www.goodcarbadcar.net/2013/11...s-figures.html
As was mentioned, GM forecast a very low volume for the SS Sedan. The low sales #'s have nothing to do with the eventual demise of this car. Sadly, the SS may not even see production for model year 2016 due to the impending shutdown of manufacturing of Holden in Australia. This car was DOA from the moment GM decided to export them. Price and style are certainly factors but not the sole reason for slow sales.

As for the price factor, nothing in the SS sedans vehicle class can touch it dollar for dollar. I'm not saying that b/c I own one, I'm saying that b/c it's a fact.

There is no denying the fact that the Sedan lacks in the aggressive looks department. Compared to the 5th gen Camaro, the SS is as vanilla as it gets. It's nondescript and might be mistaken for a Camry. Personally, I appreciate the styling as I prefer a sleeper. It's nice to fly under the radar for a while, esp. after owning a 5th gen.
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Old 03-02-2015, 08:30 PM   #42
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This would sell like hot cakes and every chevelle owner would recognize it as a chevelle ! I just think that it would have to be four doors like dodge did unless they just stop making the Camaro! She I first saw this my jaw drop ! Man this is sweet and modern looking with the square halo headlights!
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