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AW: Chevy SS Manual Trans Option Coming For MY15

38K views 157 replies 75 participants last post by  zinner 
#1 ·
Autoweek Magazine

02/17/2014 - Page 13



Chevrolet's hard at work on the new for '14 SS sedan's next evolution; it's expected sooner rather than later. Price and details aren't known, but big upgrades for the next LS3-powered SS are set.

Look for a manual transmission and GM's Magnetic Ride Control suspension. We hear the manual SS arrives this summer as a 2015, with a $2,000-$3,000 premium over today's automatic-only $44,470 sticker.
 
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#55 ·
Good news! But I am disappointed that the LT1 was not added for 2015. I haven't seen a SS in the flesh yet. So I am not going to comment on the G8 vs. SS comparisons, other than the G8 didn't photograph well. The G8 looks much better in person and I think the SS will be the same way.
 
#58 ·
I've got a G8, and I love how the front end looks. It's perfect for a Pontiac. The SS front end just doesn't look right to me. I think the regular Holden Commodores look nicer than the SS models in the front.

As for the interior, yeah, not much of a contest there. The newer design looks a LOT nicer. Now if they would just offer it in a color other than basic black.
 
#64 · (Edited)
Firstly, the cost to certify a car for EPA is enormous. It isn't a few thou. So given the modern take rate on sedans (even on a v8 sports sedan) they will indeed cover the cost by dividing the cost amongst the projected sales. So if it cost $100,000 to certify, inventory, update dealer doco, parts inventory/wharehousing etc etc etc and they sell 500 manuals then bingo.

As far as stocks on the ground, a boat might have recently landed. Another one might not come for weeks. So dealers might have just got an allocation that will have to last them months - and America is blanketted in snow, hardly good weather for selling anything. All car sales are down. It's summer here and they're knocking out lots of cars. This is not an Impala or Corvette or CTS where there is a factory on the same continent knocking out cars. These cars come from a long way away.

Don't trust the dealer locater. Dealers don't remove inventory to get you on their lots or just because they're slack. Same thing happened with GTOs and G8s - people went looking for cars sold weeks before. In the last month of GTO sales the website was showing 2,000 for sale. A Pontiac staffer posting to the GTO board said there was less than 200 new, unsold cars which did not include dealer demos and they were all 17" wheel all-weather tyre autos - the undesirable ones.

As far as options, the 2015 is likely to be the last model built. Intel about Holden's operations such as they are suggest they are going to build enough cars in 2015 to see out demand for PPV, SS and Holden VF demand until the end of 2016 and close the factory - Cruze will be gone by then and the factory can build 100K plus a year and is currently only running at 60-70K. And in case anyone missed Reuss' comments, there is no 'next gen' SS. Holden engineering is winding down, everthing that is likely to be offered is already in the can. Holden had DI protos back in 2007 - not going to happen.

GM is leaving the field. The last company who could give GM a niche hi performance RWD sedan at less than Cadillac prices is being closed. GM is just going to sell you American Toyotas.

And while the G8 is a worthy car, it's interior and amenities were borderline acceptable in 2009. The VF/SS is right up to the minute in features and fittings - it is it is simply far more capable in virtually any circumstance. Not only does it have wider rear treads, but superior suspension and driveline tech, and steering and handling. Comfort, drive, features. Even the auto is much better sorted. The manual is not the same box as a 1993 T56.

If you had a clean G8 GXP it might be a tough call as that is not a terrible car. You could persuasively make the same argument for a Sigma CTS, pre-2012 Charger or 300, even Corvette. The new car, is better though in virtually every way.
 
#70 ·
A) GM is leaving the field. The last company who could give GM a niche hi performance RWD sedan at less than Cadillac prices is being closed. GM is just going to sell you American Toyotas.

B) Even the auto is much better sorted. The manual is not the same box as a 1993 T56.
A) If this truly is GM's mentality, then I'm gone. The Corvette will continue to move upmarket & even if I were in a comfortable income bracket, I probably wouldn't own one.
B) Please re-read my statement. I stated that it's basic design goes back to 1993 (actually the 1992 LT1 Corvette). The only improvements from there was in internal refinements. The case & basic design is the same. Ratios have been shuffled, materials improved, model designations changed, & ownership changed hands.
 
#66 ·
I've been crying to GM for a full sized, V8, RWD, manual transmissioned sports car with room for family and friends since I was a teenager.

I will put off buying a car until 2015. This WILL be my next car. As close to a dream car as I can get. It'll be a LITTLE bit of a financial stretch, but I'll make it work. No way in hell am I passing up on this car.
 
#67 ·
Manual trans - and MRC - they may have piqued my interests.

My G8 has 65k miles on it - and while its not falling apart its starting to need repair $$.

I had to replace the front control arms as the non serviceable ball joints went bad.

They only cost $250 or so for the whole front set - but the time and then having to get an alignment kind of pissed me off.

I see Hennessey chassis dyno'd a stock SS @ 359 RWHP.

My car with long tubes, a CAI, and Corsa exhaust put down 360 rwhp.

So the power difference isn't all that much between the 2 cars - but what the selling point is the new interior and all the gadgets that comes with it.

I know there is a guy selling a radio swap kit that will allow you to put in the VEII updated radio with nav, bluetooth, and Holden IQ into your G8 - but that swap is $3K!

That's just ridiculous!

I put a GM Nav radio in my Vette for 700 bucks, and I thought THAT was expensive.

So the updated interior/exterior is what has me thinking about looking at the SS.
 
#77 ·
Have you sat in the back seat of the SS? It is very roomy. Makes the ATS and CTS feel down right horrible in terms of legroom. The SS has a great back seat for families. I have three kids and right now - can't get all three and their car seats in the back of my Accord. This would be a perfect car for me - sports car like power, manual transmission and room for all three kids when we want to ditch the minivan for medium range road trips.
 
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#71 ·
How quickly people forget that the manual transmission on the GXP was an extra cost option at $695 above the automatic.
 
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#84 ·
Engineering cost no. But GM still has to pay to have it certified for North American sales.
 
#87 ·
I agree, however, I wonder if the relative rarity of GM-built manual equipped vehicles in the US is a self-fulfilling prophecy. Over the past few years, the manual take-rate has been rising industry-wide, and while that's still only around 7% of all sales, I'm certain more manuals would be sold today if there were more vehicles available with them.
 
#92 ·
It's not about how much it costs, it's about how much we will pay. I would pay more for a MT than an AT, I know with the Gen 2 CTS-V you got a 1300 dollar break on gas guzzler tax with the MT. So it was sorta like a discount.
 
#94 ·
Exactly - if the manual transmission eliminates the gas guzzler tax then the premium is essentially for MRC. A deal.
 
#104 · (Edited)
Manual trans won't avoid GGT with the SS because it also has a steeper diff ratio than the G8 - similar to the G8 GXP. The Australian market car has the 370hp L98 and the standard 2.45 diff, which means it's slower to 60 but also several mpg better, as is the auto which has an L76 360hp AFM motor. The US SS has similar 3,27 gearing to HSVs as well as the LS3 which is why they're much better performers but worse on juice.

While the bare pre-machined case might be the same as a 1993 T56, not much from inside or outside will swap. Not just gear ratios - shifter housing, shift lever, internals, gate, synchros, shafts - not very much other than a few bearings. It's like saying an LS3 is the same motor as an LS1 - it is, but it isn't.

I have a T56 with the 0.5 6th ratio in my Monaro with 60,000 miles on it. I had an SS for two weeks and the box feels absolutely different. The shifter feels snick-snick-snick short-throw and very like the box in the OPC Astra, which itself is better than the stock Opel FWD manual or GM 6T Cruze shifter.

The shift travel, effort, quality, engagement feel is lightyears apart between 2004 and 2014. If I had a complaint with the box itself, it is that the shifter is so short and the gate so tight it's hard to change from say sixth to second without going through fourth - simply hard to pick the gate.

The actual change is far superior and it's much easier than getting my box (which actually has a tighter ratio spread from 1-4) back into second before turn in on tight corners. I bet the car is easier to quarter, as the 2-3 change in a T56 is a serious pain and muff chance.

The T56 feels long-throw and rubbery by comparison, partly due to the plastic shifter lid. I have a Harrop shifter kit which is all-metal with a repositioned pivot and better quality parts/swivel and short lever to fit which I hope improves it to somewhere near as good as the SS - the only thing I really dislike on my car for quick driving - almost a two hander at times.
 
#105 ·
IF a manual is available, the SS goes to the top of my shopping list. Yes, I think the car is fairly homely. Yes, I wish it actually had a real name. Yes, I hate that it's an overnight orphan. But...the combo of LS3 plus 6 speed manual plus RWD plus a price in the $40's would get my attention.
 
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#156 ·
I'm disappointed in the number of folks going out of their way to mock and challenge fellow GMI posters who wish for a manual transmission in cars like the SS. Some of the folks lamenting the missing manual in the SS do so because it is the deal breaker for a car they would otherwise buy; others do it because it is yet another sign of manufacturers playing to the sorry state of our decaying car culture. Being a manual enthusiast myself, I know those who are okay with an automatic in a performance-oriented car will never get it. That's fine, but no need to get derisive over it.



I like the looks of it; all it needs is a subtle wedge spoiler, a small drop, and better wheels. If the SS does come out with a manual, I might consider parting with the thirdgen...
 
#106 ·
"Using the inflation calculator at http://www.usinflationcalculator.com the MSRP of a C5 1998 Corvette in 1998 ($38,995) would be $55,731 today.

An actual 2014 Corvette Stingray has a MSRP of about $51,000.........that means the price of a Corvette has actually DROPPED since the days of the C5.

BUT.....With the C4's $21,800 starting price in 1984, adjusted for inflation it would cost just $48,878.37. Over 2 grand less than the current version. "

And you're getting so much more performance and quality in the newer vette!

When discussing sedans (versus a vette), I think more family than mid-life crisis. And when I think family, I think mom driving the car. And when I think mom driving the car, I think the percentage of moms knowing/preferring a manual transmission. And, if I am thinking correctly, that number of these SS's is too small for GM to want to do the car as a manual. It's not personal, it's business.
 
#107 ·
The Chevy SS is an incredible deal in terms of performance, features and build quality. Adding a manual transmission and MRC for a couple thousand more is still not out of reason when you consider what you can purchase in the $45-50K price range. I have owned only one automatic transmission vehicle as my daily driver…and I won't go back. There are lots of folks like me that will only drive a manual transmission. GM knows that if they bring the manual transmission to this car - they will be the only game in town unless you have the cash for a BMW 550i which is also available with a manual.

Since the engineering work is already paid for - all they have to do is certify it for sale in North America. Makes perfect sense to do that - even if sales are small.
 
#128 ·
BMW 550i which is also available with a manual.
Actually, the manual transmission was dropped for Model Year 2014 550i (LCI) in the U.S. market. Details here.

U.S. market 535i also will lose the manual transmission option starting with March 2014 production (link).
 
#112 ·
I seriously doubt they would have trouble selling this even if on an order only basis. A small run is undoubtedly all they have planned - and I suspect they will sell whatever limited amount they plan on building.
 
#113 · (Edited)
The people complaining about the SS most likely couldn't afford to buy one anyways. What do they know? Not much from what I've read on here.

Price out a crate LS3 engine and the appropriate transmission, and then ship it to Australia. Yeah, not cheap. 25% of the cost of the car is just for the engine and transmission.

Second, nobody pays what the car builder price quotes online for an actual car. Walk into a Chevy dealership right now with a $40,000 check and you'll be leaving with an SS in your name.
 
#119 ·
So it will have a manual... a bigger colour palette... and MRC.

Right, so all those 'if it wasn't for...." US GMI'ers will now buy the thing when the upgrades arrive?

Nope, it costs too much.

I guess if GM drops the price at least we will then find out more reasons for not buying the SS. :cool:
 
#116 ·
http://gmauthority.com/blog/2013/09...2014-chevrolet-ss-allocation-will-be-limited/
From the article, written from GM, the company will call the venture a success if they sell over 1,700 cars, this year. So,if one takes a 20% (and I am being generous) of the sales to be a manual (which none are available yet), we are talking only 340 units, give or take. Is a number like 350 units going to create any interest from GM's management? Never did before. Even the Edsel had better sales. It's going to be numbers game and the numbers, as I see them, won't be there.
What I would think more interesting is the years that GM thinks that they will be sold. The Holden GTO lasted 3(?) years. Not worth the money to put money toward a unique vehicle with a limited life span.
I also find the arguement that somebody would pay extra for a transmission of which was always the one for free (the auto carried a premium) no matter what and somebody else starts comparing the Chevy to the BMW which has a higher tag. How many customers in that group are going to opt for the BMW (Audi, MB,..) because the Chevy is well, you know a Chevy? Perception sells.
 
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