This is a spinoff from the 'entry level performance' thread.

Is it time for Chevy to replace or radically rethink it's SS performance sub-brand? Frankly, I don't think it resonates much with people under 50. SVT will be returning to Ford, and developing a number of products. Judging by all the 22 year olds who contacted me, from all over the country, when I recently sold my SVT Contour, "SVT" really hits home with the under 35 crowd.

 

SS in the current day means nothing to me anymore...

 

So, what do you change it to that would be significantly better?


As for SVT, I can probably could on one hand how many people I know who know what it is.

 

I think it's been watered down a bit lately. I think if they had kept it only on truly deserving vehicles that actually offer great performance like the Trailblazer, Cobalt (2 door only) and Camaro it would mean more. I was never for putting a SS moniker on every Chevy product.

I don't know if that means a shift back to the "Z" brands again though...

 

Camaro SS is fine. TrailBlazer SS and LNF cars were ok too.

The 3800 Monte Carlo was a problem, but those days are long gone.

Lately (08+) it has been good, it was the early 90's that was bad. What is wrong with the LNF cars, trailblazer or the Camaro SS, Those are the only ones we have had lately.

Don't forget the non-S/C or turbo Cobalt SS was renamed Cobalt Sport for 2008. Lately SS has been about best in class HP and Nuremberg tuned suspension and I like it.

 

The problem is that SS is nothing more than a package - and it often happens to include all the bells and toys and the bigger engine. It isnt a "Super Sport" package. That's a "Grand Touring" sort of package. And while few people know "SVT" - it does generate brand loyalty - something "SS" does not.

And they watered it down over years of stupidity. I dont think it means a trip down "Z" package lane either - but GM needs something else. Not to sound like a broken record - but maybe "GMPD" like "HSV". Give the department some funding!

 

I think that throwing away decades of "SS" heritage would be a huge mistake.

Rather than getting rid of it, GM should focus the brand. If you're going to label something "SS" it had better be serious. At varying times throughout history, GM either made "SS" cars something to be reckoned with, or stupid stripe-and-decal packages. It seems they were going that way in the mid-2000s, when they started slapping "SS" on just about every car. They got called out for that by the public and the press, and began only applying it to more deserving cars.

If it were up to me, all "SS" cars would be more sport-oriented, as opposed to just loaded top-of-the-line models. Make a car with an "SS" badge something to be feared.

 

I think SVT and SS are apples and oranges. The now defunct GMPD and SVT were closer to the same, but GM never marketed GMPD like Ford did with SVT. I don't think there is anything wrong with SS, besides the exceptions that have been stated here (3800 MC's, n/a Cobalts, etc.) SS are really just Chevy's version of a more performance minded "sport" model. SS is synomomous with Chevy, whereas GT, RS, GS, ST, SE, GTR, are used by lots of different companies.

 

Don't really know. Maybe actually using the words "Super Sport", or something? I remember reading that Chevrolet wanted to avoid that, in fact even stated in one of their own press materials that these cars are not Super Sports, just SS. I sort of found that statement ridiculous.

Again, I'm not sure. Maybe a spirited discussion here will help get the juices flowing.

 

I think we're about to touch on a trend in Detroit that bugs me a little. The big 3, GM especially, has a habit of just throwing away good brands out the window. I guess thats what happens when you make crap cars for 30 years, you tarnish every last brand you have. Sometimes I think it's a miracle that the names Corvette, Camaro, and Mustang have made it this far.

 

I think for so long - really forever actually - you never quite new what to expect on an SS. I mean, was it a big bad '70 LS-6 Chevelle or was it grandpa's six cylinder station wagon? In many respects, it's been more of a trim level than a comprehensive performance package.

I mean when you say SVT, you know you're getting the max performance product from Ford. M from BMW. SRT from Dodge. SS? Okay, it's from Chevy, but ....."is that the SS with the big motor? Is that the fast SS or the slow one?"

OTOH, you could also argue that SS has been a successful marketing tool for Chevy exactly because of that. Some people want a car alittle bit better trimmed out, with alittle better performance than the the base car, without having to live with or pay for the gonzo performance package.

 

In 2009 SS is the same as SRT, in the early 2000's that was a different story. In fact I'd say 2008 was the Year SS changed into an SRT with the weaker cars getting the Sport badge (Equinox and 2.4L Cobalt) or dieing off LQ9 Silverado SS, and the true SS cars living on. TB SS and LNF Cobalt and HHR.

 

I would agree. I think GM has intended SS to be a trim level in its latest incarnations. I really wish they had put GMPD badges on the vehicles that they handled. That could have built a nice reputation for itself.

On a side note, what non-Ford vehicles did SVT work on? The only one I can think of was the Mercury Marauder.

 

The SS brand was watered down, too many vehicles were getting it and it was a package that included more show and less go on a lot of those vehicles.

That was cut before GMPD went down. Equinox sport and Cobalt sport replaced SS. I think having sport and SS is ok, but SS needs to be an SS. I think throwing it out because a few mistakes were made would be a bad idea.

 

Wattered yes. But I fixed that on my 97SS. But, how about toyota... "TRD" I think I would rather have SS. Trd could be taken for short form of tur_. Really, what were they thinkin with that??? B.