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Chevrolet SS May Not Drive Off Into the Sunset Just Yet

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The 2016 Chevrolet SS comes with a Hood blanket

Everyone heard about it when General Motors (aka Holden) decided that it would cease all manufacturing in Elizabeth, Australia, in October, as well as cease building the Holden Commodore in 2017. While this meant the loss of a number of jobs, this also implied another loss: the end of the Commodore-based Chevrolet SS, with many assuming that the two nameplates would die together.

However, Chevrolet Camaro Chief Engineer (and overseer of the US market SS) Al Oppenheiser may have dispelled that idea during a conversation with Australia’s CarAdvice.com at the New York Auto Show. When asked about the SS, Oppenheiser talked about how, although the SS has not be a wild success, it has still improved over time.

“It sells what it’s supposed to,” he told CarAdvice.com. “And we haven’t announced an end date to it, so we’re just … we know that there are some decisions made on the Zeta [platform], that are imminent, and right now we’re just focused on the new ’17 model, which is great.”

So, in other words, the SS isn’t exactly a rip-roaring success, but it is doing just fine, so it will likely hang around. However, when pressed for details, Oppenheiser was nebulous, replying with a simple “Maybe” to the question of whether another global sedan would fill the SS’ place, and offering an “I don’t know that either” to the question of whether a replacement would be a V8.

Unfortunately, Oppenheiser was unable to give any other details, including whether GM would introduce a right-hand-drive Camaro or the Opel Insignia sporting a twin-turbo V6. However, he did reiterate that the company understood how important performance vehicles are to Australia, mentioning one of his managers for the fifth-generation Camaro who was an Australian rear-wheel-drive performance car fan, who was disappointed when the Camaro never made its way overseas.

Of course, that doesn’t mean a right-hand Camaro is off the table. Oppenheiser later said that a right-hand-drive Camaro is a possibility, if they discover that there is sufficient demand, so maybe with the Commodore heading out, Australia could get another try at it.

So, bottom line: while the Holden Commodore is coming to an end, Chevrolet still plans to keep around the SS for the time being.

News Source: CarAdvice.com.au