Chevrolet SS @ Autoextremist.com Peter M. DeLorenzo's reviews. ON THE TABLE - MONDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2010 AT 04:33PM (Photos courtesy of GM Corp.) GM is marking 10 years of automotive design at its North Hollywood Advanced Design Center, a milestone that, according to GM, "honors GM’s rich California heritage and celebrates the innovative spirit of the designers who are creating the vehicles of the future." The North Hollywood Design Center includes designers from the United States, England, France, Germany, Finland, Italy, Korea and Iraq. The design center has won the prestigious L.A. Design Challenge three of the last six years. “GM Design traces its roots back to Hollywood native Harley Earl and California’s rich, diverse and eclectic culture, which has inspired some of our greatest designs over the past century,” said Ed Welburn, GM’s vice president of Global Design. “And since its inception, the North Hollywood Advanced Design Center has continued this tradition and played an integral role in some of our most notable advanced concepts the last decade.” The studio’s design team has been led since its opening by studio director Frank Saucedo, and has created vehicles like the Chevrolet SS concept (above), the Pontiac Solstice and others below. THE LINE - MONDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2012 AT 09:02AM December 19, 2012 (Chevrolet) Chevrolet unveiled its 2013 NASCAR Chevrolet SS race car in Las Vegas on November 29th. Chevrolet's newest entry in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series closely resembles the all-new rear wheel drive V-8 Chevrolet SS performance sedan that will debut early next year. The production Chevrolet SS will be a derivative of the global rear-wheel-drive architecture that has spawned performance vehicles like the Chevrolet Camaro and Holden’s upcoming VF Commodore. The limited-production version of the Chevrolet SS will be a 2014 model and will arrive in dealer showrooms in late 2013. It is the first time in 17 years that Chevrolet will offer a rear-wheel- drive sedan for sale in the United States. Chevrolet has long used the SS (Super Sport) designation on high-performance models of some of its most enduring nameplates. The SS designation first appeared in 1957 on a Corvette prototype race car built under the guidance of Zora Arkus-Duntov with the plan to enter it in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The first production vehicle to be offered with an SS optional package was the 1961 Impala – 453 were built with the performance upgrades, which included a modified chassis and suspension, power brakes, a steering column mounted tachometer and unique wheels and tires. The SS designation returned to the Chevrolet lineup in 2010 with the debut of the fifth-generation Camaro. Chevrolet has 702 victories in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, more than any other manufacturer. Fonty Flock earned the manufacturer’s first win on March 26, 1955, at Columbia, S.C. Five-time series champion Jimmie Johnson achieved Chevrolet’s 700th victory earlier this month at Texas Motor Speedway. (Photo by Isaac Brekken for Chevrolet) General Motors President North America Mark Reuss (left) and GM Vice President Performance Vehicles and Motorsports Jim Campbell unveil the 2013 NASCAR Chevrolet SS race car Thursday, November 29, 2012, in Las Vegas, Nevada. ON THE TABLE - FEBRUARY 13, 2013 (GM) The Chevrolet SS will be the first V-8, rear-wheel-drive performance sedan from the Chevrolet brand since 1996. “The Chevrolet brand was largely built on the strength of rear-drive performance sedans, yet it's been 17 years since we've offered one,” said Mark Reuss, president of General Motors North America. “The all-new Chevrolet SS fills that void and fills it better than any other vehicle in the brand’s rich history. The comfort, convenience, spaciousness and V-8 power make the SS a total performance package unlike any other on the road today.” The Chevrolet SS is based on the global rear-wheel drive architecture that is the foundation for the Camaro, Caprice Police Patrol Vehicle and Holden’s VF Commodore. The Chevrolet SS is powered by the LS3 Chevrolet V-8, expected to deliver 415 horsepower and 415 lb-ft of torque. The LS3 is married to a six-speed automatic transmission, which can be shifted manually using TAPshift paddles mounted on the steering wheel. With an aggressive 3.27 final- drive ratio, the Chevrolet SS accelerates from 0 to 60 mph in about five seconds – making it one of the quickest sedans on the market. Other features include MacPherson strut front and multilink independent rear suspension geometry, electronic power steering system, optimized for sport driving, standard Brembo brakes with ventilated, 355-mm rotors and two-piece, four- piston front calipers, forged aluminum wheels, wrapped in ultra-high-performance Bridgestone tires (19 x 8.5 inch wheels with 245/40ZR19 tires in front; 19 x 9.0 inch wheels with 275/35ZR19 tires rear). And there's a bunch of other stuff too. The 2014 Chevrolet SS will be available in the fourth quarter of 2013, with prices set closer to the on-sale date. ON THE TABLE - FEBRUARY 20, 2013 TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2013 AT 10:05AM GM. There's a lot of Internet chatter out there slamming the new Chevrolet SS. Why? Oh, something about it not being as good as the G8, or some other rambling diatribe du jour. We think the SS is worth shouting about. Anytime a U.S. manufacturer steps up to the plate and stuffs a 400+ HP V8 in a rear-wheel-drive chassis with sporting intentions, it's a good thing in the AE songbook. A very good thing. ON THE TABLE - JUNE 5, 2013 (Chevrolet) LS3 6.2L small-block V-8, 415 horsepower (310 kW) and 415 lb-ft of torque (563 Nm). Zero to 60 mph in about five seconds. All this for $44,470, including a $995 destination charge. For fans of rear-wheel-drive and V8 power and especially for those who need a little extra room, the 2014 Chevrolet SS sports sedan might just be the ticket. The only options? A power- operated sunroof ($900) and full-size spare tire ($500). Other standard features include a six- speed automatic transmission that can be shifted manually using TAPshift paddles mounted on the steering wheel; Brembo front brakes, with ventilated, 14-inch (355-mm) two-piece rotors and four-piston calipers; forged aluminum wheels with ultra-high-performance Bridgestone tires (19 x 8.5-inch wheels with 245/40ZR19 tires in front, 19 x 9-inch wheels with 275/35ZR19 tires at the rear); aluminum hood and rear deck lid; 3.27 rear axle ratio and much more. The SS will be available in five exterior colors – Mystic Green, Silver Ice Metallic, Red Hot 2, Phantom Black Metallic and Heron White. All interiors will be Jet Black and feature sport front bucket seats. The SS will be available in the fall. ON THE TABLE - APRIL 16, 2014 (Chevrolet/newspressUSA) Speaking of other good news for the True Believers at GM, Chevrolet is touting that it has been America's best-selling performance car brand for four consecutive years. We don't care about vacuous, bullshit claims like that - as in really stupid - but the fact that you can buy the Chevrolet SS sedan, Corvette Z06 and Camaro Z/28 right now in Chevrolet showrooms is a very good thing. ON THE TABLE - JULY 29, 2015 MONDAY, JULY 27, 2015 AT 10:34AM Editor-In-Chief's Note: Our "Quick Take" this week finds us in a 2015 Chevrolet SS Sedan. Our "Regal Peacock Green Metallic" tester (sort of like British Racing Green 3.0) was low key but surprisingly handsome, even though it is an ultra-conservative design. We actually liked the low-key look of the SS because well, truth be told, if you drive around with your foot in it an awful lot like we did, the black-green was understated and not showy at all, which was perfect for the task at hand. And who's kidding whom, here? The whole point of the SS is having a rear- wheel-drive sport sedan with big V8 power and in this case, a six-speed manual gearbox, and it all works beautifully together in this package. You find yourself hammering it if only just to hear that big V8 bark. Not that the SS is a 0-60 mph meathead special by any stretch, because the Magnetic Ride Control makes this 3960 lb. sedan feel composed and sophisticated, and you can hustle it around at - ahem - remarkable speeds over any kind of driver's road, particularly high-speed sweepers, where it absolutely shines. It's no secret that the Chevrolet SS is the last of a vanishing breed (the only other large performance sedan available with a manual gearbox is the BMW M5). In fact GM is going to stop selling it here by 2017, when the plant in Australia that builds it fades away. But the SS is the last of a vanishing breed for other reasons too. With emissions and fuel economy restrictions growing more stringent by the model year, you simply won't be able to buy something like the SS. There is an unmistakable, visceral thrill that comes with a big V8, rear-wheel-drive and a manual gearbox. Some in the anti-car intelligentsia would love to see cars like the SS go away in favor of autonomous cars and the rigid controls that go with them. Hell, even some enthusiasts would love to see manual gearboxes go by the wayside altogether in favor of performance automatics, because they're quicker in maximum testing and they find the whole notion of a manual quaint and superfluous.