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Originally posted by sjtill:

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I really wish I had bought a Chevy SS with a manual transmission when I had the chance.

Yeah, Pontiac (RIP) also had a version of that Holden imported from Oz. Reviews were great, but how were you going to get parts?

Our local city police department bought Caprices for a few years, which was the fleet version of the SS. They were awesome cars, but the motors all chewed through valvetrains and camshafts in about 100k miles because of the stupid cylinder deactivation system. Parts were also a huge PITA to get, and they had to go aftermarket for exhaust, so now the few that are left sound like tractors.

The idea was sound...a big, RWD, V8 sedan...but GM didn't import enough of them for long enough to make it a sustainable option.

GM could own the RWD sedan market with the Caprice PPV/SS platform but they could screw up a train wreck. The importation and distribution of those models was a lost opportunity from day one.

Chevrolet in my opinion didn’t give a rat’s butt cheek as they didn’t need the additional product or sales. So what was left? Buick? Cadillac?

No, the answer would have been to redesign Pontiac Motor Division post bankruptcy but rhe new BOD of GM and the Feds wanted it to go away.

The reality is the public overwhelmingly wants SUV's instead of cars. And they are willing to pay a lot more for SUV's than the actual difference in manufacturing cost, which is not really that much more than a sedan. Fleet sales to police departments are notoriously low margin, so keeping cars in production because they make for good cop cars and taxis is not a good business decision. Hence ford killing the Crown Vic and GM killing the Caprice/Impala.

Cop cars in the future will be what we are already seeing - lowered SUV's to get the center of gravity lower to improve stability.

Now the thing I cannot understand is why "Stellantis" killed the Charger/Challenger BEFORE the replacement is ready. The new charger looks pretty cool. The 2-door version is a decent modernization of the iconic '69, and the 4-door is more practical without looking too bad. Yes there will be an EV version but also a turbo inline 6.

The basic problem is V8's are heavy and don't get great fuel economy. They are being regulated out of existence by CO2 limits which are really nothing more than increased fuel economy requirements. Smaller I4 and I6 turbos can make good power while being much more efficient.

As a result Stellantis Q2 2024 sales are down over 20% compared to 2023.

Some of this is probably due to European senior management that absolutely does not understand the U.S. market.