My 15 Minutes of Pure, V8-Powered Bliss

[ben4372]

This thread has so much in it to comment on. First the Government Motors thing, just to be a smart ass. Then my dismay that they didn't sell 10 times as many as they did. These cars were an unbelievable bargain. And I'm 90 % sure you could order them with a manual. Sweet.

I think the reason 2017 was the last year is because they closed down the factory. Pretty sure Ford left too. Australia had some weird manufacturing rules. They used to make some unique cars down under.

Finally if you want to be cool the company that converts the utes to US spec is for the cool kids is in our back yard. I saw one in Wheatridge. http://www.lefthandutes.com/

[Bailey Guns]

This thread has so much in it to comment on. First the Government Motors thing, just to be a smart ass. Then my dismay that they didn't sell 10 times as many as they did. These cars were an unbelievable bargain. And I'm 90 % sure you could order them with a manual. Sweet.

I think the reason 2017 was the last year is because they closed down the factory. Pretty sure Ford left too. Australia had some weird manufacturing rules. They used to make some unique cars down under.

Finally if you want to be cool the company that converts the utes to US spec is for the cool kids is in our back yard. I saw one in Wheatridge. http://www.lefthandutes.com/

They really never did catch on here. And everywhere you read about them, car guys just rave about the performance...especially with the manual, which is what they all want. The one I drove is an auto but you can do the sport-shift thing if you want. The suspension is just amazing. And, yeah, they closed the factory downunder. Ford and Toyota are bailing from building cars down there, too.

In 2017 a new SS stickered for just under $50k. The only option that actually raised the price was a sunroof. There was no extra charge for the manual transmission option. Chevy was running an incentive program to clear them out for 20% off MSRP after they discontinued them...that put them at just under $40k.

And not to take away from the Chevelles and such like in the above picture...but that's not what this car was about. This was a daily driver that could haul the family and the groceries and compete - performance and feature wise - with some pretty serious Euro competition.

A 4 door, rear drive sedan that does 0-60 in about 4.5 secs, stops from 60 in 100' and holds .95g on the skid pad for under $40k new. What's not to like about that?