Holden has exported its last Australian-built Commodore model to the US, bringing an end to a long-running North American supply deal.
As the Australian manufacturing arm winds down its Adelaide production ahead of an October closure, the US export program was recently culminated with the completion of a Chevrolet SS sports sedan. The LS3-powered juggernaut was black in colour and mated, naturally, with a six-speed manual transmission.
Holden manufacturing employees channelled their inner Mercedes-AMG at the completion of the build, signing the engine bay of the historic final car as requested by its US customer.
“Just as the vehicle was being produced, the Holden manufacturing team received a request from a US customer, asking the manufacturing employees to sign their Chevrolet SS,” a Holden spokesperson confirmed.
Holden’s Elizabeth manufacturing team happily obliged, scribbling their signatures under the hood and on the deck lid carpets.
In total, Holden exported 12,953 Chevrolet SS sports sedans to the US during its latest contract, plus a further 7305 Chevrolet Caprice models issued to the US authorities as ‘Police Pursuit Vehicles’.
In the final 12 months of production, Holden exported 4008 Chevrolet SS sedans to the US, and 652 Caprice PPVs.
The Chevrolet SS is decried by many US enthusiasts (and motoring journalists) as GM’s best-kept secret. The car sold in small numbers thanks in large part to no external marketing or advertising, other than its role as the poster car for Chevrolet’s NASCAR program. Sadly, it is “unlikely” to be replaced.
The slow Chevy SS uptake is only a small snapshot of what might have been for Holden’s stunted exporting program, which also comprises deliveries to New Zealand and the Middle East.
Holden exported approximately 41,000 Commodores as Pontiac G8 sedans between November 2007 and February 2009. The deal was a big boost to local manufacturing, but ended abruptly when the Pontiac brand was axed in the wake of the Global Financial Crisis. A ute version of the Pontiac G8 was due to follow but it was sidelined before exports began.
In 2004 and 2005, Holden shipped 31,500 Monaros to the US rebadged as the Pontiac GTO – more than double the number of Monaros sold in Australia over four years.
Another attempt to import the Holden Ute to the US as a re-badged Chevrolet El Camino in 2013 was eventually stymied by the high Australian dollar.
US publications including Motor Trend and Autoblog are already admonishing the demise of the Chevrolet SS, describing it as “world class” and “a true sleeper sports sedan with very few competitors”.
US customers followed similar market trends to Australians when it came to the locally-built Commodore/Chevrolet SS. The six-speed manual gearbox attracted a 32 per cent take rate, while black, white and blue were the most popular colours according to official figures.