Not above plagiarizing Matthew for a headline. My other choice was a miserable one from Victor Hugo; “Nothing can be sadder or more profound than to see a thousand things for the first and last time.“* The “thousand things” could mean the 12,953 Holden unicorns made in Australia and imported by General Motors as Chevrolet SS sleepers from 2014 to 2017.
This one is a 2017 Chevrolet SS, the final year, with only 29,000 miles on it. The 2017 SS listed at about $48,000, but Chevrolet never moved these off the lots as quickly as they moved from stoplights, and offered deep discounts – up to 20% in many cases – to reduce inventory. Snatching one of these in 2017 for $38,000 would have been a helluva deal, especially since as a modern, collector car it’s now selling at MSRP! Unfortunately, it’s not the more coveted manual transmission like this rare pair offered by CarMax two years ago.
The 2017 Chevrolet SS is listed as a “10” for features by CarMax, and yet for a six year old car it’s lacking more than a few. Heated and air conditioned seats, automated parking, heads up display, cross traffic alert, and a decent Bose sound system yes. But no adaptive cruise control, Apple CarPlay, or heated steering wheel. What it has is a massive 6.2 liter LS3 naturally aspirated V-8 motor that makes 415 horsepower driving the rear wheels. That’s not a ton, but it moves this car to 60 mph in the mid-four second range. And it sounds awesome doing so. I drove one a few years ago and it had the same visceral oomph and roar of old time muscle cars. The SS also has (from 2015 on) GM’s Magnetic Ride Control suspension and handles quite well – .94 lateral g on the skid pad.
This 2017 Chevrolet SS has spent its whole life in Florida with one owner and is available here in Tampa. It’s actually gray over black, making all the pix look like they’re in black and white. It’s an accident free car and eligible for MaxCare up to 150,000 miles and five years. I don’t think I’d bother at all.
Stock No. 24071876 VIN 6G3F15RW9HL303934
What follows also looks like the same car in black and white pictures but it is not. This is a green over black Chevrolet SS – a first year model from 2014. It’s outfitted almost identically to the 2017 above, although as noted does not have the magnetic suspension. It’s also $4,000 less than the 2017 and has only 18,000 miles.
IMHO the 2014 green exterior, although subtle, has a nicer tone than the drab gray of the 2017.
What kept me from buying one way back when? If you’re a regular reader you would know it’s my vanity. I was okay having a Mercedes S-class that concealed its V-12 motor and yet having to explain over and over my Chevrolet came from Australia and really wasn’t a Malibu is beyond me. It looks pretty plain. The 2014 had a big pair of exhaust outlets and by 2017 the car got four, smaller pipes. Beyond that I’d be hard pressed to tell the difference.
All of the SS’s had plenty of room in the back seat and in the trunk to be a legitimate family hauler or road tripper. And on road trips the car gets up to 22 mpg highway. I’ve had worse.
This 2014 Chevrolet SS was a two-owner from Kansas and Lubbock, and is currently being transferred to San Antonio, Texas but you can track it here. Same MaxCare warranty options as the 2017, although always remarkable that it would still be covered when it’s 14 years old!
Stock No. 23712976 VIN 6G3F15RW1EL938447
*The full quote makes me want to end it all.
“Nothing can be sadder or more profound than to see a thousand things for the first and last time. To journey is to be born and die each minute…All the elements of life are in constant flight from us, with darkness and clarity intermingled, the vision and the eclipse; we look and hasten, reaching out our hands to clutch; every happening is a bend in the road…and suddenly we have grown old. We have a sense of shock and gathering darkness; ahead is a black doorway; the life that bore us is a flagging horse, and a veiled stranger is waiting in the shadows to unharness us. ”
― Victor Hugo, Les Misérables
