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Should Chevrolet continue the SS for another generation?

It is no shocker to say that Chevy kinda messed up with the SS. Now before everyone gets their facts and figures out, lets be real. The SS probably shouldn't have happened in the first place. Chevy hardly promoted the car when it released. It quietly came to our shores (the SS is really a Holden VF Commodore). It was the same with the Pontiac G8 before GM axed the brand. With the G8 however, it got more attention due to the heavy marketing Pontiac did with the car despite the low sales numbers. The SS fills the void of a performance sedan for Chevrolet mainly because there isn't a Impala SS sedan anymore. The SS also shares the same platform with the Chevrolet Caprice PPV, a fleet vehicle only available for your local police station since again the Impala doesn't fill that void any longer. But should the SS continue on in a future life? My answer: No! It was great for Chevy to do this little experiment, and I am sure they learned a lot from releasing the SS and the Caprice as well. But why not take the essence of both of those vehicles and combine them into a new next generation Impala. The Impala SS can return once again in a proper way, and a PPV version of the Impala can go into production. Kinda like what Ford and Dodge did with their performance and police versions of the Taurus and Charger. There really isn't a need to have 2 extra models in the line up when the Impala can fill all 3 voids. With the Holden VF Commodore going out of production in 2017, the Chevrolet SS may not be around much longer. There are rumors that the Commodore will live on in a new global vehicle, so if that is true it could mean the end of the RWD V8 sedans from Australia. But Chevrolet could continue the formula of the SS in the Impala, and it may turn out to be very successful for them. Image Credit: Chevrolet Chevrolet open road

2022 Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra now cost more, again

GM Authority put Chevrolet and GMC pickup truck prices under the microscope, spying the same macroscopic issues none of us can avoid seeing: Price increases. The 2022 Chevy Silverado 1500 and 2022 GMC Sierra 1500 have been hit with their third price increases this year. The Heavy Duty versions of those same trucks have been given their fourth price increases this year. Starting with the light-duty options, they've been rung up for another $900 across the board, which breaks down to $800 added to the MSRP and $100 added to the destination charge. The mandatory cost for shipping a truck from the factory to the dealer is now $1,795. That destination fee is now more than 5% of the purchase price of the least expensive 2022 Silverado, the Regular Cab Work Truck trim with a Standard Bed and 2.7-liter turbocharged four-cylinder retailing for $36,395 after destination. And that price is $3,200 more than the initial list price from last December. At the other end, the Silverado ZR2 is up $3,400. Average that out, and the Silverado's MSRP has gone up by nearly $700 every month since initial pricing came out. On the GMC side, the bidding starts at $37,195 for the Regular Cab Pro trim with a Standard Bed, a $4,700 increase over pricing announced last October.  Stepping up a tow rating or two, the Silverado HD is now $1,100 more expensive — $1,000 tacked onto the MSRP, the destination charge plumped another $100 to $1,795. The Silvy 2500 HD now starts at $41,295. The Sierra HD turns the screw a few more degrees, going up by $2,100 after the $100 increase for destination. The low bar for the Sierra 2500 HD is $41,995, a $4,100 rise over the price when it hit dealer lots last summer. Whew. Anyone know where the exit is for this "new normal?" Related video:

2017 Chevy Corvette Grand Sport spotters guide

The 2017 Corvette Grand Sport is a mix of regular Stingray and steroidal Z06. Unveiled at the 2016 Geneva Motor Show, this tweener 'Vette will go on sale this summer. If you need a refresher, click here for the details and official press release. We sat down with Chief Engineer Tadge Juecter in Switzerland to explain the differences between the Grand Sport and the rest of the Corvette lineup. <p>Your browser does not support iframes.</p> Stingray Hood The Grand Sport comes with the LT1 V8 (and 460 horsepower) instead of the supercharged LT4 in the Z06. That means the Grand Sport gets the lower Stingray hood, absent the power bulge. The Grand Sport also weighs less than the Z06. As such, the Grand Sport's springs and anti-roll bars are different to accommodate the lighter nose. "Mainly it's the weight distribution that changes," explains Juecter, "It's a custom tune around the obvious standard components." Grand Sport Wheels, Z06 Brakes In the sixth-generation Corvette, the Grand Sport came with a Z06-style body but kept the standard Vette's steel structure. With every version of the C7 built on an aluminum backbone, the Grand Sport has almost the same structure as the Z06. That means the Grand Sport can handle all the track-ready goodness like Z06 brakes and the optional Z07 package that adds carbon-ceramic disks and Michelin Pilot Sport 2 Cup tires. Except the Grand Sport comes without the max-downforce add-ons of the Z07-packaged Z06, because it doesn't need them. What you can't get on the Z06, though, is the unique Grand Sport wheel design, which comes in five different finishes. Stingray Brake Lights, Interior The dead giveaway for the Grand Sport is the hash marks on the front fenders which come in six different colors. Another way to spot the Grand Sport is the taillights, which use the Stingray's red lenses instead of the blacked-out Z06's lights. Z06 body plus taillights equals Grand Sport. Got that? The Grand Sport also comes with body-color rear fender vents, which are black on the Z06. And the Grand Sport's interior is based on the Stingray except the Collector Edition, which has unique blue accents.