Repair-It

I was leaving work Wednesday and it was dark out. I came to a stop sign and let another car cross the intersection in front of me. I pulled out to follow it out. It appeared to be a black late model Malibu. As I was following it, I was trying to determine the generation of Malibu. That is its own thing because there have been like 3 within 2013 to 2016 - technically two but 2014 was a refresh to the Epsilon II 2013. The rear end looked Camaro-like but I couldn't quite place it. Then I noticed the rear wheel well lips seemed flared and it had quad exhaust. There was something muscular about it. My next thought was man that thing looks pretty aggressive - is that a trim level thing? Took me probably 15 seconds of following it and a visual badge confirmation to realize it was the SS.

I am fine with this at this point in time because:
- It is a sleeper
- Heavily discounted from new which should drive used resale down, at least initially
- It is still rare

Which leaves the opportunity to pick up something that has muscle, is a sleeper and is rare, for an affordable price. That combination is very relevant. And no I don't think the rareness is diminished because it looks like the Malibu. It is rare to anyone who understands that no Malibu has a snarling LS3.

It is rare because it is a 50K Camaro (Gen 5) with 4 doors and looks like a Malibu...

Basically, I am still saying it is over priced even if you like the bland styling.

How much was an Impala SS compared to a Z-28 in 1993? Probably pretty close.

http://media.caranddriver.com/files/199 ... n-1994.pdf
$23,355 as tested - Impala SS 1994

21K a tested Z-28 1993.

So a Gen 5 Camaro SS was 33 to start, add a couple options call it 36K This means the SS should have easily been under 40K, it is currently pushing 50K That is approximately 20% too high. Maybe that is why GM is selling cars with a 20% rebate...

The next set I could find for the Camaro Z-28 is 1996:
http://media.caranddriver.com/files/199 ... c-1995.pdf
Base 24K as tested almost 28K so there is a good chance that the Impala price reflects an upswing in car costs and only 2 years the Z-28 is 4K more than the Impala SS.

Basically what I am getting at is the SS is only rare because it is under styled and overpriced. I don't understand why that makes it special. If this was 35K (in line with Gen 5 Camaro pricing), I would agree that this would be kind of special.

More ammo for the lowered price:
https://www.cargurus.com/Cars/1993-Chev ... pecs-c1001
A Caprice in 1993 - Price $21,645 MSRP
Body Style Sedan
Engine 5.7L 180 hp V8

Wow!!!! same price as that 1993 Z-28! I would argue that the current SS is more styled to the Caprice than the Impala SS. Since the SS looks more like a Malibu than a Camaro.

The SS should be no more than 35K.

Matt Farah seemed to think it was a bargain when you factor actual transaction prices for new.

In other words: It isn't worth what they are asking, but you can get it for less.

billgiacheri wrote:Basically, I am still saying it is over priced even if you like the bland styling.

How much was an Impala SS compared to a Z-28 in 1993? Probably pretty close.

It is a far nicer car than any Gen 5.

I will say this: If it looked the part, it would be worth the price. What you get for the money is reasonable for the msrp. I will also say, per our previous discussions, that they need a 1SS trim that bases in the $30k's.

billgiacheri wrote:Basically what I am getting at is the SS is only rare because it is under styled and overpriced. I don't understand why that makes it special.

It is rare because they made a limited amount of them. That was the plan the whole time.

If this was 35K (in line with Gen 5 Camaro pricing), I would agree that this would be kind of special.

If you were arguing for base price for some decontented car, I would agree with around that price (maybe $37k). Not for the car currently offered.

The SS should be no more than 35K.

This is a foolish thing to say but I'm going to assume you mean base price for a decontented car that still has an LS3. Of course, many factors drove the current car to be priced this way:
- Exchange rate
- Fully loaded which helps add value to the customer and is much cheaper for the OEM to do
- GM probably calculated that people don't buy this kind of car at the entry price (I believe this is true for the Camaro so it would be even more true for a real sedan). In this case, they just weren't going for the cheapest 4 door car with a V8 that they could offer. It was not the goal. Ford does not offer this either. They actually do not offer a real V8 car at any price, even as a Lincoln. No idea why there is no Mustang-based sedan by now.
- Planned limited production numbers, so easier to import few variants (with everything) and perhaps a calculation that the higher price would be more palatable to a very niche audience. Since there are steep discounts offered, I'd say this calculation was wrong.

None of these reasons matter to the consumer so I hope GM is working a plan to update the SS with something they build here that has a nice, low entry price so you can stop whining. Then I will buy the fully loaded one when it depreciates enough.