The January 2006 issue of Car and Driver has an article on Winners and Losers for 2005. The following quotes are from a Losers list: (the list is not all inclusive, just what I thought was interesting):

* At the start of last year, GM had a 301 day supply of Chevrolet SSRs.

* VW of America offered a $10,000 discount on "its not selling at any price Phaeton luxury sedan."

* And the best, Maybach, Mercedes Benz offered hotels and resorts, a $50,000 discount, and then promised the same amount to dealers who kept demos for 5,000 miles.


And we thought the Crossfire was discounted! The list also referred to a number of cars that the manufacturers are no longer building for 2006, the XFire was not one of them. At least the car was not canceled. The length of the contract with Karmann is immaterial if the cost to buy out the contract is less then the loss DC is suffering on building the cars. It appears DC may be making a profit somewhere.

Also, don't forget the GTO. One dealer I talked with, in Dec 04, Jan 05, had 38 of them and couldn't give them away. GM discounted them to $25/26,000. I bought the XFire instead after paging through GTO forums and seeing all the problems the owners were experiencing with the cars.

With several people looking at resale value, and the current deep discounts, I just thought I would toss this out. It appears C was not the only manufacturer forced to deeply discount halo/specialty cars las year.

Just my .02...too cold in North Texas to wash the car.

John

 

Because it takes time to write, edit, do the layout, print, and get copies shipped to each distribution location before their release date, that Car and Driver issue was probably written back in September. Consider that the Overstock.com thing is recent, and to the best of my knowledge, unprecedented. If that same issue was published today, I expect that Crossfire would surely have been mentioned as a sales disappointment. No doubt it will continue to be built for a while; I think its pretty well set in stone through 2008 at minimum (from what I have read).

A GTO for 25K? Wow. I was tempted to buy one of those when I was looking at Crossfires. They are kick @ss cars. Sure, they look like a big, two door Lumina. But, understated looks and bargain basement spec with a huge engine underhood is very true to the muscle car tradition. In the sixties, the very best were as spartan as could be inside and out. That GTO has a ton of power, a great interior, a sophisticated RWD chassis (with independent rear suspension), and room for another couple to come along. I have no idea why these things aren't selling.

 

Butt ugly is why.

 

Kind of like some of the best muscle cars from before my time, right? Nobody can look a Superbee in the face and say it's pretty. Sweet, yes. Pretty, no.

 

Beauty's in the eye of the beholder. I think they're fine looking Automobiles. The Interior is luxurious and classy as heck. Add to all that, the thing will blow the doors of most anything and you got yourself a winning combo.
I really feel sorry for old Bob Lutz...He's a car guys car guy but he's got years of GM Stupidity to overcome. I see cars like the GTO, Solstice and G-6 as an excellent start to GM getting back on their feet.

 

gottaride - "Beauty's in the eye of the beholder."

Your right on the money brother, I consider any muscle car to be a thing of beauty. Heck it could be a 1968 VW, as long as it's got 350-400 HP V8 under it's hood, the power is what makes it beautiful. Goes for women also, give me a woman with an education and I’ll see nothing but beauty, but we are not talking about women are we? Oh well I always say fast cars and women go hand in hand.

Hooah

 

Amen to that.

I also go weak in the knees over the Chevrolet SSR. In its final year, it comes with a 400 hp engine and an available six-speed manual transmission to bring the 0-60 and quarter mile times within the public's expectations (of a hot rod). Sure, it's totally worthless as a truck. And, no doubt its too heavy to be a sports car. But, it has a ton of character, street presence, is reasonably fast, and would be a lot of fun to own. Never a dull moment in one of these badass bowties.

Maybe I'm the missing demographic all these car companies are shooting for, because the SSR, GTO, and Crossfire are all high on my list of favorite iron. If I could afford it, I would own one of each. Yet, very few others feel this way. Or, maybe these are the cars that people would be buying, if they didn't have to suffer through five years of Camry ownership for practical reasons.

 

The SSR should have had the 400 hp to start with instead they rushed it out and loss! The SSR should have an adjustable ride height for handling and looks for the $s they ask for them! I like it. For $30k! Not 45k.