There's a reason this ultimate Aussie Ute is commanding big bucks | Hagerty Media

[Hagerty]

Australia might be best known for kangaroos and koalas, but car nuts know the land Down Under better for Mighty Car Mods, burnout contests, and V8 Supercars racing. Sadly, the domestic production in Australia is all but dead. Ford left in 2016 and GM plans to pull out of the Australian market completely this year.
https://www.hagerty.com/media/news/theres-a-reason-this-ultimate-aussie-ute-is-commanding-big-bucks/

[MeJ]

Wow, what a unique vehicle. And with C6 LS9 (which I believe to be superior to the LT4 in the C7 Z06) this car would rock! The guy next to you at the light wouldn't have a clue you were about to blow his doors off!

[JSievers]

We didn't get this model because the costs of federalization and shipping didn't justify the expected meager sales. Look at the sedan version of this car which was offered here as the Chevrolet SS. Sales were slow to say the least. Until recently, two-year-old new models were still available at some dealers.

[MATTMERICA]

Comparing this vehicle in rarity to a hemi '71 convertible is not a good idea. The writer takes some serious liberties with that assertion. The worst of which is that nobody is "collecting" dead australian automobiles. There is no provenance to this vehicle and if the souless styling isn't enough to ward off would-be buyers, the bloated guesstimate of value will. If GM could have made decent margins on any australian models, they wouldn't have pulled out. The fact that no purely australian autos made the jump to the USA is proof enough.

[MisterTorgue]

@MATTMERICAactually, factually speaking this Ute at 4 produced is numerically rarer than a Hemi Cuda Convertible. I didn't see the comment as implying desirability. Facts and opinions are different. Fact is that this car is indeed nearly 3 times as rare numerically as a 71 Hemi Cuda Convertible. But rarity does not imply desirability and too many people just assume that something is rare that it is proportionally valuable. As you have so clearly illustrated, you see no value in this car. Clearly someone does. If you actually follow the link in the text, bidding is at $770,000 Australian Dollars right now.

As the article also states, GM didn't even give the US versions a chance, so how would they know if the margins were even there. Your opinion is your opinion. Some find it valuable, others may not.

[MATTMERICA]

GM found no margin in the aussie market, not ours.  They pulled out of aussie, not here. If they were going to build cars in aussie and ship them to the US that would be quite funny.  As for a "bid" , it is just that.  I will look for the final sales price when the gavel comes down.  Thank you for responding, I appreciate it and love the email/paper arriving to my inbox 🙂  And it is a good article.

[Rick2]

If gm cared about their customers then breaking even on a halo car should have been enough. When bean counters are in charge the industry always suffers.

[MisterTorgue]

@Rick2  Unless you're in the market for a Corvette GM has done a great job of alienating and abandoning their core enthusiast base. They have proven time and time again that they care little about exciting cars to stir the soul and imagination.