MM Retro Write-Up: 2006-2011 Chevy HHR

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MM Retro Write-Up: 2006-2011 Chevy HHR


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IN A NUTSHELL: GM denied it, but it was really an response to Chrysler’s PT Cruiser.

Retro-styled vehicles, in modern times (particularly after the mid-1990s), became popular as the enormous Baby-Boom generation, one of the largest in history, reached the age of mid-life crises, started to become Empty-Nesters, and/or started retiring if they could afford it. Many of them had pensions and/or a lot of money saved up from years of work, or, for whatever reason, decided that they wanted something that looked reasonably close to vehicles that they or their World-War II-Generation parents had owned and driven decades earlier. Witness the rise (or re-rise) of the retro Ford Mustang, Pontiac GTO, 2-seat Ford Thunderbird, VW New Beetle, retro Chevy Camaro, Dodge Challenger, Chrysler PT Cruiser, Plymouth Prowler street-rod, and several others. Some of them, particularly the Prowler, were admitted sales-flops, but, for most of these retro-vehicles, they were clearly more than just niche products In fact, strong demand and short supply for some of them led to significant dealer price-gouging. When human emotions get attached to something, it can be a tough thing to resist, particularly in vehicle-appetites.

One of these interesting vehicles with retro-styling, introduced in the early-mid 2000s by GM, was the Chevrolet HHR…..its initials stood for Heritage, High Roof. Though somewhat more streamlined as a bow to the needs of today, its basic look was instantly recognizable as linked to the late 1940’s/early-1950s Chevy Suburban people-movers. New Suburbans, of course, are still in protection today, and have been continuously since 1936…..America’s oldest vehicle-nameplate still in production. Of course, the Suburban itself was an enclosed, passenger-carrying version of the full-size/full-frame RWD Chevy CK/Silverado trucks, while the HHR, though similar in looks and outline, was done on GM’s much smaller Delta platform, which was a compact, unibody, FWD platform for compact cars, shared with the Chevrolet Cobalt, Saturn Ion, and Pontiac G5. Though compromised a little for aerodynamics, the generally square styling and separate-fenders of the HHR gave both retro looks and, of course, better space-efficiency inside than those small sedans/coupes. Depending on model-year and trim-version, three different engines and three different transmissions were offered….a 2.0 Turbo in-line 4, a 2.4L Ecotec non turbo in-line four, and a 2.5L Ecotec non-turbo in-line 4, mated to two different 5-speed manual transmissions and a four-speed automatic.

Though not a huge seller per se, the HHR went out the door in numbers good enough to keep it in production for five full model years, from 2006 to 2011. The auto-press had a field day with the HHR when it was first unveiled in 2005, and their reaction was more or less the same as mine…..GM’s obvious response to Chrysler’s extremely popular late-1930s-retro PT Cruiser. GM’s representatives strongly denied the PT Cruiser-influence, and were visibly irked when reporters kept questioning them about the styling connections. But it was rather difficult to hide it…….particularly when the same Head-Designer (Bryan Nesbitt, who had worked at several companies) was responsible for designing both vehicles. But, underneath the sheet-metal, though, they were indeed two different vehicles altogether The PT Cruiser was much more sport-oriented, had more retro-touches inside such as the body-color-dash, had a convertible version with a T-Bar roof, and had powerplants with more spunk. The HHR was far more conservative, somewhat more appliance-like to drive, and, unlike the Cruiser, also came a closed-panel-van version, without seats or trim in back, which was useful for plumbers, painters, electricians, etc…..who needed a smaller work-vehicle and didn’t carry a lot of really big bulky stuff.

But there was another side to the coin. I liked the looks of the HHR (I’ve also been a retro-fan in general), but, like with some other GM products of this time-period, I was definitely not impressed with the materials, workmanship, or overall quality of this vehicle. Some interesting paint-colors were offered, but the paint itself was thin, poorly-applied, and had significant orange-peel in the texture. Exterior sheet metal and trim pieces had a thin, loosely-screwed-together feeling to it. Even the running-boards, which were supposedly designed to be stepped on, had a loose feel to them. Inside, the dash, hardware, and controls were the usual (for the period) cheap, loosely-fitted GM parts-bin stuff, with some exceptions made for the unique styling. You sat up rather high in the driver’s seat, with a high window-cowl/belt-line reminiscent of the 40s/50s, and had a rather awkward reach to the automatic shift-lever…(I remember test-driving an automatic version, but not a manual).

It was not terribly impressive on the road, either. The non-turbo 4 didn’t have much spunk to start with, and the inefficient 4-speed automatic made it even more of a slug. The nose-heavy front end, relatively light rear end (particularly in the empty panel-van version, with little back there), flabby suspension, relatively high center of gravity, and budget-grade shock-absorbers made for Ho-Hum steering and Roly-Poly handling. Of course, this vehicle was not designed to be a sports car (and I did not expect it as such)…but Chevy’s own Cobalt SS model (which I also reviewed and test-drove) showed that this basic Delta platform was capable of far better driving dynamics. A limited-production HHR SS model was done in 2009 and 2010, with a turbo 2.0L in-line four, performance-5-speed manual, and reworked suspension, which no doubt took away some of the standard version's sluggishness, but I did not get a chance to sample one.

The HHR still appealed to a fair number of people, though, especially at first, although I suspect that the iffy quality and workmanship probably also turned off some potential buyers as well. I remember seeing a number of the panel-van versions on local D.C.-area roads, so some tradepersons / self-contractors (and some companies) in the area must have also been sold on the small, easy-to-park efficient nature of the cargo space. It remained in production for some five years, built in Mexico, and was phased put after the 2011 model year. By, that time, interest and demand for this type of retro was starting to fade, and replaced by extremely powerful retro American ponycars….Mustang, Camaro, and Challenger, which, in top-versions, had massively-boosted V8 engines that would eventually reach absurd power-levels.

And, as Always, Happy Vehicle-Memories.
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MM
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DRIVING IS BELIEVING
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