http://www.autoweek.com/news.cms?newsId=101560

 

"I swear to God some of your colleagues just don't understand this business, which doesn't prevent their busy fingers from moving over the keyboard."
Sounds along the lines of what Red was saying.

 

Lutz is wrong.......

 

Lutz can blast all he wants, and often the media is not right about certain products or aspects of the automotive world....but it doesn't change the fact that the HHR is a concept, and a design, that "borrows" heavily from the PT Cruiser...and that's putting it politely. That doesn't mean it won't be successful, they may sell 100,000 a year....although that might be a stretch....

 

its a production car
http://www.chevrolet.com/hhr06/
and to me it take more form the old woody cars than from the pt cruiser

 

What the H*ll!

Brian Nesbitt designed the PT Cruiser, then came to Chevrolet and designed the HHR! Bob Lutz approved the PT Cruiser before he saw what was happening at Chrysler & baled before the PT came out and was a success & things went south with Chrysler at the hands of it's new German management. He also approved the HHR.

Someone must have hit a raw nerve with him. Just a wild guess, but maybe there's some resentment that he missed being a part of the PT Cruiser's wild success, and that's a sore spot with him. Again, I'm just guessing.


But when you are in a bubble (meaning around "experts" all the time), there's a tendancy to think the masses don't know what their talking about, even though they are the ones whose opinions matter.

A Ford rep demonstrated that with his outlook that they could succesfully replace the Crown Vic and Lincoln Town Car & LS with a FiveHundred based FWD car. Chrysler demonstrated it when it was said that "Charger enthusiasts think 'they' think their's is the only Charger". Finally, there was that comment about the Monte Carlo & Cobalt SS competing with the Mustang.

It's not limited to the auto world. You see this elsewhere too.

There are things that are said that on paper may be factual, but there seems to be a rampant forgetfullness that it's the public that judges vehicles.

The public is going to look at the HHR as a competitor to the PT Cruiser. Because GM's a late 2nd in doing this type of vehicle, it's not going to be viewed favorably at that.

Will the HHR be successful?
Definately!!

Will it outsell the PT?
I doubt it.

The HHR will sell well. But just like the original ponycar & the original minivan, the original "Heritage" minivan (the PT) is going to cast a shadow over a competitor that got on board belatedly

 

I know it's going to be a production car, I meant the concept of a small, high roof, retro-themed hatchback like this isn't original. It's no secret it is tailored to follow in the PT's footsteps, so I don't know why Lutz is so up-in-arms. And I think 100,000 units a year might be a bit ambitious.

 

I hope this HHR (first I've heard of it) is a complete and total flop. The kind of flop the Asstek was/is. Maybe it will teach GM to stop making stupid vehicles like that!!

 

well, hopefully they "cliniced" enough people so projections say it should sell well
i personally don't like it, but when the heck would i buy an suv anyways?

 

i can see where your opinion of the public knowing what they want Guionm, but to people like Lutz, the majority of the public doesn't know what they want. the majority (as in non-autoenthusiasts) can be pursuaded by a sales man to buy a chevy minivan over a truck. the majority of the public will say they will by a car with xxxxx features and xxxxxxx styling, but by the time its all put together, they will still opt for another brand cause of stupid factors, like advertising, what their friends get, or simply "i like those seatbelts better"

to me there are 2 things in my life that represent the entire auto world
1. being a simpsons episode where Homer designs a bubble top car
2. being a movie (that i forgot the name of) the owner has a commercial yelling in a giant car lot "I got green cars, i got red cars i got blue cars..."

 

maybe they should look into what the public thinks is ugly and what is not before they start approving them for production. Gm comes out with some of the best concepts of any of the car dealers but most of the nice ones dont go to production and the rest of them are changed so much that the reason people wanted or liked them is gone. take the Silverado SS. what they had as a concept to what they brought out was a joke.

Give us some nice vehicles instead of what my grandpa wants

 

The general public will see this as a boring replica of a car that's been around long enough to be boring itself. The only thing that can save this car from being a disaster is value. It better be packed with goodies, and it better be cheap.

 

If it was Japanese, the media would love it....its ok for them to copy other manufacturers design cues.

The HHR is a styling tribute to Chevrolets immense heritage. It also makes a sharp looking value priced competitor for the PT. There has been no direct competition for the Chrysler since its introduction.

Look at it this way, the Camaro didnt arrive until almost 3 years after the Mustang!

 

I tend to agree with Lutz ... however, the fact is that people naturally try to make associations and place any and everything in society in a box defined by past experience. Undoubtedly, the comparison box will be the PT Cruiser and for good and obvious reasons. As part of the buying public, it looks like a better execution to me and will get a look from me. We wouldn't have had a Camaro if seconds are never shoulda beens. It's about building a better mouse trap ... whenever you choose to do it.

 

lutz is off his rocker...must have missed his meds today