Wow, i can't believe how alike the two are. Way too alike . If the article didn't say Chevy HHR, i would have assumed that that was the new PT.

Btw: Wasn't there a concept of the HHR, and did the concept look anything like this?

 

Holy sh*t, that thing is seriously fu*king ugly.

I'm not just jumping on the bandwagon. It looks like a Kia PT Cruiser.

Why.

Why.


What is the exact purpost of this heap of junk? It already has a vehicle in the spoy it wants to take.

 

Yuck. The more I look at it, the more I think Kia.

 

I can't say I'm crazy about it...but then I'm not the target market..and neither are most of you.

It's based on Delta.(Cobalt) and the price point will be very affordable. It's larger than a PT Cruiser.

There ARE those that need more room, but don't want a mini van or a large sport ute. As I said, it's quite a bit larger than the PT Cruiser.....

think about this...the Accord and the Camry each on their own outsell the entire "Regular Sport" market..of which the Mustang/Camaro/Firebird/Celica/Eclipse/etc sold each year for the past 6 0r 7 years. We (that's you and me) LOVE V8 and RWD in a great looking coupe. But that doesn't mean that everyone is going to go out and buy one.

One last comment....it's in cammo.....so HOW do you really know what it looks like? I remember hearing how ugly the C6 was when pics started showing up. The majority of America loves it. Not everyone....but I've been driving one, and had virtually no negative comments about it. Now...make no mistake....I'm not comparing the two...I'm just using an example (ONCE AGAIN) to point out that perhaps it's wise to wait and see a car or truck in person before you trash it to Ethiopia and back............

(OK...I'll go crawl back under my rock, now......)

 

If the sketch that's in all the magazines (i.e. the one GM released to the press next to the classic Suburban and SSR) is a good representation of the final product, it's going to be pretty nice. Perhaps not "I've got to have it" nice, but at least nice enough that when you have your 5th gen, you can be proud it's wearing a bowtie.

Goodness knows that Supra owners don't have much to be proud of Toyota for these days when it comes to interesting and fun to look at product line.

 

Hey Red, when are you gonna get a chance to drive a F5? As for the HHR, I don't understand how it fits in with the current lineup? Will it not compete with either Trailblazer or Equinox?

 

Along the lines of what RedPlanet had to say:

http://web.camaross.com/forums/showthread.php?t=291287

Geez, people, you can't tell with the camo. That is why they use it.

 

Actually I like the heritage styling that's a throwback to the old Advanced Cab Design Pickups, Panels and Suburbans. (FWIW - I used to own a 1951 3100 5-window p'up.) That's why I also like the SSR and Nomad concepts. If it gets an optional supercharged version of the ECOTEC like Cobalt, it would be a definite selling point.

You say its bigger than the PT Cruiser, are we talking S-10 Blazer size here? With the heritage styling and affordable price, not to mention the aftermarket availabilty for ECOTEC performance parts and BAM!, the HHR might make a nice little niche with a trendy cult following.

Stick the Cobalt SS Supercharged's drivetrain in, drop-it with some nice rims and tires and heck, I might even consider it for a daily driver.

 

My opinion? You might see some competition with the FWD Equinox...but the price point will most likely be more favorable to the HHR. (at least I think so) TrailBlazer? No....price is much higher.

One hint...you can put a LOT of stuff into this vehicle..and some really long items.

I suspect that quite a few of these will be modded to the max. (I can just see Jon Moss grabbing one and turning it into a monster on the dragstrip.....damn...wish he was still here!)

As I said before, It isn't exactly my cup of tea.....but then, I don't have kids and dogs and yadda-yadda-yadda........and for anyone who really knows me, I'm a V8 RWD kinda guy.......BUT....I think this will have a very varied owner group....from teens to retirees......

Time will tell.

One last observation about the Chevrolet Brand. When you talk about some brands..such as Cadillac or Lexus or whatever, it's pretty easy to describe the mission. With Chevrolet (or Ford) it's somewhat, for lack of a better term, Schizophrenic (sp??) we're all over the place with product entries....and that is as it should be when you're America's Brand. We go from Aveo to Suburban to Corvette to SSR to work trucks, to sedans...and everything between. (yeah..I know...we need a V8 RWD Camaro...you're preaching to the choir.....patience, friends.....) One of the missions of Chevrolet is volume. That means you have to have entries in most market segments. So....yes, there is a place in the market for something like the HHR. (again, as someone mentioned...look at the PT cruiser.....) And yes, while some of you hate Sport Utes, I'd challenge you that IF you were the General Manager of Chevy, would you drop them? Would you ignore that market with the size it is?

Anyway....just some food for thought.

(once again, I'll go crawl back under my rock.......)

 

Red, good points, but what bothers me is that Chevy seems to have a huge hit with the Nox, why put another mini-ute-van thing in line? Its not about style, but about why?
Its interior and exterior have been praised by most auto mags, and it seems to be an awesome mini-ute.
For me,It was down to the Maxx and the Nox, and I didnt want a SUV.
The HHR just seems to be as overlap for Chevy. I think this will take away some of the thunder from the Nox.
I would rather like to see an Cobalt 5dr (i.e. Astra) then the HHR. Its something to go after sport compact hatches, which are popular in the sport compact arena. The Astra seems to be a big hit across the pond, why not bring it over here? Maybe GM has plans to give it to Pontiac or Saturn, but I think that a Astra could and should be made here, instead of making the HHR.
just my .02.

 

Is the "cammo" those stripes? If that's the only cammo, then I can see right through it. The stripes don't do anything to keep me from seeing the actual vehicle body.