So some ditz in her Land Rover decides to plogh into the back of my HHR claiming that "the lane next to us was moving forward". I can take that. But when I take my beast into the shop, Enterprise comes to pick me up and shuttle me to their shop for a rental. I told them I wanted a comparable car. What do they bring me? A PT Cruiser! :roll: They didn't seem to understand my revulsion.

But get this: they told me I was only cleared by the ditz's insurance company for a "standard" rental, so that is what they offered me, a stadard car replacement....but that the HHR is listed as a "premium" car. One call to ditz insurance and I was cleared out out PT hell. :nuts:

So they brought me a station wagon thing...forgot the name but growing up in nothing but station wagons, I was horrified. I pointed at the F-150 and they said it was even more money, but a bit of schmoozin' and they gave me a free upgrade. Needless to say my kids are getting a kick out of the pick up...maybe too much.

So, for those of you keeping score at home:

PT Cruiser = standard ride.............................................. ..HHR = PREMIUM RIDE

Yeah, I know --------> "Like that's news to us!", but its now confirmed by corporate America!

whewww. what a relief, no PT!

See...we knew all along the HHR was a premium ride. :smile: It has now been confirmed by Enterprise...thank you very much. ;)

Glad you weren't stuck with the PT Cruiser...guess some people don't realize there's a little ribbing going on betwen the HHR & PT. :lol:

Hope all is well and the ditz insurance takes care of you. I'm sure you'll fare a little better than we are. They haven't even offered us a rental yet. :eek: Will wait til the adjuster comes to take a peek at the Honda and hit them up then. Hopefully Mon or Tues this week.

So, for those of you keeping score at home:

PT Cruiser = standard ride.............................................. ..HHR = PREMIUM RIDE


Priceless. :lol:

Why is everyone so down on the PT Cruiser here? I have driven a few of them and thought they drove fine. Also I doubt our HHR's would have ever been built if it were not for the PT selling the retro look. I do like my HHR better but I still don't think the PT is a bad car, especially the turbo version. It seems obvious that the comparable car, to the rental car company (if a HHR was not offered) would be the PT Cruiser.

Why is everyone so down on the PT Cruiser here? I have driven a few of them and thought they drove fine. Also I doubt our HHR's would have ever been built if it were not for the PT selling the retro look. I do like my HHR better but I still don't think the PT is a bad car, especially the turbo version. It seems obvious that the comparable car, to the rental car company (if a HHR was not offered) would be the PT Cruiser.


I think some of it is that we get mistaken for the PT all the time and we want our own idenity.

I think some of it is that we get mistaken for the PT all the time and we want our own idenity.
The more I see the PT, the less it looks like the HHR. Although they have the same Pedigree, The HHR is more refined, retro, more nostalgic. The PT was a first draft, the HHR is the FINAL Product. I`m sure glad I waited, and I`m also grateful to the PT designer for letting me see the FUTURE.
I Love My RIDE.:one:

It's all in fun..the picking on the PT's. I had been wanting one for years until the time came to actually buy a new car. I went and test drove one and didn't like the feel and saw an HHR on the way home. The rest is history as they say. I'm thankful for the guy who designed the PT...he had a vision and designed it...then came to the Chevrolet camp and worked some more magic.

Krejaton...hope things work well with your accident. Please keep us updated on how things are going. Good luck with the ditz's insurance company. ;)

It's all in fun..the picking on the PT's. I had been wanting one for years until the time came to actually buy a new car. I went and test drove one and didn't like the feel and saw an HHR on the way home. The rest is history as they say. I'm thankful for the guy who designed the PT...he had a vision and designed it...then came to the Chevrolet camp and worked some more magic.

Krejaton...hope things work well with your accident. Please keep us updated on how things are going. Good luck with the ditz's insurance company. ;)


Well said Deb http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m72/john_11_2006/Smileys/signs064.gif

Why is everyone so down on the PT Cruiser here? I have driven a few of them and thought they drove fine. Also I doubt our HHR's would have ever been built if it were not for the PT selling the retro look. I do like my HHR better but I still don't think the PT is a bad car, especially the turbo version. It seems obvious that the comparable car, to the rental car company (if a HHR was not offered) would be the PT Cruiser.

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c122/amarini/catbut.gif
http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c122/amarini/brownpt.jpg
http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c122/amarini/pt20cruiser.jpghttp://bestsmileys.com/peeing/1.gif

The HHR is a premium car at National also, They are sometimes available to the emerald isle renters and more are available to the Executive Tier that I am in.

Why is everyone so down on the PT Cruiser here? I have driven a few of them and thought they drove fine. Also I doubt our HHR's would have ever been built if it were not for the PT selling the retro look. I do like my HHR better but I still don't think the PT is a bad car, especially the turbo version. It seems obvious that the comparable car, to the rental car company (if a HHR was not offered) would be the PT Cruiser.

A lot of it is good-natured ribbing, I like the PT Cruiser, but it's time is past and how cool is it when every third person has one?

Last year I was actually looking into buying one. I test drove it and was thoroughly underwhelmed. I was going to a second dealership (one that didn't suck nearly as bad!) and accidently ended up on a Chevy lot. Not wanting to look like an ass -- and if you've seen me, you know that's not an easy task :lol: -- I looked a bit and told them I was interested in a PT. They showed me the HHR and I was stunned. It looked so much better and drove so much finer. SOLD!

At Budget, it's a Standard rental, but the one I went to, didn't have any PT's... only HHR's and Pontiac G6's in the standard class.


A rental trip is actually what sold us on the HHR.


On the 15th of September (few weeks back), my wife had to be in Dallas for some training for her job. We decided to make a weekend out of it and visit some friends while we were there.

We had the piece of trash Dodge Ram at the time still and knew it'd kill us on gas to get there and back, not to mention being unreliable. So we decided to rent a car.

We rented a metalic Orange (HOOK'EM HORNS!) HHR for the weekend, and left for Dallas Thursday night. We absolutely fell in love with the HHR by the time we hit Hilsboro. Told the wife, "I love this thing. When we're ready for a new car, we should get one of these".

God was listening. ;) :thumb:

The next weekend... the truck decided to shred its torque converter and destroy its tranny (for the second time in two years).

We again rented an HHR from our local Budget.

After working out a discounted repair bill with Aamco, Dee and decided that $7000 in brakes and trannies in 4 years was way beyond acceptable and a trade in was in order...

Sometimes we just need a swift kick in the pants...

I went to the Chevy dealer on my lunch hour, and we talked numbers... I came back with my wife after work and talked numbers some more... the next day we picked up the truck from Aamco and drove it to the dealer... and left it there. Drove away in our new beauty.

We love our HHR.

Just be thrilled that it wasn't a Chevy Uplander Minivan.. Mind you I am a 20yr old kid. That ruined my look. What sucks the most is I would have had a 08 chevy pickup but they could not find the keys to it... :(

With Enterprise, the HHR is a 'full-size car' The PT Cruiser is a 'mid-size', like the Mazda6 we got when ours went in for body work. I specifically requested a Cobalt but got the Mazda6 instead.

So some ditz in her Land Rover decides to plogh into the back of my HHR claiming that "the lane next to us was moving forward". I can take that. But when I take my beast into the shop, Enterprise comes to pick me up and shuttle me to their shop for a rental. I told them I wanted a comparable car. What do they bring me? A PT Cruiser! :roll: They didn't seem to understand my revulsion.

But get this: they told me I was only cleared by the ditz's insurance company for a "standard" rental, so that is what they offered me, a stadard car replacement....but that the HHR is listed as a "premium" car. One call to ditz insurance and I was cleared out out PT hell. :nuts:

So they brought me a station wagon thing...forgot the name but growing up in nothing but station wagons, I was horrified. I pointed at the F-150 and they said it was even more money, but a bit of schmoozin' and they gave me a free upgrade. Needless to say my kids are getting a kick out of the pick up...maybe too much.

So, for those of you keeping score at home:

PT Cruiser = standard ride.............................................. ..HHR = PREMIUM RIDE

Yeah, I know --------> "Like that's news to us!", but its now confirmed by corporate America!

2 year old thread...... big difference from the 06's to the o8's and 09's now.

[QUOTE=So they brought me a station wagon thing...forgot the name but growing up in nothing but station wagons, I was horrified. I pointed at the F-150 and they said it was even more money, but a bit of schmoozin' and they gave me a free upgrade. Needless to say my kids are getting a kick out of the pick up...maybe too much. QUOTE]

A pick up ?? ... yikkes :barf:

guess that depends where you go regionally. I work at an Avis rent a car and HHRs are a midsize along with the PT, however no one really likes the PTs so we normally go down to a compact rate to get them moving. The other to rental places here(Hertz and Enterprise) also run the HHRs as a midsize. Thats what made me want the HHR over the PT, since I cleaned them on a regular basis the HHR just drove all around better and was bigger and just better looking.

It's funny, coming from the Mopar side of things I've owned a Neon until June when I got my SS. I loved the PT's when they 1st came out. Seeing that they were based off the Neon platform, they were very familiar to me. After the 3rd year though, the look just waned. The PTGT only received a Stage 1 kit from the factory while the SRT4's got the Stage 1,2, and 3. When I saw the HHR's I really liked them and REALLY wanted one when I saw that the SS came out. Once I had my accident in May (thanks Mr Drunk driver!) I took it as a sign to 'move on' and let my Neon go. I went to the Chevy dealer, pulled my SS from the showroom floor and have been happy ever since.

Later
Allex

How far have we gone in three years? Not very far by the time line of this post

I tell ya, I just love seeing these old threads come back. :D

Of interest, a Cobalt sold me on the HHR. I rented several Cobalts and really liked everything about them but the styling and the driver's seat cushion. I told myself, "When the old car dies, time for a Cobalt." I had two weeks "off" when my son had surgery, so I started looking at Cobalts. I noticed the HHR, and went to a dealer and sat in one. Love at first sit. The seats fit me great, as did the car as a whole. I got my '09 2LT used with 13k miles for $14,300. I really like it at that price.

That said, my car stickered at $22,500, and I don't think it is as good a deal at that price. The thin sheet metal and inexpensive plastic interior could be better. Not picking on our HHR's, I felt the same about the 5.0 liter Mustang I bought new in '89. I tried a Saleen, and said, "At $12,500, the Mustang is a good car. At $24,000 for the Saleen, the Mustang underneath is not worth it." The best example is the Mercury Marquis. I bought a 2 year old one for $10,000 and drove it 184k miles, and at that it was a great deal. At $29,000 for a new one someone has a hole in their head.

Just my 2 cents worth. God Bless, Marc

Why is everyone so down on the PT Cruiser here? I have driven a few of them and thought they drove fine. Also I doubt our HHR's would have ever been built if it were not for the PT selling the retro look. I do like my HHR better but I still don't think the PT is a bad car, especially the turbo version. It seems obvious that the comparable car, to the rental car company (if a HHR was not offered) would be the PT Cruiser.

being a valet driver, i drive tons and tons of PTs and HHRs, and obviously my SS daily, and i can tell you how well they stand the test of time...or don't...the interiors are rather crappy and tend to fall apart easily. for being near the same exterior dimensions, they sure have a heck of a lot less room inside, less rear seat legroom, and like half the cargo space. their turn radius SUCKS (that's one of the things i hate themost about PTs), there is a particular spot in our parking structure that is right across the drive aisle from an elevator. the first spot on the end of the row, i have turned a early 2000's Tahoe out of, made the u-turn right out of the space, and cleared the elevator with a tiny gap. a PT has to be in the second parking space to clear with almost the same size gap...it's rather pathetic.

PTs aren't BAD cars, but they really aren't very good ones either. and the Turbo model isn't even that fast. there are actually 2 turbo models, one commonly referred to as the Turbo Lite, and then there is the GT. if the hatch of a PT says Turbo and doesn't have a GT badge, even being turbo, it only has about 180hp. for the full grunt out of the turbo engine you HAVE to have a GT, which is somewhere around 230ish hp. for what you get, for basically the same price as a comparable HHR (all trims, not just turbo models), the HHR is just way more for your money.