Is it the antenna that sucks?
 

I live about 55 miles north of Indianapolis, and I generally listen to the classic rock station in Indy (Q95).

*I also tend to stay with stock head units, if I can*

The '08 HHR picks the station up, but with a lot of "distance noise," as if I'm almost out of range. My 2000 Excursion, my 96 Blazer, my home stereo, and even my lowly MP3 player with a radio feature all pick this station up like it's right next door. Is there anything short of changing the factory head unit or moving to Indy that I can do to improve reception?

I would try another antenna and see if it's better but it's more likely the unit.

The antenna is amplified. The pink wire out of the back of the radio powers it. If you have the Pioneer 7 speaker radio it also turns the amp on
If the previous owner had a after market radio installed (and removed it before re sale) they may have mucked the pink wire.
​​​​​​​They may have installed a "stubby" antenna, they seem to limit the range.
I would unscrew the antenna and check for corrosion in the threads first.
You can replace the antenna amp, it is the base of the antenna under the headliner.

That's good info to know.

I have had 5 HHR’s with various audio arrangements. The radio was always fine. Generally speaking, analog radio is getting worse due to interference from other technologies.

I just have the basic system (U1C). I doubt the radio has ever been out. I'll try cleaning the threads and checking for power on the pink wire. *IF IT EVER QUITS RAINING*

All four door speakers were dead, so I de-gutted the fronts to temporarily mount a pair of Pioneer 5.25's until I decide what I want to go with permanently. But I'm not gonna lie- the factory setup in the Excursion sounds so good as is, I'm half-tempted to mount some Ford speakers in it............ KIDDING!

But every other radio I have- including the one in my tiny MP3 player- pulls this particular station in just fine.

Check the antenna casing , it can split and allow water in and that kills reception. A good stubby antenna will pull in stations clearly, I have one mounted on the BlackSwan.

I changed from the 'stubby' antenna to a longer one, about 16" and it did make a bit of difference in range. gave me about another 5 or 6 miles in reception.

I will be chasing down intermittently bad am/fm reception. Read elsewhere about the antenna amp wire coming loose or being pinched.

Found a pretty good vid about about antenna base R&R, but it’s also very useful if you go wire chasing or just want to understand how it goes together.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZJhE7Z-Bmo

This seems like a good place to ask what fuse this antenna amp power is on, and what shares that fuse.