How long will Stock Battery last?
Delco's seem to go about 7-8 years for me, I've been wondering if the HHR's battery location will make a difference. But compared to a reproduction "tar top" battery for a Corvair, it will be nice to replace a "cheap" battery when the time comes.
Not HHR specific, but interesting Delco battery story.... My Father had a '79 Impala, bought it new. The first car he ever ordered from the factory, up till then he got 1 year old dealer demo/loaner cars. He always kept it properly maintained, but was always one to replace things when absolutely necessary, not "just in case". In 1989 he was getting ready to give it to me and went to the dealer where he bought it (in PA where they lived) to make sure it was okay to drive out to Pheonix where I was, He and my Mother were going to drive it out to AZ as a sight seeing trip and then fly back. After sitting in the waiting room for a bit he noticed every mechanic and service guy in the shop looking under the hood of his car, shaking their heads. He starts thinking "Oh oh, something major....." 
The service manager comes to get him to ask about the battery, "was there ever a different battery in there?" "No, I don't remember buying a battery" Dad pulls out his service records (complete, he's like that) and they went over them together.......... It was the original battery according to the tag..... 100,000 miles, 10 years old, still working perfectly. The dealer gave him a new one "Just in case" and kept the old as a display/conversation piece.......
That replacement lasted me 2 years....
They just don't make things like they used to......
The service manager comes to get him to ask about the battery, "was there ever a different battery in there?" "No, I don't remember buying a battery" Dad pulls out his service records (complete, he's like that) and they went over them together.......... It was the original battery according to the tag..... 100,000 miles, 10 years old, still working perfectly. The dealer gave him a new one "Just in case" and kept the old as a display/conversation piece.......

That replacement lasted me 2 years....
They just don't make things like they used to......
The life depends on charging system health and quality of the battery.
The old Delco Freedom batteries always lasted me 10 plus years even in our cold weather. The one in the Fiero lasted 17+ years when it started to crank slow.
The only bad Delco I have had was in the 04 GTP. It lasted 5 years which is good but not as good as I usally get.
Delco's are hard to find here so I have gone Optima since I get them cheap at work. So far so good on the 3 I have used so far.
Since I moved to Florida, the batteries in other cars just died one day. They don't like the heat. As far as my 06 HHR, it still has the original battery. I do put a battery tender on my cars that sit or disconnect the battery.


