I dont think Ill get rid of my hhr, but I will be getting another 4x4 truck in a few years.

 

Every time the Buick line gets a interesting car, the dealers get confused, because their geriatric clientele don't buy interesting cars and those of us that are younger don't want to go into a dealership that has walker parking spots.

When GM dumped Pontiac they had a demographic buyer age in the 40's. Buick was in the 70's. If it has come down, it's do to the lack of choices GM offers or they are using China demographics to adjust USA Buick. Bring back the Opel with the OPEL name.

That said, I'm tired of the torque steer of front drive cars from GM. I want a small rear drive car and GM refuses to offer one. They teased us with one a couple of years ago, but the brain trust in charge are no longer car people and as such have lost the insight to see that the enthusiast drives sales. As all the other OEM's offer increased power and sportiness in small cars, GM offers the Cruz. Smaller engines, less HP and BORING. I enjoy driving, so a mundane grocery getter is not in my future. Besides, my HHR SS gets almost the same MPG as a Cruz.. and has twice the HP. Ok, enough of my rant.

 

Small-ish and RWD from GM means the Cadillac ATS for now, and they do get pretty salty pricewise when you option them up. But having had one as a rental from Avis, I have to say that they are one of the best handling domestic cars I've driven.

 

I am rather partial to Hatch-backs after owning this HHR. I really would like to stick with that theme.. I like the Sonic RS Turbo. Black on Black with custom Leather Racing seats, manual transmission, and yes, I will probably add some bolt-ons and a tune later down the road. :)

 

GM has the ability to build great products that excite, but refuse to. The mind set is only the affluent (Caddy) drivers want them. Their target is BMW owners.

They have forgotten the average guy that can't afford a Caddy or even a Camaro. They went the wrong way and LOST business with cars like the Cobalt and the Cruz. They have forgotten that enthusiasts don't all drive Camaros or Corvettes and other like cars. Even Nissan will offer a RWD sport compact soon. GM was behind the times with the Camaro both times. Played catch up in 1967 and again in 2010. They are not leaders. Even the HHR was chasing the PT. They need leadership that has forward thinking, not reactionary moves.

 

You'll get no arguments from me on GM being behind the 8-Ball, they've been in that position for the last 25 years at a bare minimum.

But until they shake off the corporate culture of the pre-Bankruptcy GM, and get past/make amends for the recall disaster, it'll be baby steps at best.

I love the Chevrolet SS, it's a hoot to drive, but for all of its good points...it's just a rebadged Holden from Australia. And we know how well the last rebadged Holden worked out for GM, it might not have been the nail in Pontiac's coffin, but the final GTO sure didn't help matters.

 

My wife is experiencing back issues from an old car accident and most cars are uncomfortable. We thought the HHR would work but it doesn't. She needs the seating of a mini-van. Our son recently bought an Altima and the seats are derived from zero gravity seats and she finds them really comfortable for her back. Unfortunately, that looks like my next car. Ugh, a rice burner! Not just any rice burner, but a bland one at that.

 

The G8 and GTO were great cars. Price point of the GTO and the lack of support by GM for the Pontiac brand were the demise. That said, it took 4 years for GM to RE-Badge the G8... That was stupid... But wait, it gets worse. Upon the release of the SS, GM announced it would halt production of all cars in Australia. The SS is a dead player. GM pulled the plug as soon as it was released. That said, it is over priced and that will kill it as well. GM refuses to learn and you can no longer blame the past administration. Blame the current fed organized management. No clue operations. I'm biased. I lost my job due to the reorganization and the elimination of the medium duty truck division. It was miss managed by the GM bosses. Subsidiary Isuzu had it moving on track, but GM top level fought success every step of the way including halting the sale of the division to Isuzu and the selling off Allison transmission. They did keep Duramax (60/40 split with Isuzu).

 

Hopefully another HHR SS with low miles, if there are any. If not, at this time I would go with a Charger SRT8. However in a few years they will have something new. Hopefully Chevrolet will be back in the game.

 

I'm on the fence, my panel needs lower control arms and has developed a nasty exhaust leak somewhere near the manifold.... I like the panel a lot, but I don't need another 'project vehicle', which is what it is becoming.

I would probably get the base V6 Camaro, 324hp and a 6 speed manual sounds like plenty of fun to me!