MOTRV8D

Maybe what they're saying is by 2011, the novelty of retro will about have run it's course and it will be on to something else.

mitzkity

I agree, it's Mitzkity's raison d'etre!!

Steelcity

I think the biggest thing they would want to do is maybe make it rwd and redo the interior. I really do hate that plastic stuff they have on the dash.

O6ChevyHHR

The HHR will be freshened for the 2009 model year; a redesign is slated for the 2011 model year. Much, if not all, of the retro styling theme is expected to be abandoned.
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I would like to see what this is going to look like! A futuristic HHR??

Alzonie

I think plastic is pretty much here to stay in automotive interiors unless you go back to steel, or buy a much more expensive car!

GDZHHR

Can you say PT Cruiser?

Actually, I think a five year run is about right. Look how played out the PT is now. The key in the auto industry now is inovation. Actually it has been for a while.

I remember when it seemed like Toyota was redesigning the Celica every year. Each time it was new and exciting and really kept interest in that badge high.

I think its funny how every one will now be up in arms about this while the thread saying the HHR has a major design flaw will continue to grow (currently 474 posts, 22,708 views)!

Lone Ranger

"Volt: The Volt concept, which debuted in January at the Detroit auto show, is more than a means to showcase future technology" -- roundabout way of saying its only ever going to be a research platform that will never transition to a production car.

hhrcrafty

Go watch "Who Killed the Electric Car?" and you'll realize why the Volt concept was created and why it will never see production. It's all window dressing.

Lone Ranger

I've been meaning to rent that DVD. It was a documentary by a female journalist who had one of GM's electric cars (full electric not hybrid). One of these days I'll rent it. GM crushed like over 100 brand new ones that had never even been driven or used. What a waste.

Desert Coyote

"Who Killed the Electric Car?" only gives you one side of the story. GM's reasoning was more than just some sort of shadowy conspiracy with the oil companies:

1 - many of the customers who had expressed interest in EV1 backed out when the car went into production. (out of 100 produced, only 40 ever went to customers on a lease basis)
2 - most municipalities were either unable (or in some cases, unwilling) to install the recharging infrastructure needed for recharging the EV1.
3 - due to little interest in even leasing the EV1, parts manufacturers refused to spend the money to build tooling for replacement parts for them. Even if an EV1 had lasted to end-of-life, this lack of replacement parts for repair purposes would have made driving one a dicey proposition. (hence the reason why leasers were unable to buy back their EV1's)

Basically, a lot of money was spent on the vehicle, but in the end the consumers who supposedly demanded the vehicle were unwilling to come to the table when the vehicle was made available. No stable business is going to produce a commodity with next to zero demand.