Mr. Schmoe
Me thinks you been smoking some wacky backa, up there in the woods.
You don't seem to see whats in most racings cars, and lots[almost most] high end cars. It's called a automatic, and they will shift faster than a human can, on any given day.
The HHR SS was'nt meant to be a race car, and is'nt by any strech. GM gave you a choice of a manual or a automatic, and sure not the good ones, they could have installed. Any real high H.P. HHR-SS'S are going to have problems will either one, if they cross the line. You pays your money, and you takes your chances.
Kicking guys with automatics[just because you happen to own a manual] is showing your A--, Eh!
Hey Pal, it's O.K. to pull your head out, and get a breath of fresh air, and maybe learn something. Eh!
I'm just stating what everyone is thinking, when you post that crap.
Get over it. "Moon"

 

I have two with them. One is a 4 speed and one is a 6 speed. The 4 speed is only good in the mountains on winding roads. The down hill tranny braking make it easier on the brakes. The six is a little more fun but the engine and tranny are so smooth you really have to pay attention to what the revs are and what gear.

For playing aroud they are fun but you get board with them after awhile. If they are on the car they are fine but I would not spend a lot of money just to get them.

I have driven a semi auto before and it is fun. On some of the more expensive cars you do get more adjustments and setting to dial things in.

 

I'm leaning towards an auto as well. I agree with Hyper that paddle/button shifts get boring after a while. I had a Porsche Boxster S with Tiptronic, a feature I only used for a few weeks. I quickly discovered how hard it is to out-shift a modern automatic. It was always in the right gear in full-auto mode. Self-shifting felt ridiculous after a while.

 

I own a Evo 8 (5 speed) , Trailblazer SS (auto) , Infiniti FX (sportshift auto) and the HHR SS (auto).

Out of all of them I'd rather drive the HHR. I'm not adverse to shifting, actually never had a period in my life where I didn't own at least one manual transmission car, but driving in LA which is the land of take off fast or get cut off, then go stop and go for 10 miles the auto is a lifesaver.

I added the Stage 1 kit and if you hold the traction control button down for 10 seconds, it will smoke the tires down the street. It may or may not be faster than the EVO (probably a toss up) but IMO it's twice the car with on star, luggage room, distinctive looks and is comfortable on long trips.

The only dislikes I have with the SS auto is the sound. It could be more throaty and less industrial and at about 110 mph there is wind noise from the side windows, but other than that it's a blast.

The kids that work for me drive GTI's, 350Z's, WRX's and all say "why did you buy that'" so I throw them the keys and 20 minutes later they come back with their mouth wide open.

It's just a fun car with utility and seems to be polarizing. Some like the looks some hate it but I think it's the modern day hot rod. It's fast, gets good mileage and is useful.

I'm sure GM will kill it, cause God knows they kill off everything that's fun and probably replace it with some kind of Daewoo built Toyota Scion look alike, but I dig the car and glad GM had the "ba__s" to build it.

I'm not really into retro looks, but love this car and would buy another one in a heartbeat. Actually, would just like about 100 more horsepower, but don't know how/where I could use it.

Make sure you get the Stage 1 kit and make sure you download all the information from this site and others on how to install it, because my dealer screwed it up big time and took two weeks and my research to figure it out.

 

I love my automatic, wouldn't have a stick.

 

To be honest I did feel a little let down after driving a 5 speed and buying an auto. The 5 speed did have just a little more. Now that I did the Stage I do not feel let down in any way with the auto.

In Europe after the war they could not afford gas or expensive cars so they have grown up mostly with small cars and cheaper manual transmissions. In America the automatic came into it's own and with the large long highways and with money being spent on larger and more expensive cars it just became a part of our culture.

I under stand why the people in Europe still drive them even to a lesser numbers today. But we get a handfull of Americans that just need the feel of the image or what ever it is. If they like them fine and let leave it as that. Both have there place and not everyone like hot pepers so lets just enjoy both.

The one thing that keeps me from buying one as a daily driver is most new shifters in FWD cars go to crap with wear and the clutchs are not cheap or easy to replace. I could change my old RWD in less than two hours at home today I could not do it with a FWD.

Now if I bought a Vette it would be a 6 speed for weekend use.

 

Agreed, after coming from the Mopar camp owning a modified Neon and lusting after an SRT-4, I wanted a sporty, turbocharged car that came w/ an automatic. I can't drive stick (long story) so auto's my only option. When I found out that the SS came w/ an option for an automatic: I went and test drove one, and bought it that week. Happy ever since.

 

hi, i to am a new member,i have a panel ss and im 53. like you i consitered the auto verses the standard shift. the super sport is a performance car and in days gone by it was a basic car with most of the optional eq. in the go catagory. how much city stop and go driving will the car get, what will be its purpose? i enjoy the 5 speed and the extra hp. in my mine every shift reminds me i have a performance machine and going into the corners, droping a gear and winding her out is just as much fun as i remmbered.thats all i have to say about that oney

 

Well- my 2010 HHR SS gets built today, Feb 1st, Red Auto with a stage kit in it's future

 

At 90+ MPH, you don't do a whole lot of shifting.