Well regardless of where the HHR was built any of the issues with the HHR have noting to do with Mexico. They could have been built in Lordstown Ohio and see the same issues.

The same issues have been present on many of the other GM cars built in country.

It also has a lot to do with an older vehicle and older assembly line. Since the Malibu things have improved and GM is now addressing issues more closely since the Chapter 11. Things are changing a lot and more will be changed in the future.

For what it is worth a friend who does automated set up work for all the companies has noticed many of the plants in Mexico employ Koren immigrents building American, German and Japanese cars. Talk about a mixture.

 

Yes Ford Flatties did have a oil filter can up on top of the motor. At first it was an option as stated.

And the Chevy 265" Small Block made in 1955 did come with a can under the motor back by the bell housing...

Yep, I guess Old is new again, in some things.

 

the engine was assembled in TN - but according to the 2010 window sticker, is now made in germany - but why?
the stick trans is a saab trans.
german cars being of high quailty is a huge joke. i work for an extended warranty co. for 8 yrs now, & if you saw the repair claims on mercedes & porsche we do, on on such low mileage, it would make your head spin. they are GARBAGE! they may ride nice, but fall apart hard core are 4 years. every m-b leak oil from valve cover gaskets & rear main seals. same with porche & their shocks all leak - & cost $1200 each & ball joints fall apart. the american cars & jap cars I do far fewer claims.

 

made in germany neto it's a chevy porsche sez so on my panels

 

andy b
had a 86 porsche turbo no shock leak at all, it was a great car it just got old so i got a 01 about 6 years ago. i'll admit the stock shocks were way to grey hound bus like (verysoft)i changed em and am now (after mods) driving a awd 600 hp to the ground car.it is bullet proof... and have the weight down to 2900 lbs. it's fairly fast(beats my hhr)

 

one car my family owns is an '04 jetta auto with a 1.8 turbo. this car is a nightmare from hell. so far 1 engine and 1 tranny down the tubes. lucky i bought an extended warranty. that company probable wont insure another jetta.

 

the older porsches that were air cooled were solid, when they went to water cooled, they turned to junk. i've myself done 10 porsche engine claims & not 1 corvette engine claim, & i am only 1 claims adjuster out of 40 here. they all leak from the rear main seal & from the intermediate shaft seal " balance shaft", then the balance shaft bearing goes & ruines the engine. the shocks on the porche don't leak, but they all do on the merecdes, & at $1200 each. merceds uses fluid filled motor mounts & control arm bushings, & they all collapse & leak & their rear main seals also -every one leaks.

 

the vw's are junk also - the 1.8 liter turbo water pump has a plastic impeller & the plastic impeller falls apart & then the engine overheats & seizes up. i do countless claims on vw window regulators that the cable breaks & the window falls down - countless claims on their o2 sensors, coolant temp sensors, mass air sensors.

 

Careful about the 02 sensor. We're using Bosch UEGO sensors as well. Wideband's just don't last as long as narrowband sensors.

 

The thing is when you buy a car no matter the make you may or may not have problems with it. At an extended warranty claims office all your going to deal with is cars that are messed up. People with cars that are running fine are not going to have a claim to make. People with high end cars are probably more likely to have extended warranty because they can afford where as I cant. But in a batch of cars, say 100, 15 may have problems due to a faulty screw or bad batch of adhesive or worse. That goes for any car. Its just the matter of out of that 100 how many are going to have problems, and how long before the problems start. European cars have a good reputation for being quality built, long lasting cars since the percentage number of "bad ones" is low in comparison. But with any car something will go wrong sooner or later.