I guess a little intro is in order so here it goes. I have been on this site for a few months now, ever since the SS was announced. I have always loved the way the car looks, but it was underpowered for me. Now, I am very happy. I have always had rear-drive V8's, but now that I am married with 2 yr. old twins I need to find something that fits my needs. The HHR is PERFERCT!! I have been tossed up between the Caliber SRT-4 and the HHR SS, but after finally seeing both in person, I am going with the SS...much better looking.

Yesterday was the first time seeing the SS in person. I went to the Syracuse Auto Expo and a Victory Red was sitting just inside the entrance to the hall. Looks even better in person! Looking at pics, I thought the red was going to be too bright for me, I hate "fire engine" red, but this color is deeper and I loved it! I will go with the ebony interior though, I just don't like the red accents.

It also has plenty of cargo space and will easily hold 2 car seats. Overall, I like the dash design and everything seems to be easily reachable. The seat (standard) was very comfortable and supportive. The only gripe I have is the tach....it is just too small IMHO. I will be putting in a shift lite pretty much right away anyway, so not too much of a big deal. All in all, this verhicle is absolutely perfect for me.

I won't be ready to purchase until late summer, but I will still be here often. As I stated I am a V8 guy so this turbo 4-cylinder thing is all new to me. It appears that there are quite a few here with excellent knowledge so hopefully I will know all I need to know by the time I get it. I apologize in advance for any stupid questions I might ask.

Now I just need to go drive one......there is nothing but autos around here.

 

to the site Erik!!!

 

Hey there American Muscle, glad to see that you're on your way to picking up an HHR. I'm still waiting to see an SS myself, things take a while up here in Canada. My dealer called and said he should be getting one in March.

My only suggestion is that you bring one of your car seats when you go to see the vehicle. I remember reading a post on either this forum or a different one about someone having problems with a rear facing baby seat not fitting in the back without the front seat moved forward.

 

Must be doing a lot of racing with 2 kids in the car to need a shift light. I know from experience with old Saabs that they became annoying to us, so most of us removed the fuse or the shift light bulb. Other than racing, do you really need a shift light?

 

CalgaryHHR, luckily the kids are forward-facing now. The seats will fit no problem.

Diskullman, I actually do race alot....at the track. The days of street racing are long gone. There is a quarter mile strip 30 minutes from my house. I haven't raced since I got rid of my Firebird, but I plan on running the SS. Aside from racing, it is also nice to have for those moments I am trying to merge in heavy traffic and am not paying attention to the revs. I have always had them so they don't annoy me. I guess it is just something I have become accustomed to.

 

Welcome. Others have been here on the site too before finally buying any HHR. I once heard there is no such thing as a stupid question---only stupid answers. I know what it feels like to have V8's and that power but one thing to remember, you have 2 little ones to care for, need I say more.

 

 

I hate my "Shift Up" light in mine. It comes on before 2,000 RPMs

 

Erik! Great site here, people, too!

 

well i currently have a Z28 myself, so I know what ya mean about the power thing. You just get used to being able to do certain things in traffic. Only it costs a fortune in gas and its terrible for the environment to drive a big fast V8 around for a DD.

so having a car that is cool first of all, too has power and then gets good gas mileage... doesn't get much better'n that!