I had 1 $500 87 Caprice rust bucket. I have 3 kids. I wanted better mileage. I had to be cool. I'm a Chevy guy. I always want the performance version (SS). Obama was offerring $4500 for trade in. The HHR SS qualified for the full $45k because it was considered a truck, the Cobalt SS only $35k even though it gets better mileage. Chevy offered $2k rebate on top of that. Chevy also had a Summer Sale(below invoice) on top of that. This was a no brainer, and I wasn't even in the market for a car. I just had to find one. Very difficult. Even thought I wanted an automatic, I wasn't willing to give up the added power and Brembos w/ limited slip diff. Unfortunately, my wife can't drive it now. He, He , He.

 

No panel SS for 2010 is what made me pull the trigger when I did.

 

My reason was for the Panel only, everything else is just iceing on the cake, love the mileage if I can keep my foot out of it, mods as you can see I have done more, just got through fatmating the whole rear compartment what a differance that makes and it looks like I'm going to drop it with Eibach sport springs in the next couple weeks, inexpensive to mod for what you get in return.

Happy New Year

 

I bought mine for my wife. She had a PT Cruiser and loved it. We had to get rid of it because it couldn't handle our new driveway in the winter so it was replaced with a Jeep. She hates the Jeep but it is good in the winter. So this is a summer car for her. I was at a F-body fest at the Indy Speedway and Chevy had several cars and trucks to drive including an HHR SS. I drove it and was pretty impressed with the handling and the power for the price. Our dealer found a victory red one, her favorite color, and that was all she wrote. She has about 7500 miles on it and loves it. I am not sure how she has managed to not get a ticket yet.

 

I'd vote for two of the four. I don't plan on doing many mods, since this car will be given to my daughter in another year and a half. Although the Stage 1 mod is VERY tempting. And although convenient, I really don't need all the room or utility of the HHR since I have an Avalanche also (but it does still come in handy). I liked the look of the HHR when it first came out, but I didn't really want a low performance econo-car. So I didn't pull the trigger until they came out with the SS model, and I haven't regretted a minute in the year and a half since.

You know you like a car when you look around and can't figure out what to replace it with when the time comes. I've looked at all kinds of vehicles to eventually buy and can't come up with any contenders that provide all the things the HHR SS does.

 

I have to say styling and mainly performance. In the past I sold cars and I have driven alot of competitors of the HHR and the stock SS handles and scoots with the best of em. The only thing my car didn't have that I would have wanted was the Pioneer system and leather. The car Salesman kept trying to talk me into a 2LT with everything, but at the end of the day I want a car that can perform.

 

Performance. I would never have bought the "regular" HHR. Ever.

I test drove several vehicles.... RX-8, Mini Cooper S, Solstice GXP and the HHR SS were on the short list. Mini and RX-8 were a bit pricey I thought. For the price it was either the Solstice GXP or the HHR SS. I really had a hard time deciding.... I have a Jeep with lots of miles, so I was buying something fun for the spring/summer. I was tired of driving that lunker all the time.

The Solstice GXP was awesome.. rear wheel drive roadster... wow.... but what the hell do you do if you want to go away for the weekend? There's no way 2 people's bags could fit in that useless trunk!

So I decided on the HHR SS. Not as pretty... Not as fast... but pretty unique and damn near as quick! Now it is under a cover, hibernating.... eagerly anticipating the return of spring.

 

I had an 06 HHR... And I liked the utility and comfort of the HHR but I wanted more power. I also felt that my 06 was a bit of a lemon and I figured most of the issues were addressed by 08. So far I'm pretty happy. The 08 still has interior rattles galore and a noisy front suspension in the cold but that is nowhere near the trouble I had with my 06. The motor's quiter, more fuel efficient, and WAY faster. You can't beat this car's combination of power and utility.

 

We went looking for good MPG's.... ended up driving the SS first and here we are almost 2 years later

 

performance ! w/ fuel efficiency being close by .