New Member From Chicagoland/Northern Wisconsin
Thread Starter
New Member
Joined: 05-25-2009
Posts: 21
From: Chi-Town western suburbs
New Member From Chicagoland/Northern Wisconsin
Hello all,
Researching for a HHR SS has brought me to this site many times in the last few weeks. So I figured I should join before someone "senses" me lurking about too much. Once I got thru the registration hassles I have continued to lurk about and final saw a topic I knew much about, so after posting there I thought an intro was in order.
Raced snowmobiles professionally as a teenager, as well as street-racing a 1966 Chevy Nova SS (327/350HP with major drivetrain mods) in the early 1970s...not that I condone that action anymore with the number of cars on the road!!! Raced formula cars in SCCA in the mid-1970s for awhile...so you can see I'm a gearhead. Also have owned a 1969 Malibu, 1970 Buick Rivera, and other assorted cool GM cars thru-out time.
In the mid-1990s, while working part-time at a Chicagoland Corvette/Chevy restoration shop I owned a pristine 1966 Corvette air-conditioned coupe and finally obtained a semi-rare 1990 ZR-1 Corvette(1 of 11 in Steel Blue). Unfortunately the year 2000+ changes in the computer industry ended my high-paying career and I worked for 2 years as a GMAC extended warranties rep. Following another lay-off (GMAC being sold) I have held jobs since then (not careers) while restoring a lodge house in Tomahawk Wisc.
Currently driving a surprisingly-fun 2004 Saturn Vue Red Line (Honda 3.5 V6/5-spd auto transmission with that funky plastic body) that I am soon selling so I can buy a HHR SS manual...time too enjoy a stick transmission once more before the legs get to creaky!
I love acceleration...be it ATVs, snowmobiles, jet boats, motorcycles, etc. Not much for top-end speed as I am always thinking of nails in tires, drivetrain failure, etc. In fact last fall I finally purchased another of my long-lusted after man-toys...a 2001 Yamaha V-Max (real muscle-bike) at a cycle auction that I am cleaning up for some summer fun. There's numerous faster bikes out there now, but Mr. Max sounds like a mean small-block Chevy with a healthy cam in it.
So you can find me either in the western suburbs of Chicago or in northern Wisconsin...up nort' of the stress line.
Anyone know of a low-mileage 2008 SOM/Silver HHR SS for sale in the midwest, or a 2009 in aqua blue? New or slightly pre-driven. Preferrably a half panel with LSD/sunroof, but I'm looking for needles in a haystack this late in the model year.
Dan
PS And sadly I sold the '66 Vette, but I still have the ZR-1! Not nearly as quick as the new 2009 ZR1 and not driven much anymore, but still a great rush winding it up to 7,000+ RPM thru the first few gears, then shutting it down before I am placed in handcuffs!?!
Researching for a HHR SS has brought me to this site many times in the last few weeks. So I figured I should join before someone "senses" me lurking about too much. Once I got thru the registration hassles I have continued to lurk about and final saw a topic I knew much about, so after posting there I thought an intro was in order.
Raced snowmobiles professionally as a teenager, as well as street-racing a 1966 Chevy Nova SS (327/350HP with major drivetrain mods) in the early 1970s...not that I condone that action anymore with the number of cars on the road!!! Raced formula cars in SCCA in the mid-1970s for awhile...so you can see I'm a gearhead. Also have owned a 1969 Malibu, 1970 Buick Rivera, and other assorted cool GM cars thru-out time.
In the mid-1990s, while working part-time at a Chicagoland Corvette/Chevy restoration shop I owned a pristine 1966 Corvette air-conditioned coupe and finally obtained a semi-rare 1990 ZR-1 Corvette(1 of 11 in Steel Blue). Unfortunately the year 2000+ changes in the computer industry ended my high-paying career and I worked for 2 years as a GMAC extended warranties rep. Following another lay-off (GMAC being sold) I have held jobs since then (not careers) while restoring a lodge house in Tomahawk Wisc.
Currently driving a surprisingly-fun 2004 Saturn Vue Red Line (Honda 3.5 V6/5-spd auto transmission with that funky plastic body) that I am soon selling so I can buy a HHR SS manual...time too enjoy a stick transmission once more before the legs get to creaky!
I love acceleration...be it ATVs, snowmobiles, jet boats, motorcycles, etc. Not much for top-end speed as I am always thinking of nails in tires, drivetrain failure, etc. In fact last fall I finally purchased another of my long-lusted after man-toys...a 2001 Yamaha V-Max (real muscle-bike) at a cycle auction that I am cleaning up for some summer fun. There's numerous faster bikes out there now, but Mr. Max sounds like a mean small-block Chevy with a healthy cam in it.
So you can find me either in the western suburbs of Chicago or in northern Wisconsin...up nort' of the stress line.
Anyone know of a low-mileage 2008 SOM/Silver HHR SS for sale in the midwest, or a 2009 in aqua blue? New or slightly pre-driven. Preferrably a half panel with LSD/sunroof, but I'm looking for needles in a haystack this late in the model year.
Dan
PS And sadly I sold the '66 Vette, but I still have the ZR-1! Not nearly as quick as the new 2009 ZR1 and not driven much anymore, but still a great rush winding it up to 7,000+ RPM thru the first few gears, then shutting it down before I am placed in handcuffs!?!
Last edited by djw479; Jun 10, 2009 at 09:45 PM. Reason: typos
to the site Dan!!! Be sure to post up some pics of that Vette 
Senior Member
Joined: 11-15-2008
Posts: 1,599
From: Newburgh, NY
Welcome, Dan. To find a slightly used HHR in the new Aqua Blue with the AA5 option, sunroof and LSD is indeed a needle in a haystack. You might want to start the new car ordering process, because it will take a while.
I went the cheap route and use AutoTrader. If your going to find something special, that would be the best place to start. I searched for 6 months and eventually found exactly what I wanted at a dealership in NJ through Autotrader. ($16,897 w/6771mi, manual trans, LSD, sunroof, black on black). I had money left over to buy the Stage1 kit and have it installed.
There are currently 23 HHR SS with manual transmissions and 27 HHR SS' with automatic transmissions for sale nationwide:
Highest Price:$20,510 Lowest Price:$16,998 Average Price:$18,892
Mileage ranges from 174mi on the low end to 14,084mi on the high end.
If you go this route, find one close to your home, go to the dealer and test drive it. Don't do any web transactions. Too risky. Here's 7 SS' in the Wisconsin area:
http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/search...=1244691436446
And have fun shopping...
I went the cheap route and use AutoTrader. If your going to find something special, that would be the best place to start. I searched for 6 months and eventually found exactly what I wanted at a dealership in NJ through Autotrader. ($16,897 w/6771mi, manual trans, LSD, sunroof, black on black). I had money left over to buy the Stage1 kit and have it installed.
There are currently 23 HHR SS with manual transmissions and 27 HHR SS' with automatic transmissions for sale nationwide:
Highest Price:$20,510 Lowest Price:$16,998 Average Price:$18,892
Mileage ranges from 174mi on the low end to 14,084mi on the high end.
If you go this route, find one close to your home, go to the dealer and test drive it. Don't do any web transactions. Too risky. Here's 7 SS' in the Wisconsin area:
http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/search...=1244691436446
And have fun shopping...
Thread Starter
New Member
Joined: 05-25-2009
Posts: 21
From: Chi-Town western suburbs
Thanks for the Welcome!
Thanks for quick replies!
I've been studying SSs for a few weeks now, and I think a couple really nice slightly-used HHR SSs have been sold while I was beginning research: 2009 300-mile silver AA5 that was a GM show car, new 2009 aqua w/o RPD, and a nice 9,000 mile 2008 SOM that was GM Certified for $16,900. Oh well...I guess mine hasn't hit the market yet.
Currently I've sort of put things on hold for a few days as my mother just passed away and we are holding services in Illinois and Wisconsin over the next 8 days, so if I do not quickly respond to to any PMs or topics don't hold it against me.
I'll dig up a few ZR-1 pix in the near future. All stock 15,000 mile example except for a ECM chip and an custom ZR-1 exhaust from the guys who did all the Corvette Challenge cars in the late 1980s/90...that Lotus-designed DOHC engine begins to scream loudly from 4,000 RPM on up.
And THANK YOU to Hillsdale for getting me thru the registration process!
Dan
I've been studying SSs for a few weeks now, and I think a couple really nice slightly-used HHR SSs have been sold while I was beginning research: 2009 300-mile silver AA5 that was a GM show car, new 2009 aqua w/o RPD, and a nice 9,000 mile 2008 SOM that was GM Certified for $16,900. Oh well...I guess mine hasn't hit the market yet.
Currently I've sort of put things on hold for a few days as my mother just passed away and we are holding services in Illinois and Wisconsin over the next 8 days, so if I do not quickly respond to to any PMs or topics don't hold it against me.
I'll dig up a few ZR-1 pix in the near future. All stock 15,000 mile example except for a ECM chip and an custom ZR-1 exhaust from the guys who did all the Corvette Challenge cars in the late 1980s/90...that Lotus-designed DOHC engine begins to scream loudly from 4,000 RPM on up.
And THANK YOU to Hillsdale for getting me thru the registration process!
Dan
Last edited by djw479; Jun 11, 2009 at 09:55 AM. Reason: updated
Senior Member
Joined: 08-20-2006
Posts: 21,640
From: Hillsdale, Michigan
