the fold up back seats feel like they belong in a 80's car. you can fold the upright part of the seat forward, but the seats aren't flush with the floor. then you have the 2nd option of lifting the entire back seat forward with it folded and you tie a strap to the b pillar to keep the seats in place but the whole rear seat is flat against the front seats blocking any extra storage space for longer objects...at least entire rear floor is available for storage. no one probably had any clue what i just said. they never made the panels due to low consumer interest and i don't know about the cali cruiser

 

Next time oil spikes, I bet there'll be a lot of people trading their SUVs and pickups that have never towed anything for compact wagons. The HHR was meant to be a niche vehicle because of the retro styling, but it has little competition as a small utility vehicle regardless. I wonder if BMW will bring back the Minivan (panel van based on a Mini, not a minivan)?

 

Speaking of retro, there seemed to be a cat and mouse game between GM and Chrysler re the release of this styling trend at that point in time.

I remember when the Plymouth Prowler came out. GM's answer was the SSR. Some say that the true rivalry was between these two, not the smaller offsprings. The PT / HHR were thought to be junior siblings of both of these retro rods, each in respect to their own family.