ChevyMgr

I tell ya, I just love seeing these old threads come back.

Marcruger

Of interest, a Cobalt sold me on the HHR. I rented several Cobalts and really liked everything about them but the styling and the driver's seat cushion. I told myself, "When the old car dies, time for a Cobalt." I had two weeks "off" when my son had surgery, so I started looking at Cobalts. I noticed the HHR, and went to a dealer and sat in one. Love at first sit. The seats fit me great, as did the car as a whole. I got my '09 2LT used with 13k miles for $14,300. I really like it at that price.

That said, my car stickered at $22,500, and I don't think it is as good a deal at that price. The thin sheet metal and inexpensive plastic interior could be better. Not picking on our HHR's, I felt the same about the 5.0 liter Mustang I bought new in '89. I tried a Saleen, and said, "At $12,500, the Mustang is a good car. At $24,000 for the Saleen, the Mustang underneath is not worth it." The best example is the Mercury Marquis. I bought a 2 year old one for $10,000 and drove it 184k miles, and at that it was a great deal. At $29,000 for a new one someone has a hole in their head.

Just my 2 cents worth. God Bless, Marc

Yonash

being a valet driver, i drive tons and tons of PTs and HHRs, and obviously my SS daily, and i can tell you how well they stand the test of time...or don't...the interiors are rather crappy and tend to fall apart easily. for being near the same exterior dimensions, they sure have a heck of a lot less room inside, less rear seat legroom, and like half the cargo space. their turn radius SUCKS (that's one of the things i hate themost about PTs), there is a particular spot in our parking structure that is right across the drive aisle from an elevator. the first spot on the end of the row, i have turned a early 2000's Tahoe out of, made the u-turn right out of the space, and cleared the elevator with a tiny gap. a PT has to be in the second parking space to clear with almost the same size gap...it's rather pathetic.

PTs aren't BAD cars, but they really aren't very good ones either. and the Turbo model isn't even that fast. there are actually 2 turbo models, one commonly referred to as the Turbo Lite, and then there is the GT. if the hatch of a PT says Turbo and doesn't have a GT badge, even being turbo, it only has about 180hp. for the full grunt out of the turbo engine you HAVE to have a GT, which is somewhere around 230ish hp. for what you get, for basically the same price as a comparable HHR (all trims, not just turbo models), the HHR is just way more for your money.