Chevrolet HHR
Muscle · Chevrolet
Chevrolet HHR: The Retro Wagon From the PT Cruiser's Designer
The Chevrolet HHR, short for Heritage High Roof, is a retro-styled five-door wagon Chevrolet sold for the 2006 through 2011 model years. It was designed by Bryan Nesbitt, who had led the design of the Chrysler PT Cruiser.
The HHR debuted at the 2005 Los Angeles Auto Show as a 2006 model. Nesbitt based its look on late-1940s Chevrolets, especially the 1947 Suburban and the Advance Design pickups, with big square fender flares and a rounded grille. Under the skin it shared GM's Delta platform with the Cobalt, Pontiac G5, and Saturn Ion. It held 62.7 cubic feet of cargo, and the front passenger seat folded flat. Chevrolet built it in Ramos Arizpe, Mexico, and sold more than 93,000 in the first year through June 2006. Some were exported to Japan.
From 2007 to 2011 Chevrolet also sold an HHR Panel, a small delivery van with plastic panels over the rear windows, no rear seat, and no outside rear door handles. GM's Performance Division revealed the HHR SS Turbocharged on August 16, 2007, at the Woodward Dream Cruise. It had a turbocharged 2.0-liter Ecotec making 260 hp with the five-speed manual or 235 hp with the automatic, plus a sport suspension, a boost gauge on the A-pillar, and 18-inch wheels. A dealer-installed upgrade raised it to 290 hp and 315 lb-ft. An SS Panel van was sold for 2009 only.
The SS was dropped after 2010 when GM closed its Performance Division. Chevrolet announced late in 2010 that the HHR would end after the 2011 model year, and fleet orders ran until May 2011.