What Was the Chevrolet HHR?

There was one challenge with the Chevrolet HHR, it was too little too late in the market. The HHR was built in the middle of the previous decade, before the floor fell out of the automotive industry around the world, and at the time it was built this vehicle was thought to be one thing; a PT Cruiser wanna be. Yes, that’s what this car was thought to be even though the HHR offers a larger style, a square build and the ability to show where it came from, those who weren’t in know; which is most of the world, thought this was a copycat version of the PT Cruiser from Chrysler.

Of course we would think of the HHR as a copycat of what Chrysler had built; this car looked similar but was certainly not as attractive as the PT Cruiser. While the PT Cruiser looked like a hot rod from the earlier part of the century, the HHR didn’t actually look like anything we’d seen on the road before, except for one vehicle. The only way this car could gain any respect was to show it next to one of the early versions of the Suburban where you’d actually see the resemblance.

Part of the issue with this car is also the fact that the person who designed the failed PT Cruiser was the same person who designed the HHR causing the calls for a copycat model once again. The HHR was a response from Chevrolet in regards to the success the PT Cruiser had already begun to enjoy on the market but the PT Cruiser had already been on the market five years when the HHR came to be. By the time the HHR actually made it to the market many of us were sick of the PT Cruiser and the trend was nearly over.

Not only did the HHR fail because of its copycat style it also offers some strange items that can be difficult to deal with. By the way, the name HHR actually means Heritage High Roof which makes sense when you put the old Suburban photo next to it and see the space inside this vehicle. The power under the hood was delivered by a small engine that seemed to be underpowered. Overall, the basis for the HHR was the Chevrolet Cobalt, which was easily better left to be a compact sedan.

While we can continue to shout the negative about the HHR and what it was on the market, this failed vehicle does have some people who enjoy driving it. There is a versatile cargo area that can feel cavernous and give you the space you want to enjoy the ride with the gear you’re bringing home. This is also a unique looking vehicle that’s highly recognizable on the road to be a car that you’d be surprised you can drive and enjoy as well as you can in this vehicle that didn’t make positive headlines all that much.

Check out this video review of the HHR from RegularCars and learn more about this vehicle that probably shouldn’t have been. If this was a nod to the older model Suburban there should have been more similarities and warning to the public. Calling this the HHR was something of a hard to understand name and the timing was certainly off. Either way, there are some who have enjoyed this car including the owner of the subject in the video below and you’ll get to learn just why he seems to like his HHR so much, at least much more than most of the rest of the drivers on the road around him.