Details of Cars

Chevrolet HHR: the retro high-roof wagon of 2006–2011

CHEVROLET

Chevrolet HHR
Chevrolet HHR. Photo by Jeremy from Sydney, Australia, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

The Chevrolet HHR was a retro-styled, high-roofed five-door wagon launched at the 2005 Los Angeles auto show as a 2006 model. Its name stood for Heritage High Roof, and its shape looked back to the 1947 Chevrolet Suburban and the Advance Design pickups.

Chevrolet HHR at a glance

Chevrolet HHR key facts
Production 2006–2011
Class Five-door, five-passenger front-wheel-drive wagon
Name means Heritage High Roof
Designer Bryan Nesbitt, previously of the Chrysler PT Cruiser
Platform GM Delta, shared with the Cobalt, Pontiac G5 and Saturn Ion
Assembly Ramos Arizpe, Mexico
Cargo capacity 62.7 cubic feet
Trim levels LS, LT, 2LT and Special Edition
Panel van from 2007
Production ended May 2011

History of the Chevrolet HHR

The HHR was shown at the Los Angeles auto show in 2005 and went on sale as a 2006 model. Its styling was inspired by Chevrolet’s late-1940s and early-1950s cars and trucks, particularly the 1947 Suburban and the Advance Design pickups, with large square flared wings and a semicircular grille. The design is credited to Bryan Nesbitt, a former Chrysler designer who had led the PT Cruiser and later became chief designer of Chevrolet. The car was built in Ramos Arizpe, Mexico and sold across North America.

2009 Chevrolet HHR SS panel van
2009 Chevrolet HHR SS panel van. Photo by Greg Gjerdingen, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

Underneath, the HHR used the GM Delta platform shared with the Chevrolet Cobalt, Pontiac G5 and Saturn Ion. It carried 62.7 cubic feet of luggage with the rear seats folded, had a flat load floor and a fold-flat front passenger seat. For 2007 it was offered in four trim levels, LS, LT, 2LT and Special Edition, and a panel van version appeared that year in LT trim only before becoming available across the range in 2008. From 2008 to 2010 buyers could delete the rear quarter windows with the Half Panel option. A performance SS version also joined the range.

Production ended in May 2011. The HHR was part of the same retro wave as the Chrysler PT Cruiser, and like the PT Cruiser it divided opinion, but it gave Chevrolet a practical high-roof wagon at a time when the market was moving towards crossovers.

Design and features

  • Retro shape: flared wings and a semicircular grille borrowed from the 1947 Suburban.
  • High roof: upright body with a flat load floor and a fold-flat front seat.
  • Panel van: a windowless commercial version from 2007.
  • SS version: the performance model of the range.

Chevrolet HHR versions

  • LS and LT: the standard passenger wagons.
  • 2LT and Special Edition: the better-equipped trim levels from 2007.
  • Panel van (2007 onwards): the commercial version without rear side windows.
  • HHR SS: the turbocharged performance model.

The HHR shared its platform with the Chevrolet Cobalt and its retro inspiration came from the Advance Design trucks. More cars are in the Chevrolet collection.

Video: Chevrolet HHR

Video by Motorvision Deutschland on YouTube.

Sources

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