The neo-retro hot rod craze of the early 2000s was one of the most polarizing fads in the history of the car. Petrolheads especially can't stand the Chrysler PT Cruiser, even as Chrysler managed to sell a few million or so of them.
The PT Cruiser carries most of the burden of hate-filled comments on online forums, but the Chevy HHR isn't far behind. Unlike the PT Cruiser, GM did actually attempt to give their little retro-styled box on wheels some sporting credentials. Whether you think the design is a load of post-modernist, new historicist claptrap or not, the SS definitely has lots of charm the standard HHR lacks, and in our minds, is worth a second look.
Today, let's look at the little retro-styled Chevy station wagon that may actually be worth more than the sum of its parts.
A Blast From The Past.
GM wasn't subtle at all about what part of their past they were trying to pay homage to with the HHR, then again, subtlety isn't the strong suit of any retro-styled car. The HHR's smooth and rounded lines make the car uncannily similar looking to the very first Chevy Suburbans from over 70 years ago.
The Suburban of today may have evolved into a 3 plus ton beached whale of a family grocery hauler, but the HHR fits snugly within the lines of the antique ones from the 30s and 40s. Many prefer how the HHR looks to the PT Cruiser because it doesn't try as hard to look cute, or quite as retro. The standard 4 cylinder engine in non SS cars is nothing to write home about, so without further ado, on to the pumped-up SS version.
A Legit Hot Rod?
The HHR SS is likely as close as any resto styled car of the 2000s came to embrace the identity of the classic cars that inspired it. If the PT Cruiser was a barge on wheels with a thin retro styles skin over the top. The HHR SS was a retro-styled barge with a turbocharged engine, and turbos always have their virtues.
Power jumps from 143 horsepower to 260 on the 2.o EcoTec 4 cylinder SS. If anything this SS version proves that under the right conditions, with the right parts, retro styling can indeed work. Where the PT Cruiser offered the world and gave very little, you can at least run a 6 and a bit second zero to 60 time if you get the stickshift. You'll also get around 25 mpg in the city and up to 30 on the highway. Please though, don't get the automatic, You'll regret it if Scotty Kilmer is to be believed.
Related: Here's How Scotty Kilmer Amassed His $10 Million Net Worth
They Made It Into A Cargo Van
Most of us had no idea the HHR Panel conversion had an SS variant until Doug DeMuro pointed out this rare and underappreciated little pearl to us. Say what you will about the man and his video style, but no one can say he isn't gosh darn informative.
Only 200 or so of these vans were made for the entire world, making this late 2000's General Motors panel van rarer than the Ferrari Enzo, Bugatti Veyron, and the Pagani Hurayra. Now that's what we call an unexpected statistic if we've ever seen one.
The HHR SS Panel has everything a standard HHR SS has, only without a rear window, rear door handles or rear seats. Granted, it's mostly cheap, bare, exposed plastic back there, but come on, tell us that isn't the coolest van you ever saw.
Ironically, the SS Panel gets it right where the PT Cruiser and even normal models within the HHR lineup fail pretty spectacularly. With the SS Panel, one is immediately taken back in their mind to a scene of cruising route 66 in a late 40's chevy panel truck that's had its guts replaced with something mean and nasty. Instead of a Chevy Big Block, you get the 4 cylinder EcoTec turbo, so you won't have to fill it up every other day.
That makes this HHR SS not only a powerful work van that can actually haul things to your heart's content, it can also steal more looks than even the flashiest of supercars. Mostly from people scratching their heads at what they're looking at passing them down the road. Is it a car? Is It a van? Whatever it is, we call it downright cool.
Does It Save The Whole Movement?
We look back on early to late 2000's retro styling and laugh today. Many call them gimmick cars that promised to send aging baby boomers back to their youth. Instead, they all mostly just fell apart and made everyone who drove them miserable. But with the HHR SS Panel, GM got it so right, it almost justified GM and Chrysler selling millions of lukewarm "softcore" versions to regular folks. We just think it's criminal that they only made 216 of them. Although if you do find one, buy it. It may actually be worth some serious coin one day.
Sources: Zeroto60.com, Doug DeMuro