I have a 2009 HHR SS panel that I bought new. 1 of 216 built. 1 of 9 in Aqua Blue Mettalic . Now has 135 thousand miles . My cruisein & car show machine. Love mine. Alot of spectators never heard of these cars of course GM didn't advertise these let alone never seen a panel SS! Still have the original window sticker when I went to pick it up.
That's a special car you have!! They launched in the depths of the recession... so no wonder they failed. And consumers buy on looks... HHR was funky. But I like it. Especially the blend of performance and functionality. Thanks for sharing your story!
I had a 2007 base HHR, 2.2 L w/ 5-speed stick. I really liked it. And even thought the sticks are SO hard to find on these cars, I also feel it's the the way to get it. With any or these smaller cars with 4-bangers, it seems to me that automatics are more expensive and can be more problematic in the long term as well as usually not being as fuel efficient. I sold it because I ended up with a surplus of 4door vehicles. But I took my time and enjoyed it for over 6 months before selling it. Another thing I like about at is that it's powerful enough to where you can drive it in states with higher elevation and 80 mph speed limits and you can set the cruise at 80 and it'll handle that speed all day without the engine having to work really hard and have the rear seats down and mass luggage taking up all the room there is. Perhaps if I lost all my vehicles in a natural disaster and needed to get a car again just to have one, the HHR is at the top of the list.
Totally agree with your review. Found one almost accidentally and the SS version really sold me. Mine is a 2009 manual with the performance package. Has pretty low miles - around 60,000. Great combination of power and utility, plus it is pretty unique. I’ve have several cars, but this one is turning out to be a favorite.
Thanks for sharing! It's hard not to love everything this car is... at least if you can enjoy the styling. Really cool combination of utility, practicality, economy and fun.
Your video made me love mine 09 LS even more. It's really a utilitarian vehicle and even at 155hp it's still an enjoyable car. Make sure you look at the fuel line that run thru an insulation next to muffler. Very common for it to leak due to trapped moisture and road salt. Mine at 140kmi is leaking now I'm waiting for parts, nickel copper and brass fitting.
That's awesome! Thankfully, this car has never seen snow or salt. It has had a rather nice life and lives in the garage. Enjoy your HHR. Thanks for sharing! :)
@@TruckCamper dang ; aint that the truth. So easy in and out ; great seating position;zips down the road and through traffic. Great handling . So versatile. It’s hard not to like it . 👍👌
Love it. Had 2 non SS,had my 2007 ls 5 speed since new. Will have one someday for street fun. My 07 ls is my desert buggy. Does great off road in the AZ deserts.
@@TruckCamper Yes,ive driven a few. They are alot if fun. I just never had the coin to buy one outright. I'm on disability so i just keep rebuilding this one for now as I can. And it works well for what I do with it. Can't find another car this simple,with this much room still this great mpgs and easy to fix and modify. Reliable,even when beat on. Just change the fluids and maintenance and great. Mine has been over 3/4 of the USA Almost 14 years of abuse and faithful service.
Get the factory overboost tune. It's about $1000.00 but sure wakes this car up. My had a trans wine at about 130,000 that dealer claimed I needed new transmission. Still going at 310,000 miles.
That's fantastic! Great service life... Factory has plenty of go! Tires have their job cut out trying to put the power down. Did you notice reduction in fuel mileage with the tune?
Mileage only decreases if you put your foot into it. You will get some torque steer but if you think that car is fun now, you haven't seen nothing. The car feels like it has a small v8 with the over boost feature. They replace the map sensors, give it a tune and some stickers and your ready to go. Just make sure they crimp new wires correctly.
@Brian Hampton Yeah. I've read about it. Sure is a lot of fun as is tho. We might tune it eventually. But we average 30mpg and that's with plenty of turbo time... love how hard the car will corner too. You really piled the miles on!!! It's a great hwy car for cruising...
Interested in one of these.... there is a automatic one up for sale in my area. I like the space, power, and actually the design isn't bad at all its unique plus it would look good next to my Cobalt SS Turbocharged.
Sounds like the perfect car .. why sell? BTW great video. I'm actually picking one up a low mile SS this weekend. This video got me excited but i wish the one I bought was orange like yours instead of red. Good luck with your sale it looks really clean.
@@TruckCamper Sadly When i went to go pick up my car it had undisclosed water damage and smelled horrible like mold so I got my money back. i'm on the east coast and it's a shame you guys live so far away ... i have no idea how i would get it to RI lol
Steven Houle Drive it! I live in West Virginia and have bought two vehicles in California and one each in Nevada and New Mexico. Flew out, bought the vehicle, drove it home. Takes about a week to do it super comfortably (I don't like to drive much more than 6-8 hours in a day), but it's a super-fun road trip with a friend or significant other. I've bought all of my vehicles from the southwest, there's no getting a clean one on our side of the country.
I'm not certain on the year. It is the "Made in Germany" version though. You'll typically hear the chain slap on start up if it fails. Although, not always.
@@juanfranciscogarcia3167 Different springs and shocks. I believe the control arms are the same... but haven't researched it. Some parts cross over but not all
That's exciting. Pay attention to the timing chain. These motors have had issues with the chain tensioner. If you hear chain slap noise at startup then get it fixed. Have fun!
I had a 2010 SS the 09-10 timing chains are a little better also there are few more cool upgrade like suspension and more gauges It is a really reliable and fun rare car. I miss mine, I traded it in on a Corvette! Have fun with it :)
I picked up a 2009 SS Flash Blue Metallic 5 speed with the performance package ( limited slip and Brembo brakes) with 91,000 in March. The car is a lot of fun stock, can't wait to put some bolt ons and a tune.
@@mattclark7724 I had the same one but a 2010. I ended up putting a larger turbo and intercooler hotter plugs and larger fuel pump, headers and dyno tuned it, put solid motor and trans mounts too. ended up being 412 hp Talk about a sleeper! It was so quick, I embarrassed so many I raced! lol Ended up trading it in for a Corvette, which I still have.
@@TruckCamper I wish no it's a LT I Have up on offer up and Facebook Marketplace if You wanna Checkit out ,✅ I Love Your SS Tho Bro I look forward to Owning one Later on
@@catamihai4183 I agree "Expedition Truck Camper" they are rare and Chevy really went all out when they built them. The performance division had a lot to do with the build of this car too and it actually was road tested on the famous Germany Newburg track as well ! It's not uncommon for them that are good condition to go for $11,000-14,000 and higher for Excellent condition and very low millage ones.
Worst car I ever owned, always something wrong with it. The ride was so rough that when you drove over the yellow line you could feel it. Only good thing was engine and trans.
That's too bad. We love ours! The factory tuned suspension makes cornering and handling fun. It's an incredible combination of eco, fun and utility. There's no vehicle that comes close.
@@TruckCamper Oh that was stock? OK then. Did not know they did that on modern cars from factory. My bud has a 65 Vette stock and it has side pipes and is super loud. Feel like you are doing 100 when you doing 50 just due to the rumble. If you turn the key off for 1 second while running then back on it collectts gas in the side pipes then explodes like a M-80 makes people JUMP if they are on the sidewalk. My kid has a HHR but its a normal sounding car not fast 4 cyl gets good miles been a solid car in terms of reliability.
@@TruckCamper I think they are super nice still in 2023 because they are not like any other car. Today all SUVs have the exact same look. Nothing sets them apart like the HHR.