hyperv6

The car has done its job and carried GM well post Chapter 11. I expect the new car to improve things in many areas and one will be weight and the other MPG. I truly expect the new car priced right will only improve on what this one has done. This is not an excitement class but one of solid reliable and durable cars. People want a car they can buy and not have to worry about. Chevy upped things with added comfort with the last and I expect that to continue here as the other companies interiors are just flat drab at best. With a stagnate economy cars like this will be very important as people down size because of less income. Chevy will have a strong one two punch with this one and the Malibu.

This was to save cost but in the case of FCA they also have the most vehicles in the top ten for defects and already have a repeat buyer percentage of 23%. I think the GM move was fine as their reliability is near the top but with Chrysler the savings here may cost them in the long run. Guys FCA is in real trouble and if they are not sold, broken up or shut down in 10 years I will be shocked. Sergio has gone public with begging for a dance partner and no one wants to touch them. They have spun off Ferrari and only Jeep and Ram are of any interest to other companies. Even VW has not taken the bait as they would love to have Ram and Jeep but not the baggage that comes with them. While this is a common practice of a company with solid sales and high quality ratings it is not common practice of a company with questionable reliability and highly discounted prices. God knows I do not want to see them fail as we have lost too many names and brands in the last few years as it is. But they are in real trouble. They have yet to replace the Neon with anything good. They are still selling the old RWD platform cars that needed replaced 5 years ago and is really falling behind the new Mustang and Camaro. The reviews of the new RWD Dart and 200 have been positive but left with a better than what they had but not class leading. To buy time and attention they did the Hellcat that is impressive but it is far from what they really need right now. Even my in laws just bought a 300 that is nice but it was discounted to the price of a Malibu. That should not be happening. Every time Sergio goes public begging for a dance partner it just get more trouble for me. He is acting in public with the air of desperation on a topic that is best spoken of behind close boardroom doors.

Just look at any Presidential, Senate and Congressional campaign and you will see plenty of false advertising. They don't even ride a fine line.

Welcome to the real world.

I find many dealers are more set for commercial sales than others. They are geared for dealing with higher volumes and work the sales with better prices and sell in larger numbers. We have one Chevy dealer here out in the country but they supply many commercial trucks in fact they are one of the higher volume dealers around. They sell to many fleet sales regionally and they even have a dear by truck bed builder that they supply most of their trucks. GM's risk has paid off as like my self I want a truck but I do not want or need one as large as the full size is today. You could make a full size out of carbon fiber but I would not want it as the size of the smaller truck fits my needs better. I expect to be in a Z71 or ZQ8 if it is made at some point. My only beef with the present truck is the extended cab. I wish they had configured it a little different. The seats are worthless and the bases make for a non flat floor like my Sonoma. My dog would hate the new truck.

Again if you build a car right it matters little what you call it. A car makes the name or number not the other way around. A great car can save a bad name but a great name will never save a bad car. Let the product define the name no the other way around. The problem with the old Cadillac names is they no longer hold the weight they once did with the public. Fleetwood means rebodied Caprice to many today or grandpas car. the Eldorado is the car the pimp Guido drove in what ever dozen movies it was done in. The past names mean much to the enthusiast here but out in the real world they have lost their luster with several decades of product that was lacking. There was a time 3 series meant nothing as did 300SL or any other number or name. But these cars defined what these number or names meant and no matter how you spin it if GM builds it right it matter little what they call it. You could have rebadged the Aztek as a Chevy Nomad and it would have done nothing but damage the name. People trust what they see and feel. Buying a car is an emotional thing. It is much like a guy meeting a girl names Ethel that looks like a super model. He will have strong feelings alone on what he sees. Now you can name a old hag Tawny or what other center fold name you can think off and yet once he gets an eyeful the name means little. And if there are any ladies reading just do the same with a mans name. I mean no disrespect. Human nature takes control of our wants and needs and most effected is our eyesight. Next is feel be it driving or interior add in some ego for the status the first two give and you have a strong product recognition.

You do have criminal corporate people but what gets left out of the discussion too often is the criminal legal lobby and lawyers. These folks take advantage of our system to enrich themselves on our dime. They go after companies so often on matters that are not fully stated or true. They prey on people who are willing to accept self responsibility and they give them a percentage as the legal rep takes the majority in corporate blackmail. We need tort reform in this country but we will never see it as the legal lobby plays a strong hand here as most people in DC are lawyers. While GM did screw up with bad ignitions there was intent to kill anyone. In most peoples minds a bad ignition ends up with a stalled car and you just restart it. Few would never consider an air bag not going off. Nor would most consider that they would be held responsible if people did not use their belts and were incapacitated in some way. I think when this turned bad the people who were the ones seen as responsible did cover themselves up and if they did it would have been easy to hide as communication inside GM was horrible. Lets face it just look at how many times GM shot themselves in the foot with poor communication and inter division fighting.

The V8 will be only a attention getter much like the Hellcat. Now the key for it is to make sure the car uses all the power it has. The Hellcat has more power than it can use and while it makes for a nice smoky burnout the car could do nearly as well with less power. Getting it all to the ground is more important than just numbers. While I see no harm here I would rather see a CTSV with a world class AWD built. Then add power to the engine to make it 700 HP. There is much more power left in this engine and getting it to use it all with less engine management pulling the power down would be nice. The price on this car will make it very rare.

You may add that the girl did not have a seat belt on. This is the true issue in many of the cases. I do not forgive those who were involved for the cheap part but so many of those who died cause the accident they died in and in many cases did not use their seat belts that may very well have kept them alive regardless of any other factor. I studied the first 13 deaths and almost all had contributing circumstances that contributed directly to their living and dying. Sorry to those who like to blame big business for everything but it is time people take responsibility also for their actions and lawyers to stop playing corporate blackmail with large companies. The only people hurt by these lawyers are use the consumers as we pay for these settlement that the family gets often less than 50% of and the lawyers love to settle out of court as they often would lose but with the expense of dragging a company being so high in in cost and PR they find it easier to pay out the blackmail. The bottom line is here Air Bags are a supplemental restrain that need to be used in conjunction with a seat belt. Fail to use the belt often they are killed or injured just buy the bag. Having eaten one myself I know the damage that can happen just from the bag alone and if unrestrained they can easily snap a neck. On GM's part it is very easy to believe this never was know buy many inside. GM's culture was in pretty bad shape and communication was extremely poor. GM could not even communicate internally well enough to improve their cars and save money on duplication of parts. The 08 Malibu was the first car to get world class panel gaps and why? Because the metal shop was never told to do better and could not act on their own to do so. It took Bob Lutz to tell them to fix it and never wait again to be told. GM was also fingered as the best company to sell parts too by a bearing rep. He said he could sell the same bearing to GM 5 different times under 5 different numbers and at 5 different prices because they had no clue what they were buying. Yes things were that bad and for someone who made a mistake to create a bad part could have easily hid it from everyone but a few as most of the time in this era the left hand knew not what the right hand was doing. GM will get a big fine and this will be put to bed. This was not the first time a company had an issue like this and it is not the last. I expect to the new air bag issue to catch the media attention and get the if it bleeds it leads treatment. Even with the odds over 5 million to one that it will happen to you. Lightening Is only 250.000 to one that you will get struck. People die everyday and from many things. and so often the lawyers just eat it up and cost us millions yearly in lawsuits that really do not mean jack to most of us but we end up paying for, I just wish the bias media would have covered this more evenly and not yielded to the groups the lawyers pay to get the extra media attention. The book What did Jesus Drive is a very good book covering issues at Nissan, Ford and Chrysler and how the lawyers dig in their claws. I recommend the read as it really spells out the side you never hear.

Never have liked the gold bow tie. The plastic covers also in harsher weather areas look like hell in a couple years. My HHR I replaced mine with a polished billet now it is no longer in the winter. It now matches the wheels.

Well I had my ignition replaced at my Chevy dealer last week. They have built a new two story dealer to GM code. I can tell you the feeling about the dealer is a totally new experience. While I may still buy a car from a dealer that is a hole in the wall just based on price I would be more inclined to go to my local dealer first due to atmosphere. They would have first shot at a good price. Hell their old waiting room was a hole and I mean a real S hole. The new one with a 70+ TV. A full time hostess that was there serving free drinks and snacks. A show room that had more than 3 cars in it including a Z/28 and Z06 I could play with. I am hard core and to me a dealer is a dealer but I was impressed. Now roll this over to a general consumer and they will feel much better about being there at least coming in to look. It is like Walmart vs. Target. Walmart has it all from Condoms to Ammo. Target it is hard to find much there compared to Wally world. But many people still shop there as it is often a much cleaner and better shopping experience. The rows are not crammed with crap and the shelves are all stocked well and it is clean. While not all Walmarts are a mess most are. In this world where consumers are treating their cars more as an appliance the experience is much more important than it ever was. People expect a good price and their butts kissed. If that is what it takes to sell cars a MFG will pucker up all day.

Here is the problem. How much will people be willing to pay and how many will they sell. This is the real issue with cars like this at Chevy. If you run the price up to $40K would you take a Cruze or would you buy a Camaro. Hell just add some more you are at a entry level Corvette. The import guys will not come over to Chevy and most Chevy guys will take a Camaro. The fact is you would end up with a car that to be honest will be as much or more than a GS Regal as it is. That is the problem with dreaming as reality smacks you in the face in the end. GM could do a lot of neat cars but the realities of the market always come into play. Right now with the pricing of the Camaro being as they are the only real performance car that could really slot under it is a Sonic with an engine with some decent power. Now at Buick they could really support some OPC like products and a good AWD system like a Haldex and not just some low buck system. Also with the new car coming in just 3000 I would hope for less than 3200 pounds. The new base Malibu may be just over 3000 as it is. Chevy is in a tough segment as they have to price low to be the value leader but they also have a real bargain in the Camaro. It takes a big chunk of the market from $25K - 50K real easy and the engine options are all winners. Add a turbo upgrade to the 4 and you will see well over 300 HP and up to 350 FT LBS with just a change of two maps and a flash. Add Premium Required and you would have a real screamer. Now that is something that could easily happen as GM could make the kit and the dealers can use it as an add on sale. They have already done this with 4 other cars so why not the Camaro?

One thing to consider too on the Turbo 4 is GM doing a Turbo upgrade kit. For $400-$500 they can bump up the HP to over 300 HP and at least 340 FT LBS like the Solstice. The only down side is a Premium Required but anyone wanting more power will be fine with it. Two Map sensors and a computer flash and you can add up to 50 HP with no issue. It was the best improvement I did to my HHR SS. I even picked up one to two MPG. My times with 3200 Pounds is 13.8 Quarter Mile with the traction limited FWD. It is so hard to get it to hook up and Launch control just slows it down. They even detuned first gear a little to save the tranny. That is why mine only gets 315 FT LBS vs. the Solstice 340 FT LBS. I will not be surprised to find some folks getting a lot of power out of the 2.0 as the engine itself with a few mods can easily do over 500 HP with no fear of failure. I was lucky to know John Lingenfelter before he passes and he was getting up to 1500 HP on a stock LNF head before he would crack them. No matter what the choice here all are going to be very satisfying to drive.

The side has to have some thickness to it because of the side standards. Anything less than a 5 start crash rating in this segment as most others is a kiss of death for a model. As for the window it is a little smaller but so is the C pillar. You will see out just find and to make any more vision in this area would compromise styling and structure. The car over all is lower so it will be not as thick and the roof is lower. You really need to see the car before you pass judgment. It is far from being a Challenger sized car. No Colorado proportions here.

They hit the right mix of something old and something new. This is a segment where taking a major risk on a change can really set you back much if the present model is popular. It is models like this that are for the enthusiast. This is what we love and treasure and would never be appreciated by a fan of a Google car. be prepared as once you see it in person the perspective is even more changed. This car is lower and appears a little wider in looks. It has a much less upright look to it and gives it a much more aggressive look to it. I know the media will pick a point or two to dwell on as not being perfect but this car will simply be at the top and for less money out run much more expensive models from Europe in a very convincing way. It will not just be faster lap times but it will have dynamics such as feel and transition that will out perform some of the best. This will be a car that will make going fast feel slow and that is a mark of a well engineered car.

This car is about what I expected and I am good with that. The nose is much like the last 5th gen to extend the line. The roof and c pillar have a lot of C7 in them and the rear has a taste of the 4th gen tail with bits of new all around. The real sweet thing is this car will have more refinement than any Camaro that has ever been built. There was no compromise here this time where they ran out of money before they finished the car. The interior will have much better materials with fit and finish. This area always got short changed even in Gen one. The weight is down and the power is up. The platform we already know is world class and is not contingent to also being a luxury car this time. I fully expect the base SS to bear out the Mustang GT. The Challenge really is not even in the conversation till they get a new platform. The Hell Cat got them some attention in light of a coming Mustang and Camaro revamp but in time that too will wear off as this and The Mustang are the complete package. There is more to life today than just spinning $250 tires to make smoke. I love the blue and the RS spoiler as it fits the cars lines well. The interior is great in all but one area for me. The only real issues I have are one the SS wing. It just looks dated and tacked on. Not a big fan of it. If I were to buy an SS I would delete the wing and buy the RS spoiler. The interior I love especially in red and black. But the radio screen just looks like a GPS mounted to the dash and the Gauge pod would look better if it were connected at the top completely and no cut out. Both of my hates are minor and should not be major issues with most buyers. I expect the SS to really turn some heads with performance in all areas of stop, go and turn much like the C7 did and the later performance models will do just as the Z06 has done. This is the best Camaro out of the gate we have ever seen and it will only get better. By the way I love the engine line up. The Camaro has never had three good choices like this. I just wish they had a Premium Required option on the Turbo so it would be over 300 HP. I do expect a upgrade kit for it much like my SS and the Solstice. With that the Solstice had 340 FT LBS. Image that in this car.

Name: Chevrolet HHR SS (2008) Date Added: 08 May 2015 - 09:19 PM Owner: hyperv6 Short Description: HHR SS with red and black interior GM Performance Turbo upgrade 23 PSI boost Price paid new much less than sticker. Fully loaded. 13 second quarter miles if you can get the tires to hook up. Top speed stock was 155 MPH upgrade may have around 160 MPH if anyone is dumb enough to try it. Handling is amazing. I did not really care about HHR's but after I drove this I bought it based on the handling and engine alone. I thought what am I doing but now I am glad I bought it. MPG is still 25 city and 32 highway on premium. This car is one of the best kept secrets of GM. I often get told by people they like what I did to my HHR and are shocked to find it came this way and I did not create my own SS. They are even more shocked to find a nearly 300 HP Turbo engine in it. What is sad I have owned two past SS models a 1968 SS 396 and a 1972 GMC Sprint SP [El Camino SS] and this little HHR is faster than both stock and about the same as my 68 with a cam and intake change. As for stopping and turning the HHR is light years ahead. The only thing I do hate is the FWD as it just has a hard time hooking up. I have had it break loose at 55 MPH before and it scared me the first time it happened. The power died and I saw a light on the dash and I thought I broke something till I saw it was the Traction control light. I have noted in this area the prices on these are pretty stable. There were so few and what ones there are left are getting to be high mile and often rode hard and put away wet. While some may not understand the SS you really need to drive one to get why is was an SS. Lap time was at the Ring was a mid 8 min run and was a record for a small FWD wagon. It was as fast as some early NSX models and other sports cars. View Vehicle

Lest you forget that Cadillac used numbers so very long ago and did not use names till much later. They used names like Model 30 and model A 113 years ago. No names just numbers or letters. They later progress with the numbers and then put a descriptive name on the car but yet not a model name. It took them almost 50 years to add a name to the model number they still were covered by. Some think it is just the Germans but in the past most companies just offered model numbers or letters and then tagged it a coupe, sedan or town car.. I have not seen what CT6 means but I ponder if it is based on the old number system like Cadillac Type 62 as they once used. There may be more heritage there than you think.

They could have called the Colorado an El Paso and it would have sold all the same because it is a good truck no matter what you call it. People buy trucks not names. Besides the Colorado has continuity here so you did not have to start over with marketing anyways. As for the CT6 if the car is the best in the class the name should not matter. Style it right, Equip it right and market right and you can let the car define the name or in this case number.

What you fail to consider is that both names you post here are ones with long continued production and continuation. Pulling a name out that was last used on a car that tarnished it or a name that has not been in use still has to re establish its self and only then if the product is good does it thrive. The 500 failed as it was a poor car. The Taurus was bases on the 500 but it had many of the issues fixed. Fords mistake was to try to make a larger Passat. I know many people like to romanticize some of the old times and legacy but that only works till the person gets behind the wheel of the new car then it has to prove itself. Today you can look at the Colorado. The truck is being judged by what it is today not what it was 20 years ago. If the truck was a rolling piece of crap the name was not going to do a thing for it.

If you take an established successful name already on a successful product the name helps but the model has already made the name. Now if Lincoln slapped the Continental name on the MKJ it would not do a thing to help that situation. The names we have today that resonate well are all on products that well define the name. Cars are like people you can slap the name Einstein to anyone but it will not make them a genius.

I has fears we would get the Chinese version at first but when the add with the 5 new models were in shadow I saw the nose of this car had a Cruze nose with proper grills. This told me we were not getting the car from China. GM pretty much has brought the Cruze and Volt together closer. With the Malibu Hybrid and CT6 also getting Volt like packages in they cars I wonder if they will roll the Volt into the Cruze as they expand the Voltec line into more models. In other words GM will grow the Volt line in most of their cars and the Volt itself in a gen or two will just be a Model of the Cruze. I like the car but I am not keen on the side view with the tall hood to fender area. It may just be the photo so I will not rush to judgment. The car other wise looks up scale and I love the blue on it. Designing a small sedan is one of the toughest things to do today. To make it Practical, Stylish, Usable and Aero you have to pack a lot into a small area. As for looking like other models most cars today do and if they are already popular sellers that will not hurt a thing. I really do not think many will mistake the bow tie on this one for anything but a Chevy. The nose has the new Chevy face we were told was coming .

Hard to say there as the Monte was a much better car than the previous Lumina Coupe. Was it the name or was it because it was a much better looking car? Hard to prove there but I am willing to bet the styling has a lot more to do with it than the name. The fact is they tried to put a like Monte Carlo Coupe styling with the long hood and short deck lid giving the car a much better look. The car still lacked the real Monte trait of V8 and RWD so I feel it was the styling. Even the Lumina sedan had better sales with improved styling. Like I asked before who here bought a car based just on the name?

How? If a car is not good to begin with how can the name help? I could have called the Aveo a Camaro but would that have helped sales? The Aztek could have been named a GTO but would that have changed things? GM just trademarked the Avenir name used on the Buick show car. Now that is a case where the car made the name to the point it has gone from not being intended to be used to being registered with the intentions of a road car. GM made it clear the car if gone into production would most likely not used the show car name. But that has since changed. Cars define names not names define cars. Accept for a GT 40 that was 40" tall.