2005 CHEVROLET HHR 2.4L FLexfuel 4AT FWD (172 HP)

Vehicle Overview

At the beginning of the 2000s, the retro-design fever caught-on, and Chevrolet’s design department turned its eyes on the cars from the ’40s. The result was the Chevrolet High Heritage Roof or HHR for short.

After the biodesign era ended and customers started to look at different design languages, Chrysler and Chevrolet tried a different approach: a retro-design look built on a new platform. The HHR was a good example, but unfortunately, the carmaker installed the wrong engines in it. On top of that, just a few years later, the automotive industry collapsed under the world financial crisis. As a result, the HHR range died without a successor.

The HHR was an excellent example of inspiration from the past design models. The flat grille with horizontal slats resembled the grilles from the third generation of the Chevrolet Suburban. That art-deco style was charming for those times, and it could still stir some emotions on the market. Its broader and lower fenders featured squared headlights. The high roof cabin was designed, in the past, for those who wore hats, not baseball caps. In the rear, its dual taillights were rounded and mounted lower on the D-pillars.

Inside, the HHR offered a modern design, with bucket seats and a molded dashboard. Its curves resembled, somehow, the older Chevrolets, but its instrument cluster was new. It even featured a center stack for the sound system and a center console. The separate armrests for the driver and the front passenger was still a thing from the past.

Despite its charming design, the HHR sales were low in Europe. The carmaker installed only gasoline engines in an era when the diesel engine was the new king. Moreover, its 2.2-liter and 2.4-liter versions suffered from higher taxes.