HHR Report

I rented a Chevy HHR for a trip to Saratoga this week. The Audi was in the shop for some diagnostic work which necessitated the rental. The choice was between the HHR and an Impala, which was slightly more lame than the HHR. So I took the latter.



















Overall, it was a good example of why companies like GM got themselves in trouble. Without doing any research, I am thinking that the HHR basically uses the Cobalt platform and drivetrain, so you're starting off with a fairly crappy base. To that, it adds a retro body that is supposed to reflect some sort of '40's Chevy truck, maybe an early Suburban. Of course, it is like 1/4 scale. The look is okay, but it means you have gun-slit windows when you shrink it down. With the side windows tinted, the inside looking out is very Sherman-tank-like (disclaimer: I have never ridden in or driven a Sherman tank) but I actually liked the feeling of the base of the windshield being closer to you than many modern cars, with their dashtops that can hold a large pizza box. Almost an original 'Beetle' feeling to it with the closeness and verticality of the windscreen.

Dynamically, the HHR sucks. Granted, I had a base rental fleet version with 14" wheels and tires, but I can't imagine a top-line version with larger tires would challenge the Corvette in a gymkhana. The ride is okay except for the clunks in the suspension. The gas pedal has about 3 inches of dead travel before the engine deigns to weigh in and move the car (slowly) forward. Hard to tell how many gears the transmission has (and between Drive and Low is a strange setting called 'I') but suffice it to say it is somewhere between a 2-speed Powerglide and a decent 5-speed automatic. I'm guessing 4. There was also a strange sound when you first start the car, almost like a waterfall, or one of those African 'stones in the sealed wooden tube' instrument things. Very cool in nature or in a percussion instrument; not so much in your car. The steering wheel also had a very strange rim, with a cross-section that felt triangular and wasn't very comfortable to grip.

I guess the HHR's raison d'etre (besides being supposedly cool to look at) is carrying capability. But I had to fold down one of the rear seats to put my golf clubs in the back, as the car isn't wide enough to put them sideways or deep enough to even carry them diagonally in the back. The floor is very high as well, effectively starting at mid-thigh level (and I'm short). There is a very shallow tray under the cargo floor (about 4 inches deep) and the spare tire is under that.

There were actually some things I did like.... For a base car, it was decently equipped with automatic headlights and cruise control. The single CD stereo was pretty decent sounding, had an auxiliary input (mini-jack line, not USB) and there were power seats and lumbar control. Also, the computer was pretty good, with lots of the usual info (instant and average mpg, average speed and - a really nice touch - air pressure which indicated the actual reading for every tire, versus an idiot light with no indication of which tire is low, like in our 2007 Honda Odyssey minivan). And for a small car with a high beltline and low roof, the seating position was nice and upright.

Maybe it would be a little more peppy with a manual transmission (Save the Manuals!), but I doubt that a stick would transform the car into something that a person who wants more than Point A to Point B transportation would be willing to buy. Certainly not me.

Tools Explained

1.DRILL PRESS: A tall upright machine useful for suddenly snatching flat metal bar stock out of your hands so that it smacks you in the chest and flings your beer across the room denting the freshly-painted project which you had carefully set in the corner where nothing could get to it.

2.WIRE WHEEL: Cleans paint off bolts and then throws them somewhere under the workbench with the speed of light . Also removes fingerprints and hard-earned calluses fingers in about the time it takes you to say, 'Oh shit!' or worse.

3.SKILL SAW: A portable cutting tool used to make studs too short.

4.PLIERS: Used to round off bolt heads. Sometimes used in the creation of blood-blisters.

5.BELT SANDER: An electric sanding tool commonly used to convert minor touch-up jobs into major refinishing jobs.

6.HACKSAW: One of a family of cutting tools built on the Ouija board principle... It transforms human energy into a crooked, unpredictable motion, and the more you attempt to influence its course, the more dismal your future becomes.

7.VISE-GRIPS:Generally used after pliers to completely round off bolt heads. If nothing else is available, they can also be used to transfer intense
welding heat to the palm of your hand.

8.OXY/ACETYLENE TORCH: Used almost entirely for lighting various flammable objects in your shop on fire. Also handy for igniting the grease inside
the wheel hub out of which you want to remove a bearing race.

9.TABLE SAW: A large stationary power tool commonly used to launch wood projectiles for testing wall integrity.

10.HYDRAULIC FLOOR JACK:Used for lowering an automobile to the ground after you have installed your new brake shoes , trapping the jack handle
firmly under the bumper. Always pays to have a second one to get out of trouble with.

11.BAND SAW:A large stationary power saw primarily used by most shops to cut good aluminum sheet into smaller pieces that more easily fit into the
trash can after you cut on the inside of the line instead of the outside edge.

12.TWO-TON ENGINE HOIST: A tool for testing the maximum tensile strength of everything you forgot to disconnect.

13.PHILLIPS SCREWDRIVER: Normally used to stab the vacuum seals under lids or for opening old-style paper-and-tin oil cans and splashing oil on your shirt; but can also be used, as the name implies, to strip out Phillips screw heads.

14.STRAIGHT SCREWDRIVER : A tool for opening paint cans. Sometimes used to convert common slotted screws into non-removable screws and butchering
your palms.

15.PRY BAR : A tool used to crumple the metal surrounding that clip or bracket you needed to remove in order to replace a 50 cent part.

16.HOSE CUTTER: A tool used to make hoses too short.

17.HAMMER : Originally employed as a weapon of war, the hammer nowadays is used as a kind of divining rod to locate the most expensive parts adjacent the object we are trying to hit.

18.UTILITY KNIFE:Used to open and slice through the contents of cardboard cartons delivered to your front door; works particularly well on contents
such as seats, vinyl records, liquids in plastic bottles, collector magazines, refund checks, and rubber or plastic parts. Especially useful for slicing work clothes, but only
while in use.

Hope you found this informative!

Cheap New Car?

Just came thought a period where I thought we might have to get a car to replace AJ's... It would not start unless jumped, and even then, when jumped, would not start if shut off and left for a few minutes.... I thought it might be the alternator, but turned out is was a bad battery. Had it replaced and it seems like it's okay now, which is good. He needs it to get back and forth to work.

So the tentative plan was to either 1) get a cheap lease on something for AJ, like around $100 a month, for 3 years or so, and then turn the car over to him when the lease expired or 2) give AJ my car and get something for me. I was leaning towards #1, simply because I wasn't sure how reliable my car would be and I didn't think I wanted to downgrade my car into something I could get for #1 above...

But the process got me thinking about some of the great cars available that you could presumably get for around $20k and certainly for under $25k - Ford Fiesta and Focus, Mazda2, Mazda3, various Hyundai/Kias, a pretty basic MINI, Jetta, Honda Fit, etc.... They are all good cars, with plenty of features, and in the case of the Fords and Mazda2, cool cars. Of these cars, I would have considered a MINI, Focus or Jetta if I had had to go with option 2 above. They are all neat cars and newly designed or redesigned, and can be had for about $25k very nicely equipped (top of the line, in the case of the Focus). Oh, and all are available with a manual transmission....