Here’s something I didn’t expect to find while doing errands around San Salvador; a US-sourced gray-market Chevrolet HHR Panel Van, the first one I’ve ever come across in this city. Oddly, it wasn’t the “Wow, cool!” moment I would have thought would happen; instead, it was a muted “Ho, hum…”. Not sure what it was. Perhaps this Panel Van’s plain colorless flanks had much to do with that (lack of) reaction. Or the matte black rims. Or the years on its body that only highlighted the car’s mid Aughts worn materials all too well.
I blame it all mostly on color, or lack of. As part of the whole early Aughts Retro Craze, the 2005 HHR was a decent looker in photos and, as I recall, on the road in a properly optioned colorful package. It carried its car show looks, which was a thing in those mid 1990s and early 2000s. Like the Chrysler PT Cruiser (also styled under the guidance of Brian Nesbitt), it brought something different to the automotive landscape, which is something I’m always in favor of.
The more niche Panel Van arrived somewhat later, in 2007. As an earlier Joseph Dennis post shows, the vehicle was meant for colorful displays, and if you want a more enthusiastic take on the model, make sure to check out his entries further down.
But in plain white? Sorry, I was left plainly unimpressed. And like a lot of other daring GM products, I was somewhat confused about who the niche-player Panel Van had aimed to please. No exterior handles on the side doors of a –supposedly– cargo van? Designy-rad! But useful? And up close, interior materials looked period-correct GM, which means early Aughts cheap feeling gray and black plastics, brightened here and there with plastiky aluminum inserts.
And oddly, for a tall vehicle, quite a few comments online about it not having as much headroom as one would expect (?). Okay…
Leaving those issues aside, the HHR carried its Hot Rod Retro looks cutely and attractively. And from what I understand, worked decent enough with its GM Delta FWD platform components; in the Panel Van, powered by 2.2L and 2.4L Ecotec I-4 engines that gave them competitive numbers on the road.
So, perhaps arriving somewhat late to the whole Retro craze, but otherwise decently competent. No X-Body embarrassments here. And if you wonder about the Hot Rod looks without Hot Rod like V-8 powerplants, that had become a tradition of sorts by the mid Aughts (Chrysler PT Cruiser, Plymouth Prowler).
Cargo area is decent in the Panel Van, with a flat floor instead of back seats, and full of tiny designer details that must provide much to talk about at HHR gatherings. From the storage containers where the rear seats used to be, to a hidden back door latch release in case the electronic actuators failed to function, among other trivia like that.
Like several unusual products from those days, the HHR pushed packaging boundaries in the changing auto market of the time. Was it a tall station wagon? A neat looking van? Or just a stylish compact? All of those, all at once; I guess.
Overall, HHRs played their Retro-Novelty role well early on with rather decent sales peaking at 105K in 2007. But just as it happened with other Retro-Novelties, interest wore off fairly quickly and with nowhere to go, the model reached its end in 2011.
Unsurprisingly, the Panel Vans did far fewer numbers in their niche playing role, and if you want to go rarer, a Quarter Panel Van –with 4-doors, but flat floor– was also offered (a niche, within a niche, within a niche).
Not that it ends there…
If you want HHR exotic, the “hot” SS Panel Van model would be your Holy Grail, with only 226 units built. That one did provide performance (in a non-traditional Hot Rod way), with a turbocharged 2.0L Ecotec delivering 260HP and achieving a low 6.0 secs. 0-60 time.
So the HHR Panel Van didn’t impress me in the way I would have expected. Oh well… Still, it was different, and as the styling statement that it’s, I’m sure that its fans are more than willing to live with the car’s execution quirks, which is something usually expected of any Retro Craze model (Why put up with a New Beetle’s packaging, when a Golf or Jetta do the same in more practical form?). Like the fashion items that they are, their owners are more than willing to live with the compromises that they entail. Qualities that are probably amplified in Panel Van owners, I’m sure.
Related CC reading:
Curbside Musings: 2011 Chevrolet HHR – Reflection Of A Reflection
Curbside Capsule: 2007 Chevrolet HHR Panel – Ice Cream Truck
Junkyard Classic: 2009 Chevrolet HHR Panel – Quarter Panel Retro Hauler
Curbside Outtake: Someone Loves Their Azteks And HHRs
I had completely forgotten that this variant of the HHR ever existed! HHRs in general are something that were once fairly plentiful in my area but have become quite rare.
You answered my question about the back doors – that they actually do open. This white version makes every body seam stick out like a sore thumb.
I can understand not having exterior handles on the rear doors, perhaps justifiable as design over utility, as they were opened by buttons on the keyfob and in the dash, but keeping the INTERIOR handles just screams “too cheap to redesign the door”
My daily driver is a 2008 HHR, one of the best cars I’ve ever owned. It’s the same orange color as the one in this post.
The Chevy dealer was very anxious to get it off the lot, as it’s got a 5-speed manual transmission.
I found it interesting that these, along with the PT Cruiser, became the surprise, de facto retiree mobile with the decline of Mercury and Buick sedans.
With the impending discontinuation of the Kia Soul, I’m going to guess that the next old-timer ride will be the Chevy Trax.
It always struck me that someone at Chevy had the idea for the van variant, and the top brass greenlit the project. And only after that was it sent to the Marketing Department, who had to figure out how to sell it.
Most of the marketing pitched it as a “lifestyle vehicle”. A modern take on the California surf wagon, or van craze of the 1970s, or a modern version of the Pinto Cruising Wagon.
But there was also some niche marketing of the HHR Panel as a true commercial vehicle, a smaller variant of the Dodge Caravan C/V. Florist or pharmacy deliveries, stuff like that. And that’s what this “body-in-white” version screams to me. An ex-delivery van, with the vinyl graphics removed.
Interestingly, a cargo delivery version of the HHR was actually available. It deleted the rear seat and replaced it with a plastic parcel shelf.
I don’t recall what it was called (maybe something like the classic Panel Delivery), but I do remember that GM was actually quite liberal in their a la carte ordering, so I think it was possible to mix-and-match both the blocked-off windows and the parcel shelf in whatever configuration someone desired.
The 2013-18 RAV4 steel wheels are the nicest steelies available, and I didn’t know the HH-R shared the same bolt pattern as Toyota, like the photos of the white hh-r model shown . Still love the concept of the HH-R since nothing similar (car-based) has reached us from Europe, but the ‘A’ pillars of the HH-R are incredibly thick, creating dangerous front dead spots . As for the back, I obviously love not having window. Kia promises us an electric panel minivan (PV5) soon for Canada. Perfect timing because our gvt announced today the return of subsidies for the purchase of EVs.
Rav4 steelies look great on the white model . Mini-Panel Van isn’t dead, at least not in Canada, since the Kia PV5 is arriving soon, coinciding with our gbt announcing the return of subsidies for EVs.
Throw landau bars or a wreath on the sides and you’d have a great funeral home service van for running flowers to the family’s home after services or delivering chairs to the graveside. Not long enough for a casket unless you took out the passenger seat, if I had to guess.
Had the regular HHR rental as an Tucson- San Francisco road trip car in ’11. What surprised me was the ride/ handling. It felt as buttoned down as my wife’s Peugeot 306.
The interior was plasticy. Not sure if the higher spec models were better. I liked it so much I managed to score a sales brochure from a CA dealer. Still have it.