You have the right ideal!!

I just love it how some will say they think the HHR was too expensive then they buy it only to post later I wish it had AWD. Many people just have no idea how hard it is to price a affordable vehicle.

Pricing a Veryon is easy at a million when you have 1500 people all willing to pay that much for the 250 you build.

 

I just got a 2006 2LT manual with every available option except the rear spoiler and smoker's package for Cheryl @ $7500 ($8500 with trailer hitch, delivery costs, and repairs). The undesirability of the manual transmission and low GM resale value (the latter is beginning to improve) made the deal possible. There clearly are some things, like the plastics quality, which are dictated by the price point and impossible to change for upgrades. However, the choices made in the option packages are where things get weird. 2LT offers heated seats, for instance, but not heated mirrors. The 2LT at introduction (before the SS two model years later) was what the nice lady in the introductory "walkaround" on youtube called the "bling" version. Why heated mirrors, vanity mirror lights, and such which GM clearly had in its parts bin were never offered even as profit-generating options confuses me. There is always a segment of buyers of cars, like pizzas and bagels, who want the version with "everything on it." The more "everything" there is, the more money you make.

Correction, heated mirrors, not heated windows! OOPS!

 

Heated windows?

The fact is most cars that offer heated mirrors and lighted vanity mirrors off them standard not optional.

If GM had offered these in this price class less people would opt for them. Just look at how many don't get the running boards.
The key to this class is how much per month. GM tired to keep the monthly payments down as that is what wins in this class. Few people who pay over $35+K for a car worry much on how cheap per month it is and offering the little extras work more to get people to buy.

A good point on how car companies have tried to cust cost. Ford for years came with plugs vs grease fitting. That way per car they would save money since the plugs were cheaper. Then the dealer would install them at the owners expence later on. Now today we have sealed suspension parts that just wear out at 80,000 miles as they don't even put in the plugs.

GM is really testing the waters now with the Buick Verano. It will be a small luxury car that really has not been tried to this level. This is not a Cimarron that was nothing but a fancey Cavalier. The Buick does share a platform with the Cruze but it is engineer much different. It will be as quiet as many very expensive cars and carry interiors on par with a $40K car. The real question is will people bit on this for $27K?

We will see some odd things in the near future with the climbing CAFE and the more competitive small car market. Even Companies like Aston Martin are now offering FWD refitted Toyota's. Who would have ever thought that.

Right now Hyundai has a formula that is working. Not the best car on the market but a good car with a fair level of options. A warranty that covers the big things but not the small. They also now have styling that often lacked in most Asian cars. They have them priced to under cut most brands and have Honda and Toyota scared.

I would not own one but many people love the appeal of the price and what they get. I hope Ford and GM cancompete with this but it will be tough till the Hyundai's start to fall appart. I have a friend at a dealer with the stories you don't hear. Note he passed the dealer discount and bought a HHR.