This weekend I put over 400 miles on my HHR.I passed the 500 mile mark on the odo so I finally was able to start using the cruise control.On Saturday my daughter and I went to the Birch Run outlet mall north of Flint,Mi.(about an 80 minute ride)and then headed up to Mio,Mi for a pizza dinner at the Mio Pizza Shop.( I discovered this place a few years ago when attending a now former girlfriend's family reunion up there).Fellow Michigan HHRers,if you want a nice day trip to the country, head up there.Hang around the Au Sable river,drive the roads,have a great pizza(and the breadsticks are the absolute best anywhere).Exit 202 off of northbound I-75,another 40 minutes up M-33 and you're there.
Today the car club I belong to(Michigan Sports Car Club)held an autocross in conjunction with the Cosworth Vega club which was holding it's national roundup here in Metro Detoit.On the spur of the moment,I decided to try my HHR on the course.It handles better than I thought(more neutral than anticipated)but I agree with other forum members about the Firehawk tires-they're lousy for anything beyond being rim protectors.There were 2 more HHRs in attndance,both SSs(one local,one from Texas).I'm very impressed with the job that Heinricy and Co. did on those cars.They corner so much flatter and quicker than my 2LT.
Gas mileage for the weekend?After the first 3 fillups,it's been 23.59,24.33 and on the tankfull for the long trip including some local diving and the 4 autocross runs,29.79 m.p.g.Those are all on 87 octane gas.I'll try 89 and 91 later as I want to see if there's a noticeable performance difference.
Impressions?The car rides nicely and is quiet on the highway.The seat squab is too short in length for my taste,and my driving position needs experimentation as I'm getting an achy right shin and arch when I'm unable to use the cruise.And why is there a dimming feature on the inside mirror on a car with what amounts to privacy glass on the rear window?
Tony