Screw the fender gap........look at the gap between the grille and bumper. That's just ugly and sloppy. You figure if they are going to spend the time and money redesigning the grille and bumper they would at least make them fit together right. It gives a very rushed we don't give a damn about our quality look to the vehicle. When the HHR launched wasn't one of their big selling points the fact that the HHR was body gapped with specs like a European luxury car? I guess they gave that up.

 

What is wrong with that gap? It is only where there is a dip in the front bumper. It is nice and even and IMHO does not look sloppy at all. If I had a complaint I would have to agree about the fender gap. It, like all HHRs, looks a bit too big and is not a consistent gap all the way aroundthe fender. But is the same on both sides at least.

Body gap tolerences (which I believe was what was promoted about the HHR)are not the same as body gaps per se. The HHR fits tight where it is supposed to and where there is supposed to be a gap (by design or function), it is even and the same on both sides of the vehicle. That is where quality comes in. Nothing worse than a car that has uneven gaps or gaps that are different on both sides of the vehicle on the same panels.

 

Im just curious. Other than the white lid on the left side of the engine bay, does this setup under the hood esp. where the radiator lives, look like a normal engine bay? If not how is it different than a N/A HHR engine bay?

 

MOTRV8D.. I was thinking the exact same thing earlier today. Except for the main block and the turbo set-up, everything looks exactly the same to me. Fuse covers, the left container in the back corner....

This leads me to think it shouldn't be that hard to do an engine swap

 

Pics of stock engine bay for your comparison:

 

engine swap? Sure, just jack up the radiator cap and drop it in!

Thanks for posting those pics. Looks very similar up front, even looks like the same radiator... hiding the fact that the turbo intercooler is down below the front bumper.