Our HHR SS's are built well.
I would take it cross-country in a heartbeat.
I'ts sweet & smooth on the street.
I'm putting 400 ft lbs thru the auto with no problems.
I can monitor the automatic, via HPTuners, & it's fine.
I really haven't done anything, to make it undependable.

2 aftermarket parts, [mount, air intake], + an E47.5 tune, & one gutted cat
got me to the low 13's @ 110mph, & a smooth & sweet ride on the street.
Drag radials got me into the 12's.

 

Do you not think the people that market and sell the Regal would not have loved to say it had 300 hp?

This is the venerable Grand Sport that will be compared to everything from SRT8's to BMW 3 series and those cars pull a lot more than 300 hp and the Grand Sport is just a few nickels short of 40 grand.

Granted the GS is a lot nicer and newer car than my Impala SS, but my Impala puts out over 300 hp and will spank the Buick in a straight line so selling a performance car and saying it has less than 300 hp is kind of a buzz kill and the Impala is virtually the same weight as the GS at 3,700 lbs.

The Impala SS also has a long history of transmission issues.

I believe GM learned their lesson on 300 hp fwd cars and kept the Buick at 270.

Once again, this forum gets it's knickers in a twist about the HHR SS but these pages are littered with issues every time someone ups the power.

Had my HHR SS come with the same power as the 5 speed I'd have left it alone, as the auto suffered from take off. Once going it had more power.

And once again I think the HHR SS in any form is one of the best driving cars I've owned and that includes Audi's, BMW's, mistu evos, etc.

At 130+ through the Nevada desert on a windy day it tracks smooth and solid (though the windows do make a hell of a racket).

And for the price it's a good deal as long as it's reliable.

I dig the car but after the issues when I tell my wife we're going to drive the HHR for any distance she has that look on her face of "uh oh".

IMO

 

How many autos vs manuals where made in the ss
I see tons of sticks for sales but not as many autos
also how rare is an auto without a moon roof

 

Fact is the marketing guys would love to have 400 HP. The fact remains few of the issues with the 290 HP engines have been internal issues. Most were with the wires and sensors. I have seen more issues with the 2.4 internal than the 2.0 but even they are small in the big picture.

I can understand your frustrations but again you are the rare acception to the car. Few of us have had the same issues also very few have lost anything internal to the engine. The wiring was an issue and there was a small spell of a few turbo issues but other than that the main long block has held up well.

Meeting MPG and emissions are the most common limiting factors with many of todays engines.

 

Based on the numbers I saw the Auto is the most common.

As for the Sun Roof It is less common to see that as most came with them. The SS came pretty loaded and the roof, radia, luggage rack were the most common options that you had a choice off. The less common are the Brakes and performance seats in the 08.

If anything one with out the roof may save you some money as most would pass on a solid roof.

Also the most common colors were black and red.

 

i read somewhere 70% of the SS's were automatics, in fact there was not a manual for sale within 300 miles of my zip code on autotrader. and there were 3 autos in my price range. 5 total i think

 

I had always thought Autos were less common?

I have always seen sticks for sale, very very few Auto. Had to fly 650 miles to get my 08' Auto.

 

In todays market only 7% of the cars are Stick and of those most are performance cars that are only 40% sticks. Now the SS is higher than most but I think the 70% auto number is what I also saw.

The real issue is today there is less and less interst in them as many drivers never have driven one. Also it interfears with their talking on the cell or playing on the nav etc.

Another factor is many of the FWD Sticks turn to crap with age. Shifters get really rubbery and clutches are not cheap to pay to get replaced. People who buy them love them but it is not an easy sell to a regular driver anymore.

It is sad but true.

The other factor most MFG would like to get rid of them too. Just look at Ferrari as their gated shifter is mostly a memory in many of their new cars.

 

Big Jack empty you PM's it says you are full. That is another feature that Premium membership does for you. 500 pm's

 

Same here, I found one manuel 100 miles away and carfax said transmission was replaced so I didnt even bother. All the ones near me were auto and modded until I found mine 60 miles away bone stock.