Car Of The Day: May 27, 2012

Today's car of the day comes from Firehawk73's collection and is Johnny Lightning's 2006 Chevrolet HHR.

The Chevrolet HHR (for Heritage High Roof) was a retro-styled station wagon launched by the Chevrolet division of American automaker General Motors at the 2005 Los Angeles Auto Show as a 2006 model — and designed by Bryan Nesbitt. Smaller than the Equinox, the HHR shared the GM Delta platform with the Chevrolet Cobalt, Pontiac G5, Saturn Ion, and Saturn Astra. In Mexico, it was sold alongside its predecessor, the Opel-sourced Chevrolet Zafira compact MPV. The car also resembles the shape of the Chrysler PT Cruiser.

The last HHRs were assembled in May 2011. The HHR will be sold in dealerships across North America until October 2011 (or stock rupture). In the compact crossover wagon/SUV class, the HHR will be succeeded by the Chevrolet Orlando in Canada and Europe. It will be replaced in the U.S. by the Chevrolet Captiva Sport, a fleet-only SUV based on the Opel Antara. However, the Captiva Sport will only be available as a fleet vehicle and will not be available to the general public.

For more information and pictures of the real car please visit: Chevrolet HHR

The vehicle's design was inspired by the mid-1940s Chevrolet cars and trucks, specifically the 1949 Chevrolet Suburban, with large, square fender flares and a hemispherical grille. The design of the HHR has been credited to Bryan Nesbitt who was a former designer at Chrysler where he was the lead designer of the Chrysler PT Cruiser. Nesbitt was recruited by GM to join its design staff and served for a time as the chief designer of the Chevrolet brand. The HHR had a cargo-carrying capacity of 62.7 cubic feet (1.78 m3). All models had a flat-load floor (passenger models have 60/40 split bench) and fold-flat front passenger seat. For the 2007 model year, it was available in four trim levels; LS, LT, 2LT, and Special Edition. A panel van variant was also made available in 2007 for only the LT trim and became available on all trim levels in 2008.