Car Review - 2008 Chevrolet HHR

Yoshi, a friend, rented the 2008 Chevrolet HHR this weekend, and I got to ride in it with him.  So, here's my review -

The name:  To start with, what's with the name?  HHR?  Healthy Human Resources?  Hullo, Here's Roger?  No, Chevrolet says it stands for Heritage High Roof.  Um....

The looks:  Here is my first reaction - who stretched the Chrysler PT Cruiser, and made it look a little less retro?  To be serious - it doesn't look as nice as the PT Cruiser.  But it isn't too bad.  The exterior does look plastic-ey, and the interior does too.   Which brings us to..

The interior:  The car is long enough, and has a good amount of space in the trunk area (see photo below).  But width-wise?  No, it seems really narrow.  This partly seems to be due to bad interior design.  the center column in front (you know, the one with the radio, air controls, all those pretty knobs and lights) isn't well designed.  It seems too wide, taking up leg room in a car thats already narrow, while simultaneously looking like everything there is pushed together.  Seriously, how can 6 radio buttons in a row look so spacious in an Accord or BMW, but look so crushed together in this car?  (One hint - stop putting extra chrome between buttons!)

And why are the window controls just out of reach, near my feet, at the bottom of that center column?

A nice positive - I loved the interior door handle design.  Loved it!

 

The ride:  The ride is like a lot of American cars, unfortunately - a bit like a boat.  You can get seasick while driving in a straight line at a constant speed along a highway.  It isn't as bad as the old Ford Taurus, but still, isn't this car aimed at the younger crowd?

Power-wise, the car is adequate.  Yoshi doesn't push cars, but with what we saw, the car seemed to respond when you needed a little push.  But we got the impression it doesn't like going fast on curves.

Saturday: 600 Miles to Solvang

After a long week light on sleep, Saturday brought the chance to celebrate with friends... and take my car for its first long-distance drive.

Aileen, a good friend from my days at LifeScan, got married to Neil. The wedding was in Solvang, with the ceremony at the old mission, and the party afterwards at the Crossroads Estate across from the Firestone winery.
The wedding was fun, I got to meet a lot of old friends. The temperature made it interesting - it was 116 degrees!!! I met a 95 year old man, who had moved to Solvang after retiring 44 years ago - he mentioned it was the hottest day in his memory.

Since I was running late, I drove on 101 instead of highway 1. The drive was amazing; I did however drive all the way with the top down, so ended up getting nicely sunburned.

I found out another thing - when the temperature climbs above 100 degrees, any speed below 80 mph in a convertible means you sweat continuously.

I left Solvang around 9:30 pm. Since I didn't want to drive while tired, I again had to take 101. (Highwa 1 takes an extra 1.5 - 2 hours). Having a new car has made me more careful - I even stopped at a strip mall after King City to take a nap. It wasn't the smartest idea; I had planned on napping for 30 minutes, then buying a coke from McD's and driving home. When I went to sleep, the strip mall was full and quite busy. I woke 40 minutes later, parked under the only street lamp that was still lighted, and with the entire area dark and deserted. I have to admit - I was awake and alert very fast.

Finally got home at 2:15 am. A long drive, and a very enjoyable one. I would recommend you all have a lot of friends, and buy a BMW 335i hard-top convertible. Then convince those friends to get married in Solvang. This gives you the setting for a perfect Saturday!

Car buying tip - 1 (BMWs)

Are you looking to buy, or thinking of buying a BMW in a year or so? If so, there's a small secret; join the BMW Car Club of America; members with over a year's standing get a nice discount that can range between $200 - $1,500 per forums, depending on the car you bought, of course.

But definitely try negotiating for a discount yourself first, before pulling out this card.

Car Review - BMW 335i Convertible (1)

Part (1) of my review of the BMW 335i hard-top convertible:

Disclosure - I liked this car so much, that after test-driving over 50 cars from December - March, I bought one myself. I wanted a build that wasn't commonly available, so had to order one from Germany... which gave me the chance to drive a lot more cars before mine arrived.

So this part of the review is the summary. And the summary is.... its AWESOME!! No ifs, ands or buts. This car is the bomb! To misappropriate a quote from Jeremy Clarkson - its like a sharp Armani suit, but one you can put on all day every day.

Want to spend a very pleasant 10 - 20 minutes? Try building your own 335i Convertible!