Took photos with HHR to show "similarity".

[wingman55]

I took some photos at work to show how similar my friend's HHR is to my Cruiser.

I still don't know how people confuse them, and why do they always side with it being a Chevy? People always though my 1983 Imperial was a Mercury, too ...

*sigh*

IMG_20160718_124149.jpg

IMG_20160718_121915.jpg

[chuzz]

I don't get it either. But nobody asks me about mine. It's not purdy enough, I guess!

[NightWing]

The reason for the similarity is because the man who designed the PT left Chrysler and went to work for Chevrolet, hence the HHR, which stands for Heritage High Roof.

[NightWing]

Bryan Nesbitt
Intended to evoke an old gangster getaway car or a street rod based on a 1930s car, the 2000 PT Cruiser grew out of a collaboration among Robert A. Lutz, who was an executive at Chrysler at the time, Dr. Clotaire Rapaille and Bryan Nesbitt, who went on to design the Chevrolet HHR.

[Teekypt]

Originally Posted by NightWing

The reason for the similarity is because the man who designed the PT left Chrysler and went to work for Chevrolet, hence the HHR, which stands for Heritage High Roof.

YUP! I still think PTs look better tho...the HHRs look "interrupted"...aren't seamless enough for my taste...too boxy and awkward looking lol

[Handy_Cruiser]

To me, I look at the HHR as what the PT might have devolved into if Chrysler had kept making them. Kind of a bizarre 3rd Gen PT.

If you take a PT and redesign the esthetics to be more truck-like, lengthen the cargo area for commercial applications and then remove any last vestiges of performance, then you end up with a Chevy HHR. It would likely have been a great idea for GM if they could have pulled it off a few years earlier.

I'm going to say something now that may make some folks upset. To me, the PT Cruiser is much like the disco band, The Bee Gees. In their day, The Bee Gees were widely popular and put out a long string of innovative and musically creative songs. But eventually many folks burned out on The Bee Gees and folks that previously loved their music started considering them passé. And of course, by the time other bands started catching up with them, they too were considered passé from the get-go.

But you know, some of The Bee Gees music has really stood the test of time and I imagine we will likely hear those songs again. And one day, very clean and restored PT Cruisers will roll across auction blocks with vintage Mustangs and other great American vintage cars. But the HHR will likely just be that "strange-looking PT Cruiser" sitting in the back of an old country salvage yard. Just another rusty car that no one wants parts off of.

[chuzz]

While I agree with you about the Bee Gees, Todd, I have to TOTALLY disagree about your statement on the PT's on the auction block. I don't think they'll ever be anymore popular than they are now. I did see the Bee Gees in concert in Huntsville, AL back when I was in college in 1978. One hell of a show!