Typically, retro-modern cars are styled after easily recognizable automotive icons from an era long past. The Chevrolet HHR (Heritage High Roof) adheres to this recipe, but the problem is most people don’t have a clue what inspired its design. All you can figure out is that it must be based on a car made within ten years either side of World War II – or the modern Chrysler PT Cruiser. In fact, the HHR is based on the 1949 Chevrolet Suburban, and thus misses a key hallmark of retro-modern design – update a classic icon from the past, not an obscure relic nobody remembers. Few people have fond memories of the 1949 Suburban, unlike cars such as the Ford Mustang, Mini Cooper or Volkswagen Beetle. Add to that the HHR’s small four-cylinder engine and front-wheel drive layout instead of an all-American V8 engine and rear-wheel drive, and the HHR is unlikely to enjoy staying power in the market – especially since Chrysler has already been plowing this field for five years. Thirty years from now, will someone design a car that looks like the HHR? Probably not, since that would continue the cycle of resurrecting vehicles that possess no enthusiast base.
There is no doubt that the curvaceous pickups from the late 1940s and early 1950s influenced the Chevrolet SSR, a proper mix of old design and new technology. The sweeping, complex-curved fenders of yesteryear are combined with a modern V8 engine and rear wheel drive. Even the interior is nicely done with an old-school dual cowl design and chrome lock buttons with swirl-patterned tops that look just like those from GM products of the 1960s and 70s. But the SSR takes retro-modern one step further with a slick retractable hardtop, making it the only convertible pickup truck on the market and also needlessly complicated. The Chevrolet SSR created quite a stir when first announced but the price tag, which starts are $40,000 and goes up from there, is too much to swallow for many potential buyers. Add the dealer markups when the SSR was released, combined with predicted durability problems with the retractable roof and the vehicle’s utterly impractical cargo bed, and the Chevrolet SSR ultimately never captured the heartbeat of America.
Chrysler didn’t quite stick to the theme of the original 300 series when designing the 2005 version. The new car is a sedan while the original was a coupe, and the old design was curvaceous whereas the new 300 is sharply edged. Plus, the new Chrysler 300 looks more like a Bentley than anything Chrysler has built before. But they do share one thing – a penchant for horsepower. Touted as the most powerful American car on the road in its day, the 1955 Chrysler 300 earned that title with a V8 that produced 300 horsepower. Today’s Chrysler 300 may not hold the same title as its forebear, but with 425 horses corralled under the hood of the new Chrysler 300 SRT-8, it isn’t far off.