OBI WAN
12-28-04, 09:25 PM
The Chevrolet SSR pickup has been making headlines lately for its failure in the showrooms. Discounting models that the company just introduced, as well as those that were or are being discontinued in 2004, the SSR has been Chevy's worst-selling vehicle this year by far, with only 8,538 American sales from January through the end of November.
So why is General Motors (nyse: GM (http://www.forbes.com/finance/mktguideapps/compinfo/CompanyTearsheet.jhtml?tkr=GM) - news (http://www.forbes.com/markets/company_news.jhtml?ticker=GM) - people (http://www.forbes.com/peopletracker/results.jhtml?startRow=0&name=&ticker=GM)) rolling out a new truck that looks just like it? Next summer, the 2006 HHR will go into production, and what can Chevy do to prevent it from also becoming a dud?
In 2003, the year the SSR came out, Chevrolet was already talking about building the HHR; in other words, the HHR got the green light before Chevy had really given the SSR any significant time on the market or seen how it would do. Like the SSR, which is a convertible pickup, the HHR is hard to classify. Chevy calls it a "crossover vehicle," or a five-passenger sport utility vehicle (SUV). Whatever it is, the HHR has a nostalgic look, the kind on which Chevrolet misguidedly thought it was going to capitalize when it introduced the SSR.
GM derived the SSR's styling from that of a 1948 Chevy truck. The HHR, which stands for "Heritage High Roof," is supposed to look like both a 1949 Chevy Suburban and the current SSR. Unfortunately, GM decided to let the HHR borrow from the SSR when the company still expected the pickup to be a hit, not the dud it has become. However, the HHR is not assured of failure. After all, Chrysler, which is owned by DaimlerChrysler (nyse: DCX (http://www.forbes.com/finance/mktguideapps/compinfo/CompanyTearsheet.jhtml?tkr=DCX) - news (http://www.forbes.com/markets/company_news.jhtml?ticker=DCX) - people (http://www.forbes.com/peopletracker/results.jhtml?startRow=0&name=&ticker=DCX)), had a showroom success--at least at first--with the PT Cruiser, which is similar to the HHR in that it is a nostalgic, wagon-like crossover.
http://images.forbes.com/images/2004/12/22/vow1_420x291.jpg
The current Chevrolet SSR pickup, the HHR's inspiration.
But the SSR's failure is not a good sign. When GM introduced the truck in 2003, it said it wanted to build 14,000 models annually. Heading into the last month of this year, the SSR's sales had only reached 61% of this number for 2004. Automotive News reported that on Dec. 1, GM's dealers were carrying a 301-day supply of the SSR--the second-highest inventory on the market at the time, after only Honda Motor's (nyse: HMC (http://www.forbes.com/finance/mktguideapps/compinfo/CompanyTearsheet.jhtml?tkr=HMC) - news (http://www.forbes.com/markets/company_news.jhtml?ticker=HMC) - people (http://www.forbes.com/peopletracker/results.jhtml?startRow=0&name=&ticker=HMC)) 768-day supply of the weird-looking Insight hybrid, a car without much of an audience now that more conventionally-styled hybrids are available.
One reader writes about the SSR, "Maybe GM should revisit the concept of a retro-looking convertible pickup that can't really haul a load, yet is underpowered while being overweight. Who wouldn't want to drop $45,000 for one?"
Granted, GM just kicked up the horsepower of the SSR's V-8 to 390--but we can't imagine that will ignite sales. Nor can we see a way--given how the SSR's looks earned it attention upon release but don't seem to be helping its sales performance--how the retro styling of the HHR will be popular given the failure of the SSR, its predecessor and inspiration.
The HHR, like the SSR, will offer a bit of utility, thanks to a flat-load floor and folding second-row seat. Its engines will not offer the excitement of the SSR's V-8. Instead, the HHR will use one or more four-cylinder engines, the horsepower of which will be somewhere between 140 and 220.
While GM has not announced pricing for the HHR, it could cost around half as much as the SSR--and if the vehicle is going to succeed, it will be for that reason.
Forbes Fact
GM expects the HHR to help Chevy return to selling 3 million cars and trucks per year. Entering December, Chevy had sold 2.5 million vehicles in the United States in 2004.
http://images.forbes.com/images/2004/12/22/vow2_400x240.jpg
So why is General Motors (nyse: GM (http://www.forbes.com/finance/mktguideapps/compinfo/CompanyTearsheet.jhtml?tkr=GM) - news (http://www.forbes.com/markets/company_news.jhtml?ticker=GM) - people (http://www.forbes.com/peopletracker/results.jhtml?startRow=0&name=&ticker=GM)) rolling out a new truck that looks just like it? Next summer, the 2006 HHR will go into production, and what can Chevy do to prevent it from also becoming a dud?
In 2003, the year the SSR came out, Chevrolet was already talking about building the HHR; in other words, the HHR got the green light before Chevy had really given the SSR any significant time on the market or seen how it would do. Like the SSR, which is a convertible pickup, the HHR is hard to classify. Chevy calls it a "crossover vehicle," or a five-passenger sport utility vehicle (SUV). Whatever it is, the HHR has a nostalgic look, the kind on which Chevrolet misguidedly thought it was going to capitalize when it introduced the SSR.
GM derived the SSR's styling from that of a 1948 Chevy truck. The HHR, which stands for "Heritage High Roof," is supposed to look like both a 1949 Chevy Suburban and the current SSR. Unfortunately, GM decided to let the HHR borrow from the SSR when the company still expected the pickup to be a hit, not the dud it has become. However, the HHR is not assured of failure. After all, Chrysler, which is owned by DaimlerChrysler (nyse: DCX (http://www.forbes.com/finance/mktguideapps/compinfo/CompanyTearsheet.jhtml?tkr=DCX) - news (http://www.forbes.com/markets/company_news.jhtml?ticker=DCX) - people (http://www.forbes.com/peopletracker/results.jhtml?startRow=0&name=&ticker=DCX)), had a showroom success--at least at first--with the PT Cruiser, which is similar to the HHR in that it is a nostalgic, wagon-like crossover.
http://images.forbes.com/images/2004/12/22/vow1_420x291.jpg
The current Chevrolet SSR pickup, the HHR's inspiration.
But the SSR's failure is not a good sign. When GM introduced the truck in 2003, it said it wanted to build 14,000 models annually. Heading into the last month of this year, the SSR's sales had only reached 61% of this number for 2004. Automotive News reported that on Dec. 1, GM's dealers were carrying a 301-day supply of the SSR--the second-highest inventory on the market at the time, after only Honda Motor's (nyse: HMC (http://www.forbes.com/finance/mktguideapps/compinfo/CompanyTearsheet.jhtml?tkr=HMC) - news (http://www.forbes.com/markets/company_news.jhtml?ticker=HMC) - people (http://www.forbes.com/peopletracker/results.jhtml?startRow=0&name=&ticker=HMC)) 768-day supply of the weird-looking Insight hybrid, a car without much of an audience now that more conventionally-styled hybrids are available.
One reader writes about the SSR, "Maybe GM should revisit the concept of a retro-looking convertible pickup that can't really haul a load, yet is underpowered while being overweight. Who wouldn't want to drop $45,000 for one?"
Granted, GM just kicked up the horsepower of the SSR's V-8 to 390--but we can't imagine that will ignite sales. Nor can we see a way--given how the SSR's looks earned it attention upon release but don't seem to be helping its sales performance--how the retro styling of the HHR will be popular given the failure of the SSR, its predecessor and inspiration.
The HHR, like the SSR, will offer a bit of utility, thanks to a flat-load floor and folding second-row seat. Its engines will not offer the excitement of the SSR's V-8. Instead, the HHR will use one or more four-cylinder engines, the horsepower of which will be somewhere between 140 and 220.
While GM has not announced pricing for the HHR, it could cost around half as much as the SSR--and if the vehicle is going to succeed, it will be for that reason.
Forbes Fact
GM expects the HHR to help Chevy return to selling 3 million cars and trucks per year. Entering December, Chevy had sold 2.5 million vehicles in the United States in 2004.
http://images.forbes.com/images/2004/12/22/vow2_400x240.jpg