<VV> HHR's & retro(no Corvair)

[Tony Underwood]

At 09:18 AM 11/20/2006, Marc Sheridan wrote:
>If you found a $50K HHr, I want to see it! Around here they sell for 
>less than half that. They are supposed to start selling a 
>turbocharged version of the HHR that will be called the HHR SS, 
>which will be the longest name for a car without any vowels :o).
>
>As for a repro '57 Chevy, they are already in production. I can't 
>find the web site, but I've seen them advertised in magazines. They 
>come in any state of completion you want, including turn key. You 
>can also buy a repro first gen Camaro too.



I understand that... Camaro bodies have been manufactured for a 
couple years now.     You can also get repro Mustangs as well.


I was talking about GM repro'ing the '57 Chevrolet as a part of the 
retro trend.    Crank handle door windows, no cruise, no traction 
controls, but fitted with current tech driveline and suspension etc. 
so as to meet regs.   They could do something about bumpers as well; 
the trick being making the car look like it did in '57 inside and 
out, but with modern running gear.   And if they kept it responsibly 
economical they'd sell all they could build.   Hell, boatloads of 
people today spend 50K or more on returning '57 Chevrolets to "almost 
stock" condition.    If GM wants to do retro, do it up serious... 
maybe people would pay attention.

The problem here is that some beancounter sob would try to do it 
FWD.     Why can't these beancounters figure a way out of the 
quagmire GM seems to waded into?


By the way, (judging from cruise-in participation) there must be a 
dozen or more people in this town who spent who knows how much on the 
repro Shelby Cobra roadsters, copies of the roadrace rockets from the 
'60s.   There's also a PT Cruiser association locally, rows of 
Cruisers customized in any and all manners of retro'izing.  One is a 
"woody" that is done up really nicely with real tree planking on it.

...what would happen if GM offered the buying public a repro '57 
Bel-Air V8 Automatic 2-dr HT (later possibly a convertible and 
perhaps even a 4-door sedan to make the beancounters happy) with no 
"options" other than power brakes and power steering and a 
retro-styled AM-FM-CD player?    And, sell it for the same price as 
an Impala or Malibu, no more... leaving most of those vehicles' 
whistles and bells off the Bel-Air.    Would enough people buy it to 
make it worth building?

The SUV market could even be met with an AWD Nomad...



I know it would be a one-trick pony, good for 2-3 years tops...  but 
what a trip it would be to see GM demonstrate some balls and do 
something like that.   What would other manufacturers do in response...?


The sad part is that I doubt that there's anybody with the courage at 
GM to take a bull like this by the horns and do it.   There's NO 
surplus money available to splurge on a special interest production 
vehicle of this sort.   They have to be conservative so as to stay 
alive...  rock no boats, kiss union ass, try to maintain high profits 
with minimum expense with what's there already...  while wondering 
what Toyota is gonna do next.



tony..     no big fan of '57 Bel-Airs but a Helluva lot of other people are