Chevy’s HHR SS Panel is Oddly One of the Rarest Production Chevys Ever Made

Sometimes, we come across vehicles that seem a little bit off-the-wall. For some of these rides, we can’t help but wish that we were in the boardroom listening to the discussions behind producing them. For something like the Chevrolet HHR SS panel van, it just seems like a vehicle that would have almost no market.

The idea was to essentially take a work van and throw a high-performance combination in the mix. Sure, the fact that it was a panel van and not a regular cargo van might’ve made it look a little bit cooler. However, to say that this combo was strange would be an understatement. Oh yeah, we also have to toss in the fact that it was designed by the same guy who designed the PT Cruiser. As such, the HHR couldn’t help but look like an oversized PT Cruiser.

Due to outside factors, all in all, there would only be 216 of these things ever produced. Granted that it doesn’t seem like a very popular choice, the market wouldn’t have the opportunity to let it play out due to conditions. GM’s economic bailout at the time required the company to cut off fringe vehicles like the HHR SS panel van. Therefore, we never got to see how it would do in a thriving market.

It seems like something like this was never going to have mass appeal. It’s unclear if Chevrolet wanted to just hit a niche and could do so without investing too much extra in the platform or if it was just an odd judgment call. However, for as obscure of a vehicle as this is, we think that the obscurity makes it rather cool all of these years later. In fact, we wouldn’t be too shocked if an oddity like this ended up bringing big money on the auction block years from now because of its scarcity.

For those looking to wager that this panel van is going to be worth the big bucks one day, one is currently listed on eBay for $13,900 or best offer. If you just want to look but not touch, the feature below from Doug DeMuro takes us inside of the oddball. – Doug DeMuro