What the hell is that thing called? GM has folded local manufacturing here , so we may have these in our future.

 

It's referred to as a Chevrolet HHR (Heritage High Rise) it was GMs attempt at retro styling. It is suppose to look like a late 40s early 50s Suburban. The vehicle failed miserably and it was discontinued in 2011 due to poor sales.

We, (our company) purchased 10 of these new in 2011 for 10k apiece. About 1/2 the MSRP. They replaced the full size vans for the service technicians. I ended up with one that had sat for 3 years unused when my previous company car died. Now I'm stuck with it

Don't worry you probably won't see them on your roads as GM realized their mistake and quit producing them.

 

Jeff. you have my Deepest sympathies.
My brother has one of those, mostly he bought it because the family is Chevy bred but he also got it Cheap!

Even my Windstar isn't so Ugly, cost less and is Way more functional.
(';')

 

My brothers 2.6/V6, six speed Vectra. Loving the manual box since I sold my three speed manual Holden ute in 1997 and have owned autos since.

The embarrassing thing is the steam from one pipe and blue smoke from the other. I guess after 282,000km the engine is a bit sad. I should be driving my XJ6, but need to run this thing once a week while it is staying here.

 

national car rental gave me a nisson cube, I drove it home and took a cab the rest of the week.

 

Thank you Elinor for your sympathy.
Now that my secret is out in the open I feel much better. I was afraid the HHR would show up in the background of a picture of the Jaguar and would be humiliated that people would think I purchased it.

 

I was once on a boondoogle/business trip to the US , which I had arranged to include the weekend of an NHRA drag racing event within driveable range. My beloved vendor said they had arranged a car for the weekend which I was most grateful for. Picked it up and it was a Chrysler Sebring softop, probably the biggest hairdresser car of the century.

It did rather stand out in the car park of an NHRA event. I kept hearing the "one of these things is not the same" song in my head.

 

Anybody say Fiat Multipla?

Hard to look at it

 

Any Mary Kay pink car if you're a male.

 

Last summer, when the Jag died and the T-Bird needed brakes, I pressed my 1978 Grand Marquis into daily driver service.


It's 18 1/2 feet long and has a 400 cubic inch engine badly in need of an overhaul. Gets about 8.5 US MPG. It's green with dents on both sides, rust holes in the roof and three different colors of primer. Where it isn't primed, the paint is cracked and peeling.


But it moves under its own power, and sometimes that quality alone will cover over a whole multitude of automotive sins!

 

As someone already mention the Nissan Juke/ joke, a car that I always suggest was designed by the marketing guys to show that they can sell anything no matter how ugly, I give you the Citroen C4 Cactus marketing guys as the French response to the Juke.

 

I KNOW THAT CAR!!

(';')

 

My grandfather's from USSR, when I was a kid he told me about soviet cars like Zhiguli's, Lada's and Pobida's (hope I got the names right). They were a kind-of FIAT rip-offs of the time, but the quality wasn't Italian at all. Still nowadays a lot of Russians use them to drive, which I think is not just humiliating, but life-threatening
See for yourself, anyways
Communist Cars, part 1/2 (Series 12, Episode 6) - BBC Top Gear

 

Chevy Caviler... I'd rather walk. Both ways, up hill, in the middle of winter, bare *** naked. With people watching.

 

I lived in New York City for the first 35 years of my life. You could not leave anything decent on the street, since it would vanish or be vandalized.


Therefore, my candidate is a 1978 Buick Regal, in THREE colors (silver, grey primer, and bare metal). Had a dent in every fender. From the outside, it looked like a demolition derby survivor. Inside, 100% mint - and a comfortable ride, where everything worked! Cost? $400. Squeezed 90,000 miles out of it. You just didn't want to pick up anyone in it. "Is this all that an Engineer can afford?"

 

Simply on its own merits, I'd have to say a Nissan Cube; just ridiculous styling.

Some people who know me might say my 1972 Ford Pinto Squire wagon, although it gets more attention and thumbs-up approvals than anything else I've ever owned. By the way, the Pinto is enjoying a resurgence in popularity. The Pinto Car Club of America has more than 8000 members. I'm an Administrator over there and we DO love our Pintos.

The most embarrassed I've EVER been by a car was in the 1997 Rolls-Royce Silver Spur I used to have. I was on a trip when the headlights began flashing on and off even though the switch was in the "off" position. Within the next 100 miles or so, it got worse: the windshield washer suddenly started spraying out the entire contents of the reservoir, forcing me to use the wipers in order to see where I was going until I reached an exit where I could get off the Interstate. The failure ended up being the multi-function stalk that controlled the headlight dimmer, turn signal lights, and windshield washer. Embarrassing in any instance, but even more so in a Rolls-Royce!

Dwayne

 

That's astounding in an unfathomable extent given it's a Rolls Royce and the most embarrassing in the same sentence
However, what you described is definitely something that would put anyone in distress and a terrible mood
Last but not least Rolls Royce Silver Spur III is my fave car made by the brand itself ever by far distance
Another thing would be in a Rolls Royce and this topic related is running out of fuel namely in a city

 

My father drove a 1972 red Ford Pinto in the early 70s when I was kid. They were everywhere. Back then people didn't bother to lock their doors and we accidentally got in the wrong one at the hardware store, only realizing upon trying the key in the ignition. But I guess it just goes to prove that it doesn't have to be a sports car, luxury car or even limited production to be collectible.

Back in school, for a few months I was driving a 79 Honda Civic (back when they were actually tiny). Not so much embarrassed, but I didn't think very much of it and my friends liked to prank me by picking the car up and moving it, turning it sideways in a parking space so I couldn't get it out. I never would have expected Civics to become collectible, but some years ago, I was shocked to see the Civic CVCC as the featured cover story in Auto Restorer magazine. Then a year later, I ran into a local man who collected and restored them. And then just this week, out of the blue on Craigslist....... My Old Civic restored and for sale or one absolutely identical (ad link may expire - don't know how to preserve it).

 

Speaking of HHR's, here is one that almost ruined a road test of a Jaguar.


Jaguar XF SV8 | Evo


I actually owned a HHR SS for a couple of years, and it handled amazingly well. Tuned and bigger turbo got it up to well over 300 (engine) hp, and over 400 ft-lbs, under 13 second quarter mile times. It was great fun embarrassing expensive performance cars with it, which gets to my vote that the most embarrassing car to drive is the "performance car" that gets its doors blown off by an HHR.

 

My girlfriend has a Cube - I borrow it occasionally since it has way more space in the rear than my F-Type