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.