AIMED AND FOCUSED; Chevy puts an unserved niche in its crosshairs.(News)

Byline: KEVIN A. WILSON

Thanks to Napoleon Bonaparte, England is often derided as "a nation of shopkeepers.'' We'd wager there are far more of them here, though. The American entrepreneurial spirit and the number of small-business owners leave one to wonder why it's been decades since Detroit built a mass-market panel wagon like the new-for-2007 Chevrolet HHR Panel. When Chrysler showed a panel version of its PT Cruiser in concept form in 2000, we thought the time had come, but the Panel Cruiser never arrived except as an aftermarket treatment. And Chrysler even has a two-door version (the convertible) that would have made a true two-door panel easier.

Although Chevrolet designers drew inspiration from the styling of the 1949 Chevy Suburban, those familiar with pre-World War II automotive forms will recognize the new little trucklet as more of a "sedan delivery'' wagon than an actual panel truck. In a panel truck, or the modern van form that replaced it, a person can stand in the cargo hold. Electricians, locksmiths and heating-and-cooling contractors, for instance, use such trucks as mobile workshops or parts warehouses. And we all know about custom and conversion vans in personal use.

Though an HHR Panel owner could throw a mattress in back and have a private sleeping area with the addition of only a curtain at the rear, a use you might envision if you wanted an HHR as a dinghy-cum-guest-cabin to tow behind your RV, as Cory Farley did (page 24), that's not most people's first reaction.

As with sedan deliveries of old, the HHR Panel seems best-suited to carrying stuff from point A to point B-flowers, pets that need grooming or maybe instruments and sound gear for a small band. If it's just a duo, you could carry both musicians, too, but forget about more people.

In place of the rear seat, there's a flat load floor, in this case topped by rubber mats (a $95 option). Total cargo space of 57.0 cubic feet is only 1.5 cubic feet more than in a standard HHR with the seat folded, but there's another 6.0 cubic feet in stowage bins that replace the seat space, lockable if you tick the box for the $25 option and big enough for laptops, cameras and other stuff you want hidden from view.

Not that "view'' is a strong suit of the HHR Panel. The key styling trick is that the rear quarter-windows and those in the rear side doors are replaced with steel on the outside and plastic on the inside, giving a retro look and an expansive canvas for signage or personalized graphics.