Scosche has been doing installation accessories since it was a cool thing to do-when lamp cord was no longer an option to the car audiophile. In the last 15 years, installation accessory companies have dabbled to the far reaches of accessorydom, looking for the perfect complement to any installation: carpet, glue, alternators, color-coded zip ties ... all of which have their place on any installer's checklist.
Today Scosche is dabbling in a new kind of accessory-Bluetooth. Bluetooth could revolutionize mobile electronics, as it already has with our personal devices. With wireless technology in a car, the user can use electronic accessories, like an iPod, without any wires but with the quality of a hard-wired connection (check out "Connected with Bluetooth" in January 2006).
Teamed up with Chevrolet, Scosche secured a 2006 Chevy HHR retromobile. It was painted a flat two-tone scheme, resembling an early VW Bug. Scosche factory installers Nathan Perkins, Ted Lopez and Trevor Kaplan ripped the interior down to the bone and treated it to a hefty dose of Accumat 060 on the doors, firewall and hatch with Accumat 250 in the floor and footwells. Scosche EFX speaker wire, interconnects and power cable were also routed to the approximate destinations.
High And Mighty
Using the latest in high-end multimedia source units, the Scosche crew fully integrated its own IPBCK wireless iPod system with Clarion's DXZ855MP CD head unit. A satellite orbiting in space wirelessly transmits additional audio to a Clarion NAVSIR Sirius Satellite Radio unit (wires, however, are required to connect the NAVSIR to the head unit). A Scosche GM1587B Chevy HHR dash kit houses the Clarion head unit while a Scosche GM13B GM LAN harness wires it in.
For video playback and navigation, the install team worked a Clarion N.I.C.E. 7-inch touchscreen unit into the top of the dash and mounted a Clarion VCZ625 DVD changer under the passenger seat. They mocked the factory dash lines by custom molding the N.I.C.E. unit into the top of the dash, effectively shielding it from glare. Additional monitors, seven to be exact, were installed throughout the HHR: one Clarion VMA7194 7-inch flat-panel monitor in each door plus two in the rear hatch where the quarter windows used to be. A large 15-inch Clarion OHM153 overhead monitor was installed, well, overhead in the headliner.
Low And Loud
Achieving their quota of the multimedia garb mandated for a show car (I believe there's a five-monitor minimum), Scosche installers turned their attention to what it's really all about, the very dynamic that sparked the craze and pushed accessory companies, not unlike Scosche, to market high-output alternators, wattage and woofers. My friends, we're talking about bass.
In a nutshell, 6,000 watts and six 12" woofers get the job done. While the cockpit is all business-clean cut and almost stealth in design-the rear hatch sticks out like a Mississippi mullet, powerful and proud. In regards to design, the installers wanted a retro look like that of the HHR and they wanted it to hit each and every passerby. No doubt, the rear hatch faces the prime aisle at each show and lights up with an impressive display of power.
For bass alone, three Scosche EFX HD5001 1,200-watt peak power mono amplifiers drive six HDW1244 dual voice coil 12" subwoofers, one amp per pair. Two Scosche EFX HD7004 1,200-watt peak power 4-channel amplifiers run the front and rear stage. In spirit with the retro look, the installers fashioned the amprack out of oak with aluminum strips flanking red neon glow around the entire edge. Actually part of the Scosche power distribution and amplifier fusing, a false amplifier shares space with the three mono blocks.
Enclosing three subwoofers apiece, the separate left and right painted fiberglass enclosures measure 3ft3, sealed and stuffed. They sandwich the rear portion of the amprack and sit on top of a false floor made of wood and accented with aluminum strips, reminiscent of a '50s-era truck bed. For a better-than-flush finish, the installers countersunk the woofer rings.
Six And A Half Will Do
All the highs and mids play through HDX67 1/2" convertible component speakers. For the rear door, the installers converted them into coaxials by using the supplied coaxial tweeter mount. They also utilized flush-mounted and molded EFX speaker grilles to allow ISO mounting of the HDX67's. For the hatch speakers, the installers ISO mounted another pair of HDX67's in a similar fashion. Instead of in the door, they installed each set in a custom-molded fiberglass enclosure into the rear quarter window cavity. The same cavities hold one 7-inch Clarion monitor per side, as noted earlier.
Up front, two more sets of HDX67's create the front stage. The custom fiberglass kick panels follow the trend set by the rear fill, with flush-mounted and molded EFX speaker grilles for the converted components. However, the front door speakers, though they also utilize flush-mounted and molded EFX speaker grilles, went a different route. This time, the installers used the component mount, installing the tweeters in the factory dash location.
The end result of the countless hours of labor is a stunning vehicle worthy of any show. After SEMA in 2005, the Chevy HHR made an appearance at the 2006 CES. If you're lucky it might hit a show near you.