Ha, never mentioned car's been silent and oil-spot-free since then, it also somehow managed to gain oil again.
Anyway. I got to drive the HHR at work too, that thing is badass.
Also:

Caution driving safely in winter conditions = good mood.
Get pulled out in front of = bad mood, change lanes.
Caution + slick roads + slush + overcorrecting + median = launching rear of car off of median "ramp" and scraping and losing my sideskirt.
Drives fine but I am sad. It could have been a lot worse, I stopped spinning after completing a 180 and on the other side of Broadway. The rear of my car was literally less than a foot away from hitting a light pole and the traffic oncoming was at least smart enough to slow down when they saw me out of control. I was driving home freaked out and saw a truck that actually did hit a light pole in the median, the pole laying on the ground, the whole front of the truck caved in. I still feel incredibly lucky it wasn't worse.
stuff happens, I suppose.