Why? Lame city.

Friggen kill this car off already

Chrysler wouldn’t be in such sad shape today if they had given PT Cruiser a real update, and brought the Hornet to market.

With the exception of the “Oh $#¡†” handle in front of the passenger, I love the look of this Cruiser. Out of all the cars I’ve ever owned, my PT Cruiser has been the one I’ve missed the most. This interior is very nice looking to me. I love the seats and the accents. Also, I love the paint scheme and the grille. Both are very classy looking.

It’s just too bad that they are still using the same old 150 hp engine. It’s not a bad engine, but for a car that weighs as much as a PT Cruiser, it’s just not a very efficient combination. I believe the turbo version would be a much better fit for the Dream Cruiser series. Even a small V6 would probably be a better engine to use. It doesn’t need to be overly powerful, but just powerful enough that the engine doesn’t need to strain in order to get up to a decent speed. Maybe even a gearbox with more speeds would be more helpful.

I don’t think this car should be fast, though, as it IS a PT Cruiser, not a PT Racer or PT FastCar. I don’t understand it when people compare performance specs of this car over other cars. This car isn’t meant for performance. It’s meant for a comfortable and practical ride. However, when I test drove a Mini Cooper S (I was going to replace my PT Cruiser with a Mini), I found that the Cruiser handled almost as well as the Mini despite its size and weight difference, and accelerated only slightly slower than the Mini as well. Even though the Cruiser isn’t a fast car, it’s still a decent car that can be decent fun. I’ll miss it when they kill it.

look @ the badge on the back of the PT. it says 2.4T meaning T for Turbo… thats good news.

HAHAHA I can only imagine the conversation that contained the decision to put this car out. “So nobody is buying the PT Cruiser sir, what do you suggest we do!? Well first we swap out the standard wheels with some leftover SRT-4 wheels, nobody will miss those anyway since nobody buys that either. Then we need a mesh grill, yea a mesh grill and a body kit rawr! Also repaint a few of the inside pieces so it looks like a whole different interior. My god sir, that’s genius! Yes it is; almost as genius as charging triple the raw material cost to the idiots who adore this hunk of crap.”

Remember how bad ass the 300C was when it came out?? Now everyone has one. Lame

geez that shift lever is long as hell- on trucks i can see the need, but on this? i’d feel like i’m grabbing the cars d!ck every time i switch from P to D

I can’t believe this is Chrysler’s halo car. What a joke.

Horrible. This car should have been updated or killed five years ago. I remember the excitement when the PT launched; now its continued unchaned existence is pathetic. It’s tragic how they booted this opportunity.

JoshyLofty: it also says a turbo version is available in the article…. turbo or no turbo still fugly as sin

it’s not a bad car at all. not many cars can go unchanged for 8 years(!) and still sell. but thats the problem Chrysler lets homeruns turn into dirt. although the PT is nice IMO, we dont need another “special edition”, its ridiculous. either kill it or update it.

Will this car please DIE! I didn’t know there were so many baby boomers with terrible taste in cars.

I really don’t think this makes a lot of sense. The new generation of buyers aren’t looking for retro cars, they are looking for things that set the base for futuristic cars, not ones that remind you of the good ‘ol days. The PT cruiser needs to change to the new generation, and so does Chrysler.

Typical Chrysler. They sold so many of these that GM had to reply with the HHR. Eight years later, still the same car. If you have ever driven one, there is a lot to be desired. It does get good mileage, and Chrysler would continue to sell a bunch if they would give it a proper update. Chrysler only has a small number of models that sell, and this is one. Why would you willingly ignore it? Duh!

19/24 is OK, but considering MPG the other offerings give me, I wouldn’t give the PT cruiser much thought. Also, have you heard? last generation Corvettes get nearly 22/28! I’ve seen pics of 30’s aswell, so that even factors in.

5 cylinder engine?

Midnight White Pearl Coat? Since when do we have White midnights!? (Unless you live in the Arctic Circle).
This car reminds me of Russian post WWII Moskvich 401, here’s picture of it: http://www.retro.dn.ua/park.files/401.jpg

The Corvette and the PT Cruiser aren’t really comparable. Corvette probably weighs 2/3 of what the PT Cruiser weighs, seats only two, has a V8 and has at least twice the horsepower. The Corvette may get better gas mileage, but the Cruiser doesn’t cost $60,000 either. That’s like comparing a Focus to a 7-Series. Someone looking at a Corvette wouldn’t even consider a PT Cruiser. And someone looking at a PT Cruiser wouldn’t consider a Corvette.

But I see the point that was being made. That point is that 19/24 in a 4 banger is pretty bad when V8s are getting 22/28. It has to do with power to weight ratio, though. The PT Cruiser’s problem is that it needs to go on a diet. The back seats will give you a hernia if you try to lift them out of the car. You almost need two people for that.

Brassmonkey, I disagree that the PT Cruiser leaves a lot to be desired, especially considering the price. It’s a decent buy for the money. It doesn’t accelerate like a bat out of hell, but it can sure turn well. It’s actually pretty agile for it’s weight, and I’m impressed with the way mine took bumps and the way it could hold a tight turn at a decent clip. It was no F1 car, but it was still surprisingly nimble. And I didn’t find it got good gas mileage. It was better than a 1982 Dodge 3/4 ton van, but not better than even the HHR or many other similar offerings.

Still, I miss my PT Cruiser.

And I don’t think everyone out there wants totally futuristic cars. I also don’t think everyone wants retro, either. I think there’s a good mix of people that like retro, futuristic, appliance, basic and sporty. That’s probably why there are so many different cars out there that look different. I’m glad, too. As ugly as I think some cars are, they bring variety to the world and make the cars I like look even better.

That’s a cool car, Bimmer. Kudos and respect to the person who either kept it up or restored it.

Pretty bad mileage for such a vehicle in this category. Other than that, I like it.

It’s just a shame that Chrysler (under Daimler’s “extraordinary” leadership) thought that Jeep needed an inappropriate product like the Compass instead of developing a next gen version of this product for Chrysler on the Caliber’s platform. A redesigned version of this car would be much more newsworthy than the endless procession of special editions that they have cranked out year after year.

beatusmongous;
Yeah, that was sorta what I was trying to say. BTW I meant last gen COrvettes, not current gen (last gen, used around 22k)
And overall, i agree with your post.

Wow, this absolutely DEFINES the phrase “polishing a turd.” One of the worst cars to ever emerge from the US mills, a Neon with a retro body kit and a dose of the “grandpa thinks its cool.” No amount of kitsch and chrome can rescue this piece; it was DOA 8 years ago, and the poor saps that bought it can hang their heads in shame. Beatus, if you think this car turns well, the other cars you are comparing it to must have been hearses, recycling trucks and front-loaders.

Another former PT owner checking in here as we traded in our ‘04 Turbo this spring. The positives were many: excellent handling, great versatility, decent build quality and with the turbo very stout acceleration. The negatives were engine coarseness, the brakes- drums on a ‘Limited’ model and front pads good for only about 20k kms- and horrible fuel mileage for a 4 banger.

The other thing I will always remember about the PT is that it had to be the most difficult car in the world to wash. Ours was black, which didn’t help, but no matter how careful I was there would inevitably be one or two spots I missed.

I never said it would out-corner a WRX STI, or any other decent sports car. But it’s definitely no hearse. What I said was that, for its weight and price, it handles surprisingly well. That means that one would expect a car like this to handle like a hearse, but it actually handles more like a Mini Cooper. I know, I’ve driven both.

How low is that cup holder ?

Let’s not forget that when PT Cruiser debuted, it was a sensation. Fast forward eight years — well of course PT is now long in the tooth. Eight years is a long time by automobile standards. Even Mini underwent a complete makeover after several years while sales were still strong.

Yes Chrysler blew it by not updating (other than cosmetics). Chrysler says that there’s nowhere to take the PT concept. But Chevy built a better mousetrap with HHR and enjoyed decent sales. And of course Ford didn’t even bother building a competitor to PT and HHR, because their management is out to lunch.

That’s evolutionary rather than revolutionary styling. Will retro-styled car see no end?

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This post has been listed on http://www.DriveCritic.com/

More like a nightmare.

I can’t believe LLN deleted my comment. Why does everyone here have a hair across their anus? Chrysler sold tons of these. It’ll be a collector’s item while 5 million Corollas and Civics will be scrap metal after their deaths.

Just get the 2.4L Turbo, same engine used in the Neon/Caliber SRT-4’s, (well not exactly the same engine)
I know a guy who modified his 2.4T GT PT Cruiser and it was quick… well for a PT Cruiser… Haha we called it the PT Bruiser!

Modded PT Turbos can be very quick… watch out for those. Other than that… it’s A-to-B transport anymore… bleh. You’d think with competition like the HHR out there Chrysler would have at least considered a redesign at some point.

What they need are Star Wars,Night Rider and Star Trek models. The PT is for nerds.

This is probably one of the worst cases of failing to update a product. The PT Cruiser was a smash hit when it first came out. I know quite a few people who bought one, and all of them were happy with it. The interior was great for it’s time, although a little bit on the cheap side, I drove one and it was zippy, but personally it could have used a more powerful standard four cylinder.

Chrysler just let this product die on the vine. I remember them talking back a few years how it would be “impossible” to redesign the PT Cruiser, but what a lame excuse. If I had done anything, I would have made it look a bit more sleek, but not too much different, just update mechanics. Disks on all four, more powerful four cylinder with something like cylinder deactivation, and loose a few hundred pounds, but nothing ridiculous. It’s too bad Chrysler let up on the opportunity.

they should have redesigned like this

http://people.itu.int/~giroux/Photo/Concept%20Plus/Concept-Pronto-cruizer1.jpg

I remember checking the PT Cruiser out at a dealership when it first came out. They were gouging, asking 10k above MSRP because it was a runaway hit. Salesman was this greasy Lebanese piece of crap, all smug and too cool for me.

Fastforward to last November, passing by the same dealership comparing prices on the Wrangler. I see the same Lebanese fag, all greasy and smelly. He was all over me like a slutty fag, desperate to sell me something (Chrysler has been suffering as of late of course). I reminded him of the PT Cruiser debacle and told him to **** himself. Based on his gay attitude 10 years ago, I was taking my business elsewhere. I also told the manager he insulted me. ****ing prick. Him and his ****ing PT Cruiser and go **** each other.

cool a ”Dream Cruiser” ……..NOT! Lame, its a PT Loser!