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 fuck himself. Based on his gay attitude 10 years ago, I was taking my business elsewhere. I also told the manager he insulted me. Fucking prick. Him and his fucking PT Cruiser and go fuck each other.

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

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.

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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.

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.

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.

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.