isn't it weird--there are people who actually purchased P.T. Cruisers

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There's no accounting for taste. But really...P.T. Cruisers? Only Minis display worse taste and self-esteem.

― guyRitcheee, Saturday, 3 December 2005 20:36 (twenty years ago)

What about Audi TTs? H2 Hummers? Mercedes Maybachs? S-type Jaguars? They're all far worse than PT cruisers. Nu-Minis are pretty tacky too, I must admit.

― Pashmina (Pashmina), Saturday, 3 December 2005 20:42 (twenty years ago)

we hired a pt cruiser in memphis this time last year. it was huge but it was a small car

― calderdale in the 70s (gareth), Saturday, 3 December 2005 20:45 (twenty years ago)

In my neighborhood, I find that mst often the owners of PT Cruisers are in their sixties.

― Aimless (Aimless), Saturday, 3 December 2005 20:50 (twenty years ago)

Are they actually decent load-carriers? They look like they should be.

― Pashmina (Pashmina), Saturday, 3 December 2005 20:51 (twenty years ago)

what gareth said... me & my gf rented one once and were surprised at how big it was. handled very weirdly too

― s1ocki (slutsky), Saturday, 3 December 2005 20:54 (twenty years ago)

I just figured they were all won from game shows and sweepstakes and such.

― nabiscothingy, Saturday, 3 December 2005 20:56 (twenty years ago)

It drives very poorly, no torque at all. Then again I drive poorly as well, and almost plowed into some unsuspecting pedestrians at the UMiss campus. (We asked for the cheapest compact car--they gave us the PT!) It sort of blew any aspirational Memphis touring coolness that we wished to have. We had nothing on the Japanese rockabillies in the vintage Caddie.

― Mary (Mary), Saturday, 3 December 2005 21:03 (twenty years ago)

Mini and Audi TT are both great cars.

― Super Cub (Debito), Saturday, 3 December 2005 21:08 (twenty years ago)

Old people love PT Cruisers. Fact.

cf. Chevrolet HHR.

― rogermexico (rogermexico), Saturday, 3 December 2005 22:52 (twenty years ago)

We rented a PT Cruiser and its interior space is ultra practical. I kept going--"I hate these things, but why can't more small cars be like this inside?"
Opposite to the rental Honda Element, which I expected to find convenient, but I loathed the way it drove so much that I would actually choose the PT Cruiser over it.

Audi TT is hot. Mini is teh "At least sympathy fuck me plz."

― Hunter (Hunter), Saturday, 3 December 2005 22:58 (twenty years ago)

Toyota Matrix vs. PT Cruiser, FITE!

The PT looked big in the ads but the first time I saw one it seemed ordinary hatchback sized, are they really more capacious than a hatchback? And why all the Mini hate? Except for the price it seems like a great niche vehicle. I have a Mazda Protege5 which looked more functional with the rear seat folded down, but with the driver seat back as far as I need it the driver-side rear seatback won't go all the way down (and it's the larger one). Does have nice low-end torque, though.

― nickn (nickn), Sunday, 4 December 2005 00:20 (twenty years ago)

if these people are buying Cruisers instead of big-ass Escalades or something, fine by me.

― kingfish crab trampycakes (kingfish 2.0), Sunday, 4 December 2005 01:00 (twenty years ago)

I haven't driven one, but I like them. They're silly. A lot of people do not accept silliness in cars. I like Scions, too.

― Tim Ellison (Tim Ellison), Sunday, 4 December 2005 01:19 (twenty years ago)

I don't hate the Mini, it's a good car. But remember, what you drive is who you are.

I know nothing tho, and like to roll my eyes at those who claim 150 hp is not enough for a 4dr sedan. I mean, my car has 130 hp and I can get up the Silver Plume grade to the continental divide at 70 mph with a passenger, how fast do I need to go?

― Hunter (Hunter), Sunday, 4 December 2005 01:23 (twenty years ago)

But remember, what you drive is who you are.

Just to be clear, this actually isn't true at all.

― Banana Nutrament (ghostface), Sunday, 4 December 2005 05:49 (twenty years ago)

I like Minis. But their ad campaign is fucking terrible and keeps getting worse. It should be the new Miata but instead they're shooting themselves in the feet.

― Abbadabba Berman (Hurting), Sunday, 4 December 2005 06:03 (twenty years ago)

PT Cruisers, on the other hand, I rarely see except as marketing cars (presumably they're available cheap.)

― Abbadabba Berman (Hurting), Sunday, 4 December 2005 06:06 (twenty years ago)

The Audi TT is a gorgeous car, you're on crack.

― Paunchy Stratego (kenan), Sunday, 4 December 2005 08:46 (twenty years ago)

Yeah I also like the TT

― Abbadabba Berman (Hurting), Sunday, 4 December 2005 08:47 (twenty years ago)

Also: a good choice on Gran Turismo.

― Paunchy Stratego (kenan), Sunday, 4 December 2005 08:56 (twenty years ago)

Nu-Mini = automotive equivalent of Oasis
TT = Warmed over VAG Golf in cod-Porsche clothes GET ONE REAL 911

― Pashmina (Pashmina), Sunday, 4 December 2005 12:11 (twenty years ago)

audi's new direction with the last few models is far better than the perfect geometry thing they had going on with the TT and the models from around then. the new ones have much more... shape, perhaps? more contours in the doors and such, not just a collection of perfect straight lines and quarter-circles.

― turboalbino (haitch), Sunday, 4 December 2005 12:38 (twenty years ago)

those "woody" PT cruisers really are a bridge too far, otherwise it's pretty harmless as far as retro throwbacks go.

― turboalbino (haitch), Sunday, 4 December 2005 12:44 (twenty years ago)

Proper old Minis are great! I used to drive one, and never got a sympathy shag once as a result, so this theory (Mini is teh "At least sympathy fuck me plz.") doesn't work.

Anyway, I was a student, I was poor, it got me (admittedly slowly) from A to B. It didn't define me, but I'd quite like another one some day (they are really easy to park, which is a huge bonus for a commuting car).

Those PT cruisers look quite silly though - horrible grilles. However evidently some people like them.

― ailsa (ailsa), Sunday, 4 December 2005 12:45 (twenty years ago)

It's hard to resist saying "Look, it's ZZ Top!" when you see one.

― Abbadabba Berman (Hurting), Sunday, 4 December 2005 15:36 (twenty years ago)

Here's the all new TT for 2007:

http://common.weblogsinc.com/common/images/3060000000056647.JPG?0.705619464330607
http://common.weblogsinc.com/common/images/3060000000056648.JPG?0.563889474792356

I'll take the old one.

― Super Cub (Debito), Sunday, 4 December 2005 16:08 (twenty years ago)

That back end is still teh hotness.

― Paunchy Stratego (kenan), Sunday, 4 December 2005 16:10 (twenty years ago)

I'll take the old one

http://www.shokan.com/images/newarrivals/19_P1010149.JPG

― gabbneb (gabbneb), Sunday, 4 December 2005 16:12 (twenty years ago)

yuck

― Super Cub (Debito), Sunday, 4 December 2005 16:14 (twenty years ago)

and this is in the pipeline at Mini:

http://www.topgear.com/content/news/stories/103/images/2/large.jpg
http://www.autoblog.it/uploads/mini_concept_frankfurt_uff_02.jpg
http://www.jalopnik.com/cars/images/mini_concept_frankfurt_3.jpg

The back looks like a hearse.

― Super Cub (Debito), Sunday, 4 December 2005 16:20 (twenty years ago)

That back end is still teh hotness.

Paunchy OTM, but the new front is like something Toyota left on the drawing board

― Banana Nutrament (ghostface), Sunday, 4 December 2005 16:29 (twenty years ago)

new mini does very well in the US (well california anyway). I don't know anyone who dislikes them.

a pt cruiser, I was told, has the same engine as some shitty small car wrapped in a bigger frame. they are dumb.

― kyle (akmonday), Sunday, 4 December 2005 16:35 (twenty years ago)

the second mini makes a hybrid the thing will sell so well (as long as they don't make it prohibitively expensive)

― kyle (akmonday), Sunday, 4 December 2005 16:36 (twenty years ago)

What's everyone think about the Chrysler 300c?

― Austin Still (Austin, Still), Sunday, 4 December 2005 16:47 (twenty years ago)

http://www.edmunds.com/media/news/regularnews/040605/chrysler.300c.500.jpg
Not a big fan.

― Super Cub (Debito), Sunday, 4 December 2005 16:59 (twenty years ago)

A bit too Grey Poupon.

― Paunchy Stratego (kenan), Sunday, 4 December 2005 17:10 (twenty years ago)

the new front is like something Toyota left on the drawing board

It is so so ugly, it almost defies description.

― Lars and Jagger (Ex Leon), Sunday, 4 December 2005 17:10 (twenty years ago)

you guys seem to be forgetting something:

http://www.pestalozzi.net/motors/shootingbrakes/fiat_multipla_105_red.jpg

the fiat multipla

― Yawn (Wintermute), Sunday, 4 December 2005 17:11 (twenty years ago)

That Chrysler is the worst. It looks like an updated Monopoly car.

― Abbadabba Berman (Hurting), Sunday, 4 December 2005 17:12 (twenty years ago)

"Make your friends think for a split second that you've bought a Bentley!"

― Paunchy Stratego (kenan), Sunday, 4 December 2005 17:14 (twenty years ago)

It looks like an updated Monopoly car.

That's why I kind of like it! Not that I'd buy one, but there is something toyish about it that's appealing.

― Lars and Jagger (Ex Leon), Sunday, 4 December 2005 17:16 (twenty years ago)

What does everyone think of nu-Thunderbirds?

I like them but in a sort of distant way -- couldn't imagine ever wanting to drive one.

― Abbadabba Berman (Hurting), Sunday, 4 December 2005 17:18 (twenty years ago)

hahaha, I just saw one the other day and was thinking the same thing! Now there was a short-lived investment!

― Coffee Cone, Sunday, 4 December 2005 17:25 (twenty years ago)

From work experience I can safely say that 2 out of 3 people I've talked to that've owned PT Cruisers are psychopathic assholes.

― disco violence (disco violence), Sunday, 4 December 2005 17:47 (twenty years ago)

http://www.auto-advantage.co.uk/uploads/images/Chrysler_Pt_Cruiser_Black_2004.jpg http://starwars.planeta-digital.com/images/thumb/4/40/180px-Darth_vader.jpg

― Pleasant Plains /// (Pleasant Plains ///), Sunday, 4 December 2005 17:51 (twenty years ago)

Gimme an alfa brera any day!

― Pashmina (Pashmina), Sunday, 4 December 2005 18:07 (twenty years ago)

Aww, I like the Mini-shape, it's like the ur-car! It's the sort of shape that comes to mind when someone says "car" or asks, say, a 4-year old (or me) to draw one. Details-wise, I especially like the backswept, chrome-rimmed headlights, there's something very Porsche/Pinin Farina about them. I DON'T, however, like the back of the new design above; whoever said "hearse" was fucking ON, and it makes the silhouette end too...abruptly, somehow.

Plus they're just so damn CUTE. I'm susceptible.

― Laurel (Laurel), Sunday, 4 December 2005 18:18 (twenty years ago)

We have a PT Cruiser and it's pretty good, all haters can kiss our big fat capacious difficult-sight-line-having ass.

― T.O. Automobilenym, Sunday, 4 December 2005 18:18 (twenty years ago)

I hate the PT Cruiser — it makes me think of the Munster-mobile for some reason — but I like the Mini, and I thought the AMC Pacer was simultaneously ridiculous and cool-looking, so my judgment is skewed all over the board.

― I do feel guilty for getting any perverse amusement out of it (Rock Hardy), Sunday, 4 December 2005 18:22 (twenty years ago)

Pacers are awesome.

― Tim Ellison (Tim Ellison), Sunday, 4 December 2005 18:30 (twenty years ago)

I don't really like PT Cruisers all that much, but at least they have SOME character while most cars have none (including that Chrysler thing).

― Tim Ellison (Tim Ellison), Sunday, 4 December 2005 18:31 (twenty years ago)

What is that above, a Mini SUV?? Can't cars just decide if they want to be big or small--and not have it both ways...

― Mary (Mary), Sunday, 4 December 2005 18:35 (twenty years ago)

wow, that fiat! it looks like someone who wears their underwear three sizes too small.

― teeny (teeny), Sunday, 4 December 2005 18:36 (twenty years ago)

What do people think of the PONTIAC AZTEK?

http://personalweb.smcvt.edu/pszwedo/pontiac-aztec-2k1-frnt.jpg

― Tim Ellison (Tim Ellison), Sunday, 4 December 2005 18:41 (twenty years ago)

Is that the one with the sharp-edged square ass? I HATE IT.

― I do feel guilty for getting any perverse amusement out of it (Rock Hardy), Sunday, 4 December 2005 18:44 (twenty years ago)

> What do people think of the PONTIAC AZTEK?

I refuse to appreciate cars named after nearly unknown DC superheroes of the late 80s.

― Austin Still (Austin, Still), Sunday, 4 December 2005 18:45 (twenty years ago)

oops, I mean mid 90s.

― Austin Still (Austin, Still), Sunday, 4 December 2005 18:46 (twenty years ago)

View of the back:

http://pic.classifieds1000.com/1123769752-45564-209.151.234.217.jpg

― Tim Ellison (Tim Ellison), Sunday, 4 December 2005 18:46 (twenty years ago)

― Austin Still (Austin, Still), Sunday, 4 December 2005 18:48 (twenty years ago)

new mini does very well in the US (well california anyway). I don't know anyone who dislikes them.

Minis are entirely appropriate for 19-year-old sorority girls and entirely inappropriate for anyone else.

― KevinB, Sunday, 4 December 2005 18:48 (twenty years ago)

Hunter, way upthread:But remember, what you drive is who you are.

BN: Just to be clear, this actually isn't true at all.

Just to be clear, that was sarcasm on my part, I shoulda made it clearer.

― Hunter (Hunter), Sunday, 4 December 2005 18:50 (twenty years ago)

PONTIAC AZTEK (sic)

http://static.flickr.com/35/70134571_2821dd7850_m.jpg

― Laurel (Laurel), Sunday, 4 December 2005 18:50 (twenty years ago)

The Aztek is notorious for being ugly.

The back of this Buick SUV makes my skin crawl for some reason.
http://images.autobytel.com/view/aic/BUICK/RENDEZVOUS/spe/usa_2006_buick_rendezvous_spe_4_x_exrrhead_x.jpg
http://www.invoicedealers.com/images/modelimages/xlarge/04150RendCX%5B%5B%5D%5D%5B%5B%5D%5D4702.jpg

― Super Cub (Debito), Sunday, 4 December 2005 18:51 (twenty years ago)

By the way I remember so vividly my first encounter w/ the Aztek and being totally, completely gobsmacked by its pure hideousness. I practically broke out in hives.

Then, once it proved appropriately unpopular, I sorta got that Charlie-Brown-Xmas-Tree vibe off of it. But really, yech!

― Hunter (Hunter), Sunday, 4 December 2005 18:55 (twenty years ago)

Do you guys like the new Civics? I can't really tell if I've seen a real live one yet. Sometimes I think I see one, but then I think it could just as well be an old Civic.

― Mary (Mary), Sunday, 4 December 2005 18:56 (twenty years ago)

sorry not to pick up on your sarcasm Hunter, I'm pretty dense sometimes

that multipla is so out-the-other-side ugly that I kinda like it!

― Banana Nutrament (ghostface), Sunday, 4 December 2005 19:00 (twenty years ago)

(p.s. that sorry is sincere btw not sarcastic)

― Banana Nutrament (ghostface), Sunday, 4 December 2005 19:01 (twenty years ago)

It seems like the Aztek/Aztec was an attempt at applying the same futuristic aesthetic that has proven to be popular with sneakers. The Hummer might be another example of this.

― Tim Ellison (Tim Ellison), Sunday, 4 December 2005 19:01 (twenty years ago)

The only Mini Cooper that's really sororitified is the convertible. That's got a VW Cabriolet vibe. The Mini Cooper S, on the other hand, is just fantastic. Get the 17 or 18-inch factory rims, all black - not too bad.

― Erick Dampier is better than Shaq (miloaukerman), Sunday, 4 December 2005 19:02 (twenty years ago)

Tim maybe there IS a similarity to sneakers, but the huge bulk of sneakers/sports shoes are ALSO fookin' hideous. What, does NO ONE talk sense to these people?

― Laurel (Laurel), Sunday, 4 December 2005 19:07 (twenty years ago)

Yeah, the Mini S is a badass little car.

― Super Cub (Debito), Sunday, 4 December 2005 19:27 (twenty years ago)

shoes, toothbrushes and cars will one day all become the same product

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Sunday, 4 December 2005 19:29 (twenty years ago)

That day has arrived, my friend
http://imagesource.allposters.com/images/GDF/ANO206.jpg

― Super Cub (Debito), Sunday, 4 December 2005 20:37 (twenty years ago)

You guys are forgetting something!

http://www.davo.com/_248-588-9600_/images/chevy/2005_Chevy_SSR_Front.jpg

― walter kranz (walterkranz), Sunday, 4 December 2005 21:34 (twenty years ago)

cuet!

― gabbneb (gabbneb), Sunday, 4 December 2005 21:52 (twenty years ago)

It's the Subaru Brat!

― I do feel guilty for getting any perverse amusement out of it (Rock Hardy), Sunday, 4 December 2005 21:59 (twenty years ago)

It would be cute if it was smaller.

― Tim Ellison (Tim Ellison), Sunday, 4 December 2005 22:25 (twenty years ago)

Oy, it would be cute if it were less ugly. Doesn't it look like there's not hardly enough head room in that little bubble?? I mean, I don't really keep up with new & experimental models much so I don't know how it compares to projects not mentioned in this thread, but the body just seems so big in comparison to the passenger space.

― Laurel (Laurel), Sunday, 4 December 2005 22:29 (twenty years ago)

hahaha I was hoping the aztek would come up on this thread, partly because I could only remember it as "the world's ugliest SUV". thankyou for the reminder!

― turboalbino (haitch), Sunday, 4 December 2005 22:37 (twenty years ago)

Yeah, why is the front so big? (xp) This red one has bigger thingies over the back wheels!

http://files1.turbosquid.com/Preview/Content_on_6_23_2005_17_02_19/SSR_HardTop.jpged27ed84-7c58-493a-a802-4d8bffa3a393Large.jpg

― Tim Ellison (Tim Ellison), Sunday, 4 December 2005 22:40 (twenty years ago)

Gross.

― Laurel (Laurel), Sunday, 4 December 2005 22:48 (twenty years ago)

Yeah, it's horrible.

― Tim Ellison (Tim Ellison), Sunday, 4 December 2005 22:54 (twenty years ago)

These photos are way too flattering. In person that thing is even uglier. I saw one on the road the other day and just shook my head in disgust.

It really bugs me (pardon the pun) that automakers make an attempt at reviving classic cars but then they feel the need to update them. The Beetle and the Mini did this successfully but all of the imitators are pretty bad. The PT cruiser would look great if it actually like an old panel truck and not an 80s cartoon version of one. I think the closest to capturing the look of an old car is that newish mustang and I wish more manufacturers would go down that path. How great would it be if you could buy an (almost) exact replica of a classic car with a modernized engine, airbags, etc.? I suppose it's only a matter of time since it's the direction that clothing, music, movies and everything else have headed over the last 20 years or so. The auto industry is just too large and unwieldly to follow these trends quickly enough.

― walter kranz (walterkranz), Sunday, 4 December 2005 22:55 (twenty years ago)

This red one has bigger thingies over the back wheels!

the obvious conclusion drawn from this: red ones are faster.

― turboalbino (haitch), Sunday, 4 December 2005 22:57 (twenty years ago)

(xp) yeah walter's got the right idea. imagine if you could buy a "new" old lancia stratos, rather than the hideous nu-styled one that's going to get made?

actually nissan were refurb'ing old 240Zs for a while there in the US and selling them as "new", weren't they. s'pose you can only do that so many times before you run out of old shells though.

― turboalbino (haitch), Sunday, 4 December 2005 23:07 (twenty years ago)

Cubans must be pretty good at it!

― Tim Ellison (Tim Ellison), Sunday, 4 December 2005 23:25 (twenty years ago)

ummm... aren't there already many many people who refurbish old cars? Or are you proposing doing this on a mass scale?

― Super Cub (Debito), Sunday, 4 December 2005 23:31 (twenty years ago)

No, I'm saying make a brand new 1965 Mustang that looks as close as possible to the original using modern materials and construction techniques plus airbags, ac, better gas milage and emissions etc. Then a few years later, discontinue that and make a limited run '69 Mustang for example. Basically reissues of cars. The gearheads might complain about the innards being different but they could customize theirs anyway. The way I see it this is why people are buying models like the PT Cruiser anyway. Why not do it right? It's like the auto industry is the music industry in 1989, putting out a Miles Davis greatest hits (remixed!) or something, not realizing that people would actually buy multi disc boxed sets of the complete Bitches Brew sessions done properly.

Of course, I realize the problem with this is that the cars would still have to change a lot to accomodate the realities of modern car building (no big chrome bumpers for example). The other problem is that it costs so much money to design and build a new model that I guess it's probably not worth the risk to make something that might have niche value. On the other hand this would be a great way for U.S. auto makers to capitalize on the strength of (and nostalgia for) their old designs since they obviously can't compete with the japanese in terms of technology.

― walter kranz (walterkranz), Sunday, 4 December 2005 23:54 (twenty years ago)

also, lots more greatest hits cds are sold than box sets.

― oops (Oops), Sunday, 4 December 2005 23:59 (twenty years ago)

Put it this way: why does anyone buy a new Mustang? Wouldn't all of those people really rather have a classic Mustang? Are they buying it because it's the best car out there or out of some kind of nostalgia?

Another analogy is the guitar industry in the '80s building shit like Super Strats vs. the situation now with reliced custom shop reissue models.

― walter kranz (walterkranz), Monday, 5 December 2005 00:06 (twenty years ago)

Carmakers have not truly embraced the postmodern yet. Maybe Target should get in the auto manufacturing business.

― Tim Ellison (Tim Ellison), Monday, 5 December 2005 00:07 (twenty years ago)

also, lots more greatest hits cds are sold than box sets.

you'd think so but even the new beetle didn't sell in the numbers that VW were hoping for.

― turboalbino (haitch), Monday, 5 December 2005 00:18 (twenty years ago)

What does everyone think of nu-Thunderbirds?

I bought one in April and like it very much.

― Elvis Telecom (Chris Barrus), Monday, 5 December 2005 00:39 (twenty years ago)

Sometimes these retro cars are huge hits, and sometimes they're just niche sellers and basically a failure.

The car has got to have a retro feel and modern appeal. It's got to make a statement while actually being something that people want to drive around in everyday for 4 plus years.

― Super Cub (Debito), Monday, 5 December 2005 00:41 (twenty years ago)

http://img265.imageshack.us/img265/7158/cars8iz.gif

― Hunter (Hunter), Monday, 5 December 2005 01:29 (twenty years ago)

http://static.userland.com/images/ican/02080802a.jpg

― mikef (mfleming), Monday, 5 December 2005 05:45 (twenty years ago)

ten months pass...

I used to hate all these boxy things, but I've decided I want a Honda Element. Except I think I'd have to move to California to drive it.

― gabbneb (gabbneb), Wednesday, 11 October 2006 03:30 (nineteen years ago)

or Hawaii

― gabbneb (gabbneb), Wednesday, 11 October 2006 03:35 (nineteen years ago)

I think my next car will be a hatchback. Had my sights on the Scion Xa, but am now leaning towards the Mazda3 5-door. If decide to buy used, perhaps a Honda CRX or Civic hatchback, or a VW Golf/GTI. Then again, my friend has a Mazda Protege5 and it seems pretty nice. Has anybody seen/driven the new Toyota Yaris hatchback?

― naus (Robert T), Wednesday, 11 October 2006 03:42 (nineteen years ago)

The Honda Element is a really ugly looking thing.

The Mazda3 always gets positive reviews. I looked at one recently, but opted for something a little more roomy (Subaru Legacy Wagon). The Civic SI hatch is teh hotness.

Hatchbacks and wagons are the best.

― Super Cub (Debito), Wednesday, 11 October 2006 05:36 (nineteen years ago)

The Yaris is pretty Common in the UK, Britain's biggest selling small car for several years running. I'm not exactly wowed by the design, especially when you put it next to the small renaults, citroëns and fiats, but it probably drives well. It's a good deal smaller than the Civic though.

I'd really like a Volvo C30.

― Ed (dali), Wednesday, 11 October 2006 05:42 (nineteen years ago)

My aunt test drove a Yaris for a day or so and said that the back window is too small to see out of properly, which is stupid in a small car. I always liked the look of the PT Cruiser, myself, but nobody ever has anything good to say about them, so I don't have one.

I drove one of those huge Chryslers on holidays in Canada last year. They are monstro petrol drinkers, but they are so lovely to drive.

― accentmonkey (accentmonkey), Wednesday, 11 October 2006 06:14 (nineteen years ago)

i love that the pt cruisers were actually marketed for TEENAGERS, but of course were only bought by aging/ acid addled boomers. seems at least half of those were bought in souther california, too...

― yetimike (McGonigal), Wednesday, 11 October 2006 06:28 (nineteen years ago)

That's generally true about all the youth marketed cars - actually bought by much older people

― Super Cub (Debito), Wednesday, 11 October 2006 06:32 (nineteen years ago)

I'm sorry. I look at a PT Cruiser and all I can see is this:

http://content.answers.com/main/content/wp/en/thumb/b/b3/250px-2001-Dodge-Neon.jpg

― Pleasant Plains /// (Pleasant Plains ///), Wednesday, 11 October 2006 15:38 (nineteen years ago)

Had my sights on the Scion Xa, but am now leaning towards the Mazda3 5-door

NOOOOOOO.

Scion Xa >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Mazda 3

I drive hondas and fords and mazdas and toyotas and minis all the time bcz I have ZIPCAR and the Scion Xa/Xb pretty much beat all comers except perhaps the Honda Accord, but that's not exactly in the same category at all anyway.

Mini = absolute unbelievable horseshit for the money. I can't believe anybody would actually enjoy driving one. Boutique garbage, horrendous interior, not actually small enough to justify everything else about it that sucks.

Mazda anything = similar lack of attention to the interior. Big blind spots, not my favorite handling at all.

Scion xB = the greatest car currently in production

Scion xA = 2nd to xB

― TOMBOT (TOMBOT), Wednesday, 11 October 2006 15:47 (nineteen years ago)

The PT Cruiser my father had was nicknamed "the sport-utility hearse" by one of his granddaughters. It was a fine touring car though, I used it for a few road trips. It was small enough to squueze into alleyways in Montreal but big enough to be comfortable and hold all our crap.

He's now gotten himself a Scion xB that he adores (and it's better with fuel economy too).

― patita (patita), Wednesday, 11 October 2006 16:02 (nineteen years ago)

I like the cut of the Subaru Baja's jib.

http://www.fhi.co.jp/english/news/press/2002/img/020108.jpg

― lk (lawrence kansas), Wednesday, 11 October 2006 16:13 (nineteen years ago)

We looked at the PT Cruiser but the miss didn't like the sightlines and I didn't like the cramped engine placement. Hate to think of the labor bill when something goes wrong under the hood. It is easily the most cavernous spacewise due to ingenious spare placement, high roofline and removable rear seats. We purchased a Subaru Impreza Outback instead which looks about as dorky as we do.

― zaxxon25 (zaxxon25), Wednesday, 11 October 2006 16:15 (nineteen years ago)

The Bajas are the nouveau Subaru Brats. I don't think there are seats in the bed of the truck, sadly. Actually, I hate the Brats. They make me angry for some unknown reason.

― molly d (mollyd), Wednesday, 11 October 2006 16:18 (nineteen years ago)

i'm getting a honda civic next month, a two door, probably whatever least expensive trim level has mp3 playability in the cd changer.

― gear (gear), Wednesday, 11 October 2006 16:29 (nineteen years ago)

Scion xB = the ~~greatest~~ one of the most hideously designed car currently in production

― Si.C@rter (SiC@rter), Wednesday, 11 October 2006 16:57 (nineteen years ago)

http://www.konasports.com/ProductImages/adiosneakers/BamPurple-250.jpg

http://images.automotive.com/color/300X187/2006/Chrysler/USB60CDC171A0807.jpg

Am I the only one who sees the resemblance?

― Abbott (Abbott), Wednesday, 11 October 2006 19:56 (nineteen years ago)

heather mills mccartney has a pt cruiser!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hzWFmNTgGM

― sunny successor (katharine), Thursday, 12 October 2006 00:39 (nineteen years ago)

I don't know if it's just around here, but most people just refer to the Xb as the "Xbox".

― naus (Robert T), Thursday, 12 October 2006 02:13 (nineteen years ago)

which is the horrible, boxy Scion, that is truly a piece of shit (visually speaking, worse than the Aztek.)
the smaller, Mini-like Scion is pretty cute, i'd get that

― timmy tannin (pompous), Thursday, 12 October 2006 02:56 (nineteen years ago)

two years pass...

pour one out

Chrysler, as is well documented, has long made its name on home-run product. When things are darkest, the company invariably comes out with a winner, one that sets the automotive world's hair on fire and brings in huge sales. The Chrysler 300, the Dodge Viper and the K Car are just a few that come to mind.

Another is was, the PT Cruiser. With a totally new design that in many ways ushered in the retro-styling craze in automotive design this decade, it took the country by storm, helping a nation forget the departure of Plymouth. Sales were brisk, dealers couldn't get enough of them, and the funky little car/truck won the 2001 North American Car of the Year award. Across the nation, people scratched their heads: What does PT stand for? (Answer: Personal Transportation. Yeah, kinda lame.)

Today, Chrysler went and put a bullet in the PT's head.

According to news reports , Chrysler will cease production this summer...

and hopes to sell the tooling used to create the vehicle, if possible. The news comes just over a year after Chrysler produced the last convertible version of the PT Cruiser.

Consistent with Chrysler's current product cadence, the PT Cruiser never got a redesign, despite a lifetime stretching nine model years. That's almost double the life of most designs on the market today. Similarly, Chrysler's 300, itself a monster hit when rolled out for the 2005 model year, is already on year five, with no signs of a reworking yet.

The news wasn't entirely unexpected -- Chrysler is in crisis, and even after receiving $4 billion in government loans, shows every sign of needing more cash. PT Cruiser sales, meanwhile, declined by 49% last year, to just 50,910 units, and that was off 2007 numbers that were themselves down 28% from the previous year. In 2001, the PT's best year, 144,717 of the vehicles sold.

Without that redesign, a big chunk of PT sales were going to fleets of late, and the plant in Toluca, Mexico, that builds them is likely to be the production site of a new small vehicle that Chrysler hopes to make.

That said, it's a sad day for a quirky vehicle, which looks mostly like a car but is classified by the federal government as a light truck (which has helped Chrysler comply with fuel economy regulations). Its dedicated followers have created legions of regional, national and international fan clubs who tuned them, chromed them and babied them to death. Heck, Tom Hanks even owed a PT Cruiser at one time, inspiring Robin Williams and Cher to follow suit.

Alas, poor PT. We knew thee well.

― velko, Thursday, 15 January 2009 18:11 (seventeen years ago)

Oh man, my grandma is going to be pissed. She always wanted one and was super happy to take a ride with my sister and bro-in-law when they showed up in a rental.

― YOU WILL BE CHARGED FOR THESE CALLS (dan m), Thursday, 15 January 2009 18:20 (seventeen years ago)

I rented a PT once or twice and it had the largest blind spot of any sedan-style car I've ever driven.

― Carne Meshuggah (libcrypt), Thursday, 15 January 2009 19:00 (seventeen years ago)

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