PT Cruisers - share the good and bad

[Markeh]

24 minutes ago, Aston Martin said:

They're always owned by a fat bloke who wears a leather jacket with tassels. Loves Elvis and him and his wife go dogging. 

Well I've learned something I didn't want to about my folks this morning.

[Dick Cheeseburger]

Elvis impersonators are shite these days. 

 

[Crackers]

1 hour ago, Markeh said:

Well I've learned something I didn't want to about my folks this morning.

Find out one of your relatives wears tassels is always tough to come to terms with.

[155V6]

[Cookiesouwest]

1 hour ago, 155V6 said:

Is that the one in Bristol? Use to turn up at Queen Square breakfast club.

It use to live in Fishponds, near my parents.

[155V6]

20 minutes ago, Cookiesouwest said:

Is that the one in Bristol? Use to turn up at Queen Square breakfast club.

It use to live in Fishponds, near my parents.

It is,according to the Facebook group I found it on.Number plate says it's Discovery based.

[Billy - Medhurst]

10 hours ago, Aston Martin said:

They're always owned by a fat bloke who wears a leather jacket with tassels. Loves Elvis and him and his wife go dogging. 

I all ways thought of the PT Cruiser as the car belonging to people who call themselves "Conrad" at the weekends and enjoy line dancing and oreo's.

[maxxo]

I really don't understand the absolute hatred people seem to have for these

i like them

they're different, stand out and they're interesting

certainly more interesting than an equivelant golf etc

[AnthonyG]

That fake WW2 Dodge Power Wagon one is rather amusing.

It’s also an imaginative re-use of one dead PT Cruiser and one rotten Discovery! 

[andyberg]

I had a PT, as I have mentioned on other threads. I fully understand everyone's differing opinions about them. I will admit it was a bucket list car I always wanted and I'm glad I had one, I really like the styling. Yes some ' enthusiasts ' can make them look so much better* but  fairly standard one looks good in my book. The only thing I didn't like about it was the absolute shit MPGs, my god it was a thirsty thing. Would I have another? A big part of me says yes, but after doing over 700 miles in a Vectra this week at 44mpg when the PT would scrape 28 on a good day the financial part of me says no.

Prices seem to be rising for them now so maybe more people are beginning to like them, or is it that modern cars are just awfully styled?

[Bitzer]

11 hours ago, maxxo said:

I really don't understand the absolute hatred people seem to have for these

i like them

they're different, stand out and they're interesting

certainly more interesting than an equivelant golf etc

I believe it is not the looks people hate, it is shitty engineering. I mean, when it comes to cars with "retro looks", those which are technically sound are generally beloved - New Beetle, 500 etc.

Well, not all of them - think Pluriel. I wonder how many of them sold after it appeared in that TG hall of infamy.

[Eyersey1234]

On 4/19/2021 at 8:36 PM, Mudster said:

I wouldn't be surprised if Dollywobblers current PT cruiser is ex Ted Connolly. Think there's a Kelsey connection there. 

Always enjoyed Ted's column (even if he did like his PT cruisers!)

I don't think it is ex Ted Connolly, Ted's were a 51 reg, 57 reg and 08 reg IIRC

[LostnotFound]

19 hours ago, Billy - Medhurst said:

I all ways thought of the PT Cruiser as the car belonging to people who call themselves "Conrad" at the weekends and enjoy line dancing and oreo's.

 

I really don't get oereos. They're just a really she bourbon.

I could definitely see myself in a drop top one with the Bob Harris show on the radio.

How well did they sell? I presume a fair few compared to if they'd just stuck a Chrysler badge on a generic family car. But perhaps it's just because they stand out it seems there were a lot of them on the road?

 

[bunglebus]

Pikes Peak PT

 

[montytom]

I used to deliver to someone in Ventnor and they had one with wood effect stickers down the side. Made a nice change seeing it after all the usual BMW's etc

[Aston Martin]

Did they only do these in a 2.4?

That made no sense.

[andyberg]

No, early mk1s were 2.0 up until about 2005ish then they started the change over to the 2.4. I believe in America you could get a turbo version?? 

[eddyramrod]

There was also a diesel, unfortunately!  But yes, as above, the petrol models started at 2.0 which ours was, and were upgraded to 2.4, which IIRC came in with the facelift.

[Asimo]

£585 tax on the last few years of the petrol automatics must be finishing them off a bit early.   Buyers might pay roadtax like that on a Hemi-engined 300, but not on a £750 PT Cruiser.

[Dick Cheeseburger]

On 18/04/2021 at 16:52, Dick Cheeseburger said:

 

Just seen a photo of how this van sits (on air ride) today. 

 

[Volksy]

A friend of mine has a diesel one and absolutely loves it. 

He bought it when his Peugeot Partner died.  We were car browsing round at mine one evening, much to our disbelief/guffaws'/chuckles, it was actually the only car/van that ticked all the boxes within his price bracket and without trekking half way across the country. He has an elderly dog, that needs loads of room in the back, the boot is almost van sized - he's a landscaper/drystone waller, so has to cart sometimes quite bulky grubby kit around as well. The Diesels are pretty economical, so covered everything he needed.

The CRD is a grumbly lump, that kind of suits it. I mean, it's never was going to be a refined car was it. His is a high spec one, so has leather, electrics and A/C (that actually works). 

Parts availability is almost none existent these days in the UK, especially for the Diesels, you can easily get parts from the US for the Petrols, but the Diesels were never offered over there. 

So the road tax will kill off the petrols and the parts unobtainium the diesels, doesn't bode well for them sadly.

[Dick Cheeseburger]

Aren't the derv lumps Mercedes or something? 

Edit: Thought so...

"In addition to this standard model, a 2.2 L four-cylinder diesel engine built by Mercedes-Benz was also available in Europe, Asia, and South Africa."

specifically the OM646 engine. 

[Volksy]

4 minutes ago, Dick Cheeseburger said:

Aren't the derv lumps Mercedes or something? 

They are, As used in the W203 C Class and Vito, so it's the equivalent to the 220CDi. 

However in the conversion for the Chrysler to fit the engine in transversely, they changed and redesigned a lot of the ancillaries - to be honest, I'm not even sure the block is the same.

[Dick Cheeseburger]

1 minute ago, Volksy said:

They are, As used in the W203 C Class and Vito, so it's the equivalent to the 220CDi. 

However in the conversion for the Chrysler to fit the engine in transversely, they changed and redesigned a lot of the ancillaries - to be honest, I'm not even sure the block is the same.

Ah, fair enough - makes sense. I'd still have a derv PT van if I found a tidy conversion. 

[Lankytim]

I had a diesel a while back and couldn’t really fault it. I bought it cheap as the rear drag link mount thing has fallen off the back of the engine but that was easy enough to fix. Needed an injector clamp drilling out to repair when I broke a bolt but I don’t class that as the cars fault. Comfy and pretty reliable, rust in the sills forced me to flog it. 
 

Definitely felt more like a van than a car which I didn’t mind. If I could find a decent one that hadn’t been owned by a line dancing/Elvis fan modifier then I’d be tempted again. 

[Erebus]

From the ebay tat thread comes this hideous monstrosity:

[gadgetgricey]

Owned one and my Dad had one for a while.
Nice enough, but remember the turning circle being absolutely HUGE.

Had to do a 15 point turn in a small hotel car park in Perrenporth, but that could just have been me being shit at parking

 

[Madman Of The People]

 

I was always mystified by the Chrysler PT Cruiser's popularity in the UK.  But I think I've discovered the reason for it.  I think it's because the PT Cruiser bears more than a passing resemblance to the Morris Minor. 

     

See what I mean?

As for PT Cruisers in America, they are disappearing fast.  They used to be everywhere.  However, with production having ended 15 years ago, the heard is thinning fast and are therefore becoming a less frequent sight .  It's been years since I've had occasion to visit a scrapyard but I imagine they are now full of PT Cruisers, as they seem to be vanishing from our roads.

I even test-drove one many years ago, a 2.4 with automatic.  (There was also a 2.4 turbo version called the GT Cruiser over here.)  The car itself was okay but I couldn't get on with the driving position.  It felt like I was sitting on a barstool and my eyeline was only just below the top of the windscreen.  If there was a seat height adjustment, I never found it.  In the end, I just couldn't do it.

The fact remains no car in the history of the world has fallen harder and faster in the eyes of enthusiasts and the general public alike as the PT Cruiser.  When the car was launched, there were waiting lists to get one.  They were even namechecked in rap songs!  Then suddenly, one day, they became the butt of jokes.  Eventually, they became hire car fodder as private buyers wanted nothing to do with them.  Up until fairly recently, the sub-$10,000 (Shed territory in the US) secondhand car classifieds were bursting with PT Cruisers.  But now they're all disappearing.

Will we all be ogling over restored PT Cruisers at a car show in 2042?  Who knows?

 

[Dick Cheeseburger]

2 hours ago, Madman Of The People said:

 

I was always mystified by the Chrysler PT Cruiser's popularity in the UK.  But I think I've discovered the reason for it.  I think it's because the PT Cruiser bears more than a passing resemblance to the Morris Minor. 

     

See what I mean?

As for PT Cruisers in America, they are disappearing fast.  They used to be everywhere.  However, with production having ended 15 years ago, the heard is thinning fast and are therefore becoming a less frequent sight .  It's been years since I've had occasion to visit a scrapyard but I imagine they are now full of PT Cruisers, as they seem to be vanishing from our roads.

I even test-drove one many years ago, a 2.4 with automatic.  (There was also a 2.4 turbo version called the GT Cruiser over here.)  The car itself was okay but I couldn't get on with the driving position.  It felt like I was sitting on a barstool and my eyeline was only just below the top of the windscreen.  If there was a seat height adjustment, I never found it.  In the end, I just couldn't do it.

The fact remains no car in the history of the world has fallen harder and faster in the eyes of enthusiasts and the general public alike as the PT Cruiser.  When the car was launched, there were waiting lists to get one.  They were even namechecked in rap songs!  Then suddenly, one day, they became the butt of jokes.  Eventually, they became hire car fodder as private buyers wanted nothing to do with them.  Up until fairly recently, the sub-$10,000 (Shed territory in the US) secondhand car classifieds were bursting with PT Cruisers.  But now they're all disappearing.

Will we all be ogling over restored PT Cruisers at a car show in 2042?  Who knows?

 

Looks like they could be the next Sao Penza 😆

[Lankytim]

2 hours ago, Erebus said:

From the ebay tat thread comes this hideous monstrosity:

 

It’s Britney, bitch.