Goodbye PT Cruiser

[Natalie]

The last Chrysler PT Cruiser rolled off the line on Friday. Over 1 million sold in about 10 years -- that's pretty good for a car that was deemed a "niche vehicle." Love it or hate it (and that's kind of how it went in terms of public opinion regarding the PT C), it was different. In my opinion, it was different in a very good way. Unlike, say the Nissan Cube

Just a footnote: Brian Nesbitt, who was on the PT Cruiser design team also designed the Chevy HHR, which does have very similar styling.

[cicero]

I thought they were very cool when they first came out, but to me the design has not stood the test of time. It looks very dated now.

The worst thing about them was that they were considered a truck so none of the passenger car rules and regs applied to them. Their test crash data was horrendous. I think the 35mph frontal test for them when they first came out stated that the driver was likely to suffer severe to fatal injuries. They made changes that improved the ratings significantly.

That said, this 2006 model 35mph front offset test makes my ankles hurt.

[Natalie]

I thought they were very cool when they first came out, but to me the design has not stood the test of time. It looks very dated now.

The worst thing about them was that they were considered a truck so none of the passenger car rules and regs applied to them. Their test crash data was horrendous. I think the 35mph frontal test for them when they first came out stated that the driver was likely to suffer severe to fatal injuries. They made changes that improved the ratings significantly.

That said, this 2006 model 35mph front offset test makes my ankles hurt.

Way to take the fun out of things. At 4' 11," my ankles would likely be fine, but the airbag would have taken off my head. Life is full of trade-offs!

[Phantomrig]

My dad purchase a PT dream cruiser in 2006 and we had it until just after his death last fall. it was one of 500 PT's produced in 2006 under the special Dream Cruiser badge. the dream cruiser simply ment that it had a special paint job and custom wheels and it was fitted with every possible PT option accept for a Turbo. I am a large perso at nearly 6 ft and about 400lbs but i had no issue driving the car and i did drive it quite frequently accross the stat to shooting competitions. My dad loved this car so much that he purchased a matching jacket for nice occasions. after dad passed away in november there was no reason for us to keep the PT so we sold it, but I can say i do miss the car sometimes as it made great gas milage.

here is a pic of Dad with his PT.

[Tuckerfan1053]

The article I read about the PT Cruiser said that once the initial design was launched, Chrysler had no clue as to what to do next, and made the mistake of making very few changes to the model over the years. Of course, the fact that Mercedes was looting Chrysler for everything it was worth didn't help any.

[Natalie]

The article I read about the PT Cruiser said that once the initial design was launched, Chrysler had no clue as to what to do next, and made the mistake of making very few changes to the model over the years. Of course, the fact that Mercedes was looting Chrysler for everything it was worth didn't help any.

Though a fan, I agree with this as well as the previous post about the PTC design not holding up to the test of time. I think the design was "fresh air" when launched. It worked well for a limited run (I am surprised it made it this long), but I believe the design carried a high potential to become a kind of parody of itself if tinkered with. Of course, some will argue the car was cartoonish from the start.