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PTCCmike
Cruiser Veteran
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PT Cruiser Club Member
Posted: Feb 27, 2004, 7:12 PM
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Convertible article in USA Today
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http://www.usatoday.com/...-02-26-cruiser_x.htm
PT Cruiser does convertible right It's tough to update a vehicle deliberately designed to look old. That's a challenge of retro design. But updates are necessary to keep a model selling well.
  Chrysler's redesign of retro Cruiser cuts a striking silhouette.
In answer, Chrysler has what it calls a "buzz model team" that meets weekly to determine how to keep the retro-style PT Cruiser fresh and appealing.
The Cruiser convertible, going on sale just about now as an early 2005 model, is the eighth and latest specialty version of Cruiser. It was designed, Chrysler asserts, specifically to be a convertible and is not made by chopping the steel top off the sedan. About 57% of the convertible's parts are different from the sedan's, many of them dedicated to keeping the convertible rigid and free of the shakes typical of convertibles.
In addition to a top that goes up and down instead of one that doesn't, the Cruiser convertible's big difference is that it is a two-door car, vs. the sedan's four doors.
 Interior trim and fabrics are especially handsome and rich-looking on the pricey GT.
is meant to look like a mid-1930s Ford sedan as it might have been modified by customizers of the 1950s or '60s.
PT Cruiser clicked with some people immediately, and dealers were getting well more than window-sticker price. Others found it ugly or unfathomable.
The Cruiser sedan is classed by the government as a light truck because of the cargo space created by its flip-folding seats. The convertible is considered a car.
The folding top is the marquee feature, so lets go there first.
It is handsome. When up, its taut, smooth lines draw and please the eye. Down, it drops far enough into a well to avoid the baby buggy look favored by Volkswagen.
The top goes up or down in a brisk 10 seconds. That's a treat. Expensive luxury cars arrogantly make us wait 20 and 30 seconds.
The folding top is classy, made of multi-ply fabric that kept the interior warm during the winter test drive and muffled outside sounds reasonably well.
A semi-rigid boot installs by hand to cover the top when it's down. Using the boot is no big deal once you realize that the unwritten instruction is: "Whack it with the heel of your hand when it doesn't want to fit." And the boot folds flat enough that it takes little space from the modest-size trunk.
While it adds stiffness to the chassis, it is not rated to provide rollover protection.
Airflow with the top down is smooth enough that you needn't shout to have a conversation, nor hold tight to your hat. With the heater blasting, it even was possible to ride comfortably, top-down, in 50-degree weather.
In daily driving, the true standout feature is the 220-horsepower, turbocharged, 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine that is standard on the top-of-the-line GT.
Two other engines are available, depending on model: 180-hp turbo (that runs fine on regular gas, Chrysler says, instead of requiring premium as turbos usually do), and 150-hp, non-turbocharged four-cylinder.
What makes the GT version sweet is its smoothness. There's no turbo lag — the common pause between when your gas foot goes down and the power comes up. The Chrysler engine proved remarkably pleasant during the test drive. It did not stall or stumble. It had enough low-speed power that letting out the clutch was not an invitation to kill the engine.
The Getrag-brand, five-speed manual transmission in the high-end, $29,055 GT test car shifted with a light touch, making it a great deal of fun to zip up and down through the gears.
Interior trim and fabrics are especially handsome and rich-looking on the pricey GT. And the back seat in all models has a remarkable 40.9 inches of legroom. That is oh-so-nice in a size class where 30 inches, plus or minus, is common.
The backs of the rear seats also fold to expand the trunk space. That's a gutsy move in a convertible. It requires cutting a pass-through opening in the bulkhead behind the rear seats. That eliminates some structural reinforcement that a convertible needs to avoid shimmies.
The Cruiser convertible retains a few wiggles, but feels pretty solid.
The overarching fact, though, is that Cruiser is an old design by today's fast-moving standard. The convertible is a version of the original, not a full redesign, so has its share of annoyances. For example:
Front safety belts aren't integrated into the seats, so the belts are always dangling across from the side panel to the seat and blocking access to the back seat. It's a dreadful inconvenience.
Even if you seldom carry people back there, you'll still wind up wrangling the belts just to toss your gym bag or briefcase in the back seat.
Control locations aren't the best. For example, switches for the optional heated seats are low on the outside edge of the seat frame. When the door's closed there's not enough gap for even a skinny hand to activate the keister toaster.
Features you'd expect are missing. Lack of a telescoping steering column and adjustable pedals, both fairly common nowadays, makes it harder to find a just-so driving position. Auto on/off headlights are conspicuous by their absence, as is a simple trip computer.
Cup holders are too far forward under the dashboard, limiting the height of bottles or cups you can stow.
What you have, then, is a delightful 220-hp engine powering a well-executed drop-top version of a tired car.
2005 Chrysler PT Cruiser convertible
•What is it? Folding-top version of compact, front-wheel-drive retro-styled sedan; built at Toluca, Mexico.
•How soon? Rolling out across the country now.
•How much? Base model starts at $19,995 including $590 destination charge. Touring starts at $24,315. GT starts at $28,595.
Expect to pay full sticker price, according to online shopping service Edmunds.com. Dealer markups of $1,000 more than sticker price are common, according to CarsDirect.com.
Automotive Lease Guide says the car will be worth 49.3% of sticker price after three years, 41.3% after four. Averages for all small convertibles: 45.3% and 39%. Cruiser sedan: 41% and 35%.
•What's the powertrain? Standard on base and Touring models: 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine rated 150 horsepower at 5,100 rpm, 165 pounds-feet of torque at 4,000 rpm; five-speed manual transmission. Optional: 2.4-liter turbocharged four-cylinder, 180 hp at 5,100, 210 lbs.-ft. at 2,800.
Standard on GT is 2.4-liter turbo four-cylinder rated 220 hp at 5,100, 245 lbs.-ft. at 2,400. Traction control is standard on GT, optional on Touring.
•What's the safety gear? Conventional belts and bags.
Front-seat, side-impact bags are standard on GT, optional on base and Touring models. Anti-lock brakes are standard on GT, optional on Touring, not available on base model.
•What's the rest? Base model has power top with glass rear window and embedded defroster wires; air conditioning; power steering, brakes, mirrors, windows, locks; tilt-adjustable steering column; remote-control locks; AM/FM/cassette stereo; fold-down rear seats; P195/65R-15 tires.
Touring adds or substitutes convertible top boot; floor mats; anti-theft alarm; CD player; cruise control; P205/55R-16 tires on aluminum alloy wheels.
GT adds or substitutes leather upholstery; different interior and exterior trim and instruments; driver's seat power height adjustment; front occupant side-crash air bags; sport suspension; P205/50HR-17 tires.
•How big? About 8 inches longer outside, 8% bigger inside than the Volkswagen New Beetle convertible. Cruiser convertible is 168.8 inches long, 67.1 inches wide, 60.6 inches tall on a 103-inch wheelbase. Weight is listed as 3,381 to 3,483 pounds, depending on model. Passenger space is listed as 84.3 cubic feet, trunk space as 7.4 cubic feet. Tows 1,000 pounds.
•How thirsty? Non-turbocharged base engine is rated 21 miles per gallon in town, 29 on the highway with manual transmission, 20/25 mpg with automatic, on 87-octane fuel; 180-hp turbo is rated 20/26 with manual, 20/25 with automatic, on 87-octane fuel. High-performance 220-hp turbo is rated 21/27 with manual, 19/26 with automatic on 91-octane premium fuel. Chrysler says midgrade is acceptable.
•Overall: Nice new trick for what's getting to be an old dog.
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Mike Challis - PT Cruiser Club Founder
PT Cruiser Club is built around a community of people with the same interest (the Chrysler PT Cruiser), nowhere else will you find so much PT Cruiser information and as many enthusiasts.
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Posts: 4937 | From: Long Beach, WA
| Registered: Sep 1, 1999, 12:00 AM
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RAYN
Cruiser Expert
Posted: Feb 28, 2004, 1:56 AM
Post #2 of 4
(1205 views)
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Re: [PTCCmike] Convertible article in USA Today
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 Nice review for the most part. But then these so called reviewers always seem to find something about American cars to nit pick over. If this had a Toyota or Nissan nameplate on it they would have been gushing all over themselves. I usually dont pay too much mind to these reviews but instead make up my own mind. It does keep them busy tho. Have a great day!
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Posts: 199 | From: Arlington Virginia USA
| Registered: Feb 24, 2002, 12:00 AM
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Wind
Cruiser Fan
Posted: May 17, 2006, 3:35 PM
Post #3 of 4
(413 views)
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Re: [RAYN] Convertible article in USA Today
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All I can say is they got most of his ******* out of the 06
Wind
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06 turbo vert. high flow in and out, blow off plate.18"x8.5.on Riken rubber
Stage II coil over, f/r anti-sway.....
Mid life but hardly a crisis
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Posts: 15 | From: PNW
| Registered: May 17, 2006, 2:54 PM
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ilmor
Cruiser Buff
Posted: May 22, 2006, 6:46 PM
Post #4 of 4
(392 views)
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Re: [Wind] Convertible article in USA Today
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The photographs are not of an '06, however. Dummys!!
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Posts: 70 | From: N/A
| Registered: Feb 4, 2006, 7:59 PM
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