Nick Larkin
Nick puts the classic case for the Chrysler PT Cruiser
Our Nick presents the case for a divisive modern classic.
You never know what you’ve got till it’s gone,’ says the old adage, and music legend Me and You in their chart smash of the same name, which reached number 31 in 1979. I have that on a vinyl 45rpm record.
So, as 2017 increases its weary grip upon us, it’s time to press the case for one more car now becoming a rare sight on our roads to at least be considered as a classic. Well, at least a bit!
The model sold around 1.3 million units, and its unique styling echoes from the Thirties, Forties and Fifties. Owners, and I can testify to this as I did have one of these cars for a short time, wave fanatically to one another as they pass. And no, dissenters, not just out of sympathy. Some have even customised their cars. There’s loads of room inside, along with a painted metal dashboard. There were many special editions and you could even get ‘woodie’ and convertible versions.
It might sound like the Morris Minor if that car weren’t already at the centre of the classic movement. I’m just making sure my chainmail and bulletproof vest are on right before revealing the automobile in question is… the Chrysler PT Cruiser!
What’s not to love?
How could you not love this vehicle’s extraordinary styling or deny its status in history, despite its meagre Chrysler Neon underpinnings? How could a struggling mainstream manufacturer risk putting such a radical design on the market, despite the lack of success of not dissimilar concept cars? And give a 27-year-old designer, Bryan Nesbitt, virtually free reign on coming up with the Cruiser?
Don’t forget there weren’t loads of other retro-styled cars at the time, apart from Daewoos, and that was not intentional. The example I was once gifted did drive a bit like a lorry due to a sick power steering pump and ram, which would have cost far more than the car’s value to buy and a devil to fit, as were spark plugs.
My car was still extremely comfortable despite 95 per cent of the interior, including some of the instruments, having been eaten by a large dog. The Cruiser eventually went to a gentleman in a white Transit pick-up who spotted it dead in my drive after the MOT had expired.
I was sad to see it go. Overall the car had been reliable, never failed to start and looked great. Opening the driver’s door in the dark with the big high doors was a bit like entering a Forties Ford Pilot with cloth seat covers, especially as the interior light had died between doggy teeth.
The Cruisers’ styling details were endless and the car was annoyingly practical, and would have been even more so had the boot not locked itself firmly shut. Americans went mad for the PT Cruiser when it was launched in 2000. It was voted 2001 North American Car of the Year and Car and Driver predicted that the Cruiser would not only be a ‘runaway best-seller’ but also the ‘progenitor of a new sub-species.’ So there.
Today you can buy a really nice PT Cruiser with the 2.2-litre Mercedes-benz diesel engine – far better than the thirsty Chrysler two-litre petrol lump– for £600 or less. The car has its faults, but there is a fanatical following in Britain (ukcruisers.net) yet we haven’t seen any significant articles in classic publications. Give a PT Cruiser a chance, though I do understand a lot of people hate it.
Interestingly, most of the cars were built at Chrysler’s Mexican factory. Maybe this is why sir Donald Trump wants to put up his wall!
‘My PT went to a man in a Transit who spotted it dead in my drive’