On Wheels by Brooks Peterson

Saturday, June 17, 2000

PT Cruiser is solid, for a concept car

Thinking back on the most outrageous and/or attention-grabbing vehicles I've encountered in the last several years, I ask myself: Is it purely coincidental that almost all have issued forth from Chrysler Corp. - or, if you want to make a big federal case about it, DaimlerChrysler?+
   Curious: With the notable exception of VW's New Beetle, Chrysler has just about cornered the market on extroverted, hey-look-at-me vehicles.
   It began in the mid-'90s with the all-new, testosterone-enhanced Dodge Ram pickup, which in the twinkling eye turned Dodge's presence in TruckWorld magazine from wimpy to ultra-macho. That coup was followed (if I have the chronology straight) by the completely outrageous Dodge Viper roadster and (later) coupe, with their volcanic performance and utter lack of compromise; and after that came the preposterous but somehow endearing Plymouth Prowler, Chrysler's homage to the hot rod.
   Curiously endearing
   And now . . . the Chrysler PT (for "Personal Transportation," we are told) Cruiser. Its unapologetically retro styling incorporates cues from the '37 Ford, the old sedan delivery and (one friend was unkind enough to suggest) a mini-hearse.
   Bland it ain't. And it tends to polarize opinions: My kids, who agree on nothing, are unanimous in declaring the Cruiser mud-fence ugly. I, on the other hand, find it curiously endearing. I particularly appreciate some of the niftier touches, like those big ol' exterior chrome door handles: We're talkin' retro Valhalla here, pardners.
   I had expected (OK, hoped) that the Cruiser would offer the same cavernous rear-seat room that real '30s cars did, but in that respect I was mildly disappointed. The legroom is decent, but not voluminous. Then again, why should this surprise? The Cruiser is a lot shorter than its aged uncles.
   A happier ending
   Up front, however, the story has a happier ending: great gobs of legroom, and headroom front and back that could accommodate anyone short of an NBA center. (You might even get away with wearing one of those "Cat in the Hat" chapeaus, if you're into that sort of thing.)
   Not the least of the interior's virtues is the fact that it can be reconfigured in any number of ways (25, according to Chrysler) by folding down, removing or otherwise fiddling with the rear seats. Are we talking mini-minivan here?
   The one thing that never ceased to impress me about the Cruiser was its solidity. Not a squeak did I hear; nay, nor did I descry a rattle, save from some cassettes I had tossed into one of the roomy pockets in the door. In fact, I'd venture to say this is put together better than any Chrysler product I've driven. Could the Three-Pointed-Star Mercedes contingent have had something to do with this?
   That is not to say we're dealing with a world-historic automotive turning point here. Not until we do something about giving this little guy more motivation.
   See, here's the thing: You've got a decent, well-intentioned 150-horse, 2.4-liter four (from the Chrysler Cirrus/Dodge Stratus) under that pug-nosed hood, but it's contending with 3,000-plus pounds of road-hugging weight. And when you toss the optional automatic transmission into the mix, you're not talking vivid performance. Adequate? Sure. Exhilaratin'? 'Fraid not.
   The transmission's odd reluctance to downshift in certain situations didn't help much in that department, either.
   More to come
   Help is on the way: Ere long, you'll be able to get a turbo-charged version of the four. That should liven things up a bit, but . . . (Guy I met at the post office may have had the right idea: Take the body off, plunk it down on a Toyota truck chassis, then drop in a small-block V-8. Hmm.)
   As you might expect from the name, the Cruiser was indeed happy and composed on the superslab, if not strikingly economical (20 mpg or so on a road trip to Austin). But it didn't seem to enjoy the twisty bits: A jaunt through the hills around the capital made that abundantly clear. ("You say you want understeer? I'll give you understeer, turkey!)
   At this point, the wonder isn't that the Cruiser still needs a bit of work in certain departments; it is, rather, that in the process of zooming from concept car to family hauler, it does quite a few things very well indeed. Toss a little tabasco into the pot, and breathe a little sportiness into the suspension, and you'll banish the snooze from the cruise.
  

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