What I liked about the PT Cruiser

I had quite liked the Chrysler Pronto Cruizer a concept car that made the show circuit in 1998. Designed by the then very young Brian Nesbitt (dob 1969). It was a fastback coupe body style, that took many design cues from the cars of the late 1930's – my favourite era of car design. The Pronto Cruizer previewed the upcoming production car that would eventually be called the Chrysler PT Cruiser. It debuted in 2001 as a 2001 model.
Incidentally "PT" reportedly stands for "personal transport" – an appropriate name for this car as its space efficient interior could transport a big pile of your personal stuff. As everyone knows, when a car goes from concept into full production, a lot of the really cool stuff in the concept doesn't make it into production. And the PT Cruiser was no exception... they even changed the spelling of "Cruizer" to "Cruiser." While being watered down from the concept I still liked the look of the car.
The car nicely captured the essence of a 1930's "slantback" sedan in its overall shape. But it is the little details in the bodywork that really caught my eye. Viewed from the front, the bumper appears to run across the grille – so similar to the 1937 Ford. The hood, also is similar in shape to that same  Ford, which incidentally is considered the best-looking Ford of the thirties. At the back of the car, the latch to open the hatchback is neatly integrated into the classic Chrysler logo. Perhaps the most striking feature in the PT design is the care and attention given to the joints between body panels. The bottom edge of the hood flows into a crease in the doors that then further extends completely around the car. The fuel filler door is integrated into that crease. The back of the hood comes to the front of the doors, an elegantly simple detail. Most people wouldn't notice these little design details, they'd likely just say the car looks nice.
Unfortunately Chrysler "updated" the PT in 2006, eliminating that portion of the grille below the bumper, visually ruining the look of the car in my humble opinion. The next time you see one of those pre-2006 PT's, take a walk around the car, and really look at how the joints in the body have been done. Then look at nearly any new car and you'll notice there appears to be no real thought put into where the joints in the body are located. An engineer put them where it was easiest with I suspect little thought given as to how it looks. Where's Mr. Nesbitt when we need him? Well, actually he's currently head of General Motors Corporation International Operations Design, based in Shanghai, China.
The PT Convertible
The convertible was introduced in 2005 and I never liked the look of it. It was, what I call a picnic basket convertible. Chrysler called the basket handle a "sports bar" and sort of justified its existence saying it deflected the airflow thus reducing buffeting for rear seat passengers. In reality, it is a necessary structural element compensating for the removal of the car's roof.
If they'd taken another look back to the thirties when they were engineering the PT convertible they would have seen there were many 4-door convertibles. Had they taken that route, the reinforcements could have been built into the back of the front seats (no basket handle). A four door PT convertible would have been unique. Something not seen since the Lincoln Continentals of the early sixties.
The PT Coupe
In a previous post I mentioned a coupe always looks better than a sedan. So it would have been with the PT. But this car exists only in MY mind. Well actually a few years ago, I had photoshopped a version and here it is for your amusement.