Autoblog

Uh, so it comes with a cityscape behind it? Looks like every other PT Cruiser out there :(

Warning...I'm gonna vent, hehe.

Note to Chrysler: Your old car has become irrelevant. No updates in 8 years, save for a headlight tweak and some drivetrain mods. You need to reinvent this car if you want it to sell again.

Your Caliber is now an edgy, modern version of the PT Cruiser, and the car mags say it's every bit as craptastic as the PT. Better move the PT 2.0 upmarket, make it larger [Sebring/Avenger chassis] and FINALLY offer some power for all that roominess [approriate V6s (note the plurality)]. And don't rape the customer in the process.

I once almost bought a PT Cruiser, right after its launch. I was test-driving a new 2000 Golf GLS, and knew I was about to buy it. I stopped at the Chrysler dealership on my way back to the VW dealership [in the Golf I was about to buy!], and looked at the PT one last time. The price was a tad more, 20k vs. the Golf's 18k, but the snarky Chrysler salesman informed me with a wry you-can't-afford-it grin that there was a $4000 "addendum" to the sticker. I belly-laughed in his face, drove back to the VW dealership and enjoyed the hell out of my beloved Golf, daily loving its finer interior with scads more amenities, power-everything luxuries and safety equipment than the PT could shake a tire at, always enjoying its mega-powered Monsoon 8-speaker audio system, 6-disc changer, and sliding sunroof, and thanked myself every time I got in the car for not making a $6000 mistake. The PT had none of those things, just a high price for naught.

Don't drop the ball again, Chrysler. You can't afford it anymore.

PS: I suggest some reform at your dealerships as well...today's climate doesn't bode well for snake-in-the-grass salesmen and their rip-you-off tactics. I love the look of Chryslers and absolutely pine for a Charger SRT/8 every time I see one, but even after 8 years I can't shake the memories of my last time on a Chrysler lot which have forever left a bitter after taste. Long live The People's Car! :D