We review the long-hated. Chrysler PT Cruiser. Why does car-culture hate the PT Cruiser so much? We dive into it. This is a long review but there's a lot to go over. Also there's a Joe Rogan shout out.
Right? That story of Francis and Meredith is a tear jerker. Even if it's made up, it's true in concept and it makes me sad about America and old Rust Belt towns and families in particular.
Though it's mostly because the Geo Metro actually holds value better than you'd expect. It's also arguably a better car. Better fuel economy for the performance, at least. The PT Cruiser is a perfectly acceptable mode of transport for when your other, better, options prove unavailable.
I know. I just wrote the car off as a cheap car with no value in the car enthusiast market. Not an EV. Not a muscle car. Not a hypermiling hybrid. Not a luxury car. Not even a boring car like a Toyota Corolla. It's the kind of car you see at a junk yard and don't give it a second look.
Robert's New Hand Agreed. Im trying for my 3rd chance at life and I’m hoping to buy a PT Cruiser tomorrow. After watching this review, I feel both attacked and vindicated. I’m crying and I’m laughing. But mostly I’m hoping the check clears tomorrow.
Don't give in to nihilism, the PTC is the car you drive over life's last hill and into the sunset of mediocrity. Buy a VW bus and skin your knuckles disconnecting the battery cable every evening because you can't find the short. Or an old Alpine that the rag top is shredded, so you show up at work looking hung over. Maybe a rotary engine Mazda PU and spend hours learning the quirks of a motor that is basically a spinning top laid on its side. Those things build character, and calluses. All you can do with a PTC is slide silently into old age, looking forward to endless sales pitches for Florida time shares, and your AARP magazine with page after page of hypochondriac inducing ads. Oh, and I'm 70yo who has seen that road take it's toll. It starts with innocent choices in cars and buying razors. Then it progresses to Triple A stickers, alcohol deprived beer, and soy burgers. The end is big, big boy pull ups and a doctor's ban on hot sauce and salt. Drive a car that makes your knuckles white at least once a day. Loose tie rods will make you live longer, or at least it'll feel longer.
@@jacobanon9516 oh no, I wasn't saying that in a mean way. Just giving a view from the other side of the hill. Back in my youth we didn't really have a choice. In 1968 all I could afford, working at $1.50 an hour was an old 46 Chevy with a flathead eight with three on the tree, six volt positive ground electrical. You learned to fix such rigs or you couldn't go to the drive in pictures with your girl. We all do what we have to do. Besides, when you get my age, you'll have a self driving car with a bar and plush swivel seats, surround sound and a TV. You'll look back on a PT Cruiser with nostalgia then. And younger people will wonder how you ever made do with its quirks and oversteer problems.
Andy B I had rhabdomyolysis years back and had got the guy down the street to drive me to the hospital. I sat in the back while fever-hallucinating and kinda forgot what was going on and asked suddenly “whose van is this?” “Where are we going?” It was a PT Cruiser.
Weirdbutneat prolly?.......prolly? Folks, this is what happens when you send your kids to public schools. Don’t do it ,pay whatever it costs to send them to a school where they can read and spell English and add and subtract
@@vrsuky it's actually very common. Pretty much every seperate family I know has that one little part that hasn't done well, has had an unfortunate deal of cards. And it could be any of us at any point
When I was a teenager I spun my dad's PT on the highway from black ice. I totaled the car and for some reason I expected my dad to be ok with it and proud of me, he was.
This was more enlightening than my last ten years of life. You made me realize that time is mostly worthless, unless you have a point to anchor to, or to release your anchor from. Freedom is not inherent, and yet equal. Happiness is not material, but it is a wave function to be shared. The closeness is almost equal to the quality of fame. You, sir , are correct.
I tell you in my experience this car is junk mechanically and I've owned two 2008 models. they are however now affordable roomy with retro flare but as I said mechanically garbage .
We bought one of the first ones in 2000 (The PT was quite the 'it' car when it was introduced...though our sons HATED it from the beginning)...it was a great car, very reliable, with strong attributes that outweighed the minor flaws. No squeaks, rattles, or significant mechanical glitches. Quiet cruiser on the highway with so-so mileage. Interior held together VERY well. We ultimately gave it to our housekeeper with 125K on the clock (we couldn't afford a pension for her so we paid for all her repairs at a top mechanic, who would take care of even little things so everything worked). She LOVED it until, parked on the street overnight, it was rammed, most likely by a drunk driver, whose car was still driveable and he fled the scene. It was totaled by her insurance company. Untimely demise for a perfectly fine automobile.
Tinker bell sticker with a baby seat in the back and a single mom who smokes a pack of Marlbro Light menthols a day and who thinks going out in public wearing pajama pants is okay.
LMAO, over here there’s three types of cars on the road: -Super jacked off-roaders that barely fit on our “used to be a horse trail but we put concrete over it and it’s 1 and a half lanes, not 2way” mountain/country roads, -barely held together used cars that squeal off the line like the timing belt stepped on a lego and somehow always have one busted taillight and one busted headlamp on the opposite side, -and super expensive new cars bought by people from Dorado and other beach municipalities who want to flex, only to leave their bumpers in the giant potholes of San Juan and every big highway, making them completely unusable anywhere except going to the neighborhood Walgreens and the Church’s Chicken that’s inexplicably always around the corner of a Puma Gas Station
I think I've watched this 100 times and it's always good like the 1st. Reminds me of 2008, my first real job as a "business traveler" rented a PT at Harrisburg airport, worked there at mechanicsburg, and that evening had to drive to Wilkes Barre in HORRIBle fog. That PT got me there like a champ, in reassuring comfort with armrests. Don't make them like that anymore.
Hi Mr. Regular, I'm a high school student, and I would just like to thank you for making this awesome video. I watched this out of boredom last night, procrastinating on writing my Lord of the Flies literary analysis paper. Today, I wrote the best essay I have ever written, It's about the themes of postmodernism in the book. I didn't know what postmodernism was until yesterday lol. Thank you again, you inspired my greatest writing ever, and you earned a sub.
Man I remember writing essays back then. Probably among the most useless skill I learned (besides calculus) Still, I remember reading lord of the flies.
There isn't one damn thing wrong with a PT Cruiser. It's a good car for the money. And I'm a retired auto mechanic who has worked on most brands sold in the USA.
Just found this channel today. This is my fourth review. And I am one of those jackasses who actually cares about things like 'postmodernism'. So much fun, dude. If everything weren't equal, I'd say this is excellent, but.... you know.
I don't think PT Cruisers get the piss taken out of them because of poor people. I think it's more because it's the automotive equivalent of a scruffy fat kid in a fedora and clip on bow-tie...
This was my first car, an '01 PT cruiser, it is and stands for everything you say it does. My parents split, my dad lost his job, someone gave him the car, he owed my mom money and she said "if you give your son the PT cruiser I'll ignore the rest of what you owe me." So, my dad gave me the car and he bought an $800 '93 olds cutlass...that car was everything I needed it to be and you sir are damn near a prophet.
I have 2x2001 One for Summer cruising and one for winter beatering, The cruising one bough brand new for 22599 CAD New back in 2002 still my daily, the winter beater got in 2010 for cheap obviously didn't last long mostly only winter driving. The Pt is great for my business lots of room for goods, I mostly drive by myself wife not allowed to sit next to me. Its now 2021 and my PT is now a classic.
Yo, I had a 94 Cutlass as a first car! Man, that car was busted. The battery would die at random, mostly uphill. The mirrors had a weird system with a cable to move em around, and like 2 months in of me owning it, one of them broke and the mirror just permanently stared downwards like a small kid hearing his parents argue. I stuffed a plastic bag under it and that fixed it, sorta. But it was perfect, as a thing to learn how to park and such.
My brother’s girlfriend owns one of these things, almost everything you said in this review matches her. The only thing remaining intact is her relationship with my brother and her jewelry business. Other than that the family treats her like that one middle child they always forget about until an argument starts and gets blamed on her.
This is definitely my favorite video of the series. It transcends its own genre...the one that you created. I rewatch this video once a year to see if it still holds up and every time it is still great. It is a brilliantly captured moment.
I had a PT Cruiser. It was one of the most versatile cars I've seen. It was also easily the most trouble I've ever had with a car, and I once owned a Chevy Vega. On the Cruiser, it was the front end that kept wearing out. I finally specified Moog parts to replace the Chrylser junk and the repairs started becoming more manageable.
When you did that story of "who to give grandma's car to", oh god, it was real as life. We just had to go through that scenario with a couple of family members.
Someone down the road won a PT Cruiser in a sweepstakes. They loved it so much they got 3 more. And that’s how you lose a sweepstakes while still winning it.
It's funny to me that two and a half years ago, I watched this video just for fun, and listened in on the socio-economic commentary just to entertain the thought of what it's like to be in that situation. Two and a half years later, in December 2018, I became the owner of two convertible turbo examples of the PT Cruiser, and kinda feel the impact of that lil bout of desperation that came over me when I was told about these two cars being available for me to throw an offer at. Neither car is in a perfect state, but both cars run and drive perfectly fine, and both cars are a blessing for me and my mom - My former college car turned project car is indefinitely down for the count, and my mom and I were pretty much forced to share her car since our spare car shredded its timing belt and destroyed its engine. We were left without a spare car for almost the entirety of 2018. My financial situation at the time these two cars came into my life is borderline dire - I'm helping my mom pay for some of our utilities because my uncle is barely making any contribution to improving our current situation. Life in Hawaii sucks when you're treading that line between poverty and comfort, a situation brought on by past relatives now gone who thought they could pass the burdens of their decisions onto their kids who don't want to stay on a rock in the middle of nowhere. While me and my mom are at home struggling to keep things in order in our lives, my uncle lives in a bubble where everything is alright in his little world, as he spends money he barely has while blaming me and my mom for wasting his money on basic necessities when he won't help us. Those two PT Cruisers basically saved our situation in the sense that we're now more independently mobile, and I'm capable of fixing the little problems on our PT Cruisers by myself. Now I have myself a little daily driver, and the other one is our new spare car while we scrap our old spare car. I'm currently working to finally get my little graphic design business off the ground this year with the money I make from my day job, and I'm slowly parting out and parting ways with my project car to make room in my life for a fresh slate that won't be a huge burden in my own life. My mom and I hope to either sell the PT Cruisers or use them as trade-ins so that we can get me that new car, and so I will be able to take my business on the road to craft fairs and even to other islands in Hawaii. The Nissan Versa Note is starting to look more and more appealing every day. Me and my mom's financial situation isn't looking so hot, but it's slowly getting better and better the harder we work to change our situation for ourselves. Listening in on a Mr. Regular commentary is good entertainment; Experiencing a Mr. Regular commentary is a humbling life lesson.
I SERIOUSLY want to recommend a book to you. It's called "The power of broke". Don't even CONSIDER a new Nissan because they've become JUNK after merging with Renault in the early 2000s (did you even KNOW that?). New cars are NIGHTMARES of complication you won't be able to fix alone. Stick with basic tried and true, and work out a plan to dump the financial shit in your uncles lap. I had an uncle who was a financial idiot, and basically lost the family fortune THEN TRIED TO bring us ALL TO BANKRUPTCY by bailing him out, trying to use our properties as security for other huge mortgages he couldn't pay. He was willing to put 80 year olds on the street. He would be running up the walls with repossession threats, then refinance yet again. The next day it would be a relaxed passing comment that it was all sorted and this debt, equivalent of about 2 million in todays terms would be the LAST THING on his mind. Essentially FORGOTTEN ABOUT until the next threatening letter. Then he'd be whinging about "family needs to stick together" and his dreams of opening a restaurant with backpackers hostel combined. 30 years and STILL nothing done. Actually booted a tenant to renovate a house that wasn't done 30 years later which had illegal additions which were later demolished. You need to work out how to drop the lot in your uncles lap. And ALSO consider vanlife. Because it's a BRILLIANT way to avoid rent. Even consider Texas. You are US citizens after all. Best of luck.
Ouch, hope your situation improves! It is amazing how accurate, often in a painful way, Mr. Regular is in his talks on the sort of people who own various types of cars. I am guilty as charged with everything he said in his 1974 VW Super Beetle video, I am exactly the person he described as owning such a car (mine is a '73, very similar). I think he was a bit unfair in his roast of the car itself, as the car was in terrible shape and he didn't really take that into account, but everything he said about the owners was a perfect description of my life. As for the idea of getting a new car to take your business on the road to craft fairs, to me the PT Cruiser seems actually pretty well suited to that, sure can carry a lot. Well maybe not the 2-door convertible though.
My PT Cruiser story: Back in the early 2000s, my best friend told me his neighbor's (who were dirt poor and in their late 50's) said, "Lets go into debt and buy a PT Cruiser!" I don't think they ever made the PT plunge, but this car definitely had curb appeal for Boomers back in the day. It was the first retro car...ever.
SN95 Mustang. 1994. It had the two cockpit design. The pony logo in the front. The vertical tail bar lights from 1996. Like Mr Regular said.. the Fox Body was the last Mustang styled for the time in which it existed.
One of the first cars I loved when I was three was the PT Cruiser, and still love it to this day. Even I knew I was gonna be penniless in 20 years’ time.
i came here thinking that this was just a review about the chrystler pt, but then it got hella weird, and i learned about post modernism i subbed, i'm now interested in what else there is to see on this channel about "cars"
Mr. Regular- The only person capable of successfully turning a car review into a lesson about history, literature, and the arts and human digestive processes all at once
Right. We deserve course credit and forgiveness of our student loans for following this channel. I almost got my master's listening to "Click and Clack" while they were actually still alive.
My dad bought a PT Cruiser in 2001 and I spent a lot of my childhood in it. Now looking back, it's kinda ironic I have a form of nostalgia for a car, that was primarily designed to look nostalgic in a completely different way to how I see it. Being the first car I ever learnt how to drive in gives it a special place in my heart... although I can attest the turning circle was hideously American for our tight British roads.
Nice video!!! I've found that PTs weakness is mostly engine overheating, but they are usually easy to repair ( just a bit tight) . I did a head cylinder repair and I did it with average tools (lots of 3/8 an 1/4 sockets).
Here in England, there is a PT scene, people, especially rock/metal fans love them, it's the retro-styling and the ease of making it unique, plus you don't see a lot of them so it created a car scene around flame paint jobs, chrome, 8-ball shifters and white walls.
Here in Escondido CA there is a similar scene. They all meet up in the parking lot of Coco's every Friday. 20 or more PT's tricked out with paint jobs, running lights and crazy interiors... i never really understood it
Yeah I know, then again, we mock stuff like Fiesta ST's because they're (stereo-typically) driven by scrotty little shit bags in baseball caps who fingered their barely legal girl friend behind McDonalds on the back seat of his or more likely daddys-money on-finance ST. Not saying the ST is a bad car buuuuuut in the UK hot hatches carry a bad rep of anti-social behavior, whereas a PT Cruiser is unique and quirky,it's drivers are seen as these jolly folk who don't do no wrong, people look at the car and it's tattooed and go "Ooooo that's different". Though tyhe PT scene isn't huge at all, not like you guys with your 'Stang scene or Vette scene, kind of jealous that in England really, the closest we got is "JDM enthusiasts" sticking a 5inch bore back box onto a Seat Leon Cupra R or Ford Focus ST170 so it sounds "better" with those stupid "Dude I almost had you" Paul Walker stickers in the window.
I feel personally targeted on a personal and economic level. I was just flipping through videos looking for common problems that match up with the condition of my car and I found that the conditions of my life are very common. Someone give me a different car.
So I’ve been binge watching you guy’s vids. Thinking. “This is some bizarre takes on vehicles”. Until I watched this video. Now I can honestly say that I totally get it. I just made sense of the madness and I’m better for it. I’ll now watch these vids from a different prism and really fully enjoy these masterpieces as everyone else here does that has already “gotten there”. Thanks Regular Car Guys
Well, ya did it Mr. Regular. You made me wanna go out and buy this car even tho though I don't need it because it represents my second chance in life. I came for a car review, and it ended with me just crying and thinking about all my failures in life and how I can turn them around. Thank you.
Art school student here. A good portion of a semester was spent trying to learn what he casually explained, ofcourse he explained just the basics but that was like heavy stuff in school haha
I came to this video expecting another person destroying the PT Cruiser and I ended up getting a video regarding the sad situation of it and a crash course regarding the clash of cultures in the 21st century. Well done.
Weirdly, in the UK the PT Cruiser just didn't have the same baggage, apart from most Chryslers being known as rust wagons. Just a simple, surprisingly spacious hatchback with a decent diesel version and marmite looks. Used one as a small van for a couple of years 😄 It had the turning circle of a naval frigate, mind you. Which is an issue in a country full of roundabouts.
My wife had PT Cruiser when I married her. I dont like to admit it but that was one of the most functional cars we've ever had. It had great space it was decent on gas. It could fit five adults. I lost a ton of money on trade in though.
Kevin Batts Yup! 4 inches shorter then a Neon, but that high seating allows room for rear seat passengers to put their feet under the front seat. We’ve got 4 in our family & love them, great in the snow & pretty safe in a crash as well, a very cheap car to own too.
Before my inlaws moved here, my wife fairly seriously considered buying one and stashing it in their garage, so when she visited she could do errands with them. Basically it had enough room to get his needs at the hardware store taken care of, but they could both get in and out of the back because the rear doors were wide enough. My biggest concerns were based on the head gasket problems, same issues that my '97 Stratus with the 2.4 suffered, and the issues with the timing belt and servicing it. I knew if it sat there it wasn't going to get much in the way of maintenance and would probably deteriorate disproportionately getting that weird kind of intermittent use. They aren't bad cars for someone that needs to be able to switch between light but bulky cargo and passengers but doesn't have the space for a minivan, but some of their maintenance issues are annoying. Also makes it a bigger problem for someone poor ending up with one, the head gasket and the timing belt and associated tensioner are not easy to do one's self.
It sucks you lost so much money on it, but they weren't as bad as people make them out to be. It did have some real positives. It's like most Chrysler's though; the fundamentals are good, but they're unrefined and don't hold their value.
My lategeneration-boomber uncle has one of these with a standard transmission. He likes the standard because it's better down hills in the canyons of Utah. I don't think he see's the irony in the car.I really respect that Uncle Jon, keep on being yourself. Thanks for doing the PT Cruiser justice Regular Car Reviews!
Drove one for eight years. It was imperfect. It was too heavy, and needed another gear in the transmission. It was also a bit stiff in the ride. But it was...competent
The guy who does the reviews has a lot of different styles, he is able to completely joke about a terrible car but also teach you about life and how modern Medea plays a huge role in cars and he is is able to tie it all into life! Crazy
Holy shit that would be amazing! I love learning philosophy from your English major perspective. I learned all that stuff for debate and I just summarized post modernism as "Whatever the fuck the author wants it to be"
I worked at a Chrysler dealership when the PT came out. The hysteria over it was incredible. We had customers putting down deposits and waiting months for it to come in. Those who couldn't wait were coming into the parts department and buying little PT Cruiser model cars in in little display cases. I drove quite a few of them and they were actually nice to drive and very practical. Working on them was a different story, with the engine crammed in and everything very hard to access and the usual poor Chrysler reliability (I lost count of how many head gaskets and control arm bushings I replaced at low mileages). One thing for sure, it was far better than the GM copy, the ridiculous HHR.
@@TheOzthewiz There was a turbo version of the PT Cruiser too, in fact there were 2 different versions, the 215-230 hp GT Turbo and a 180 hp "Light Pressure" model. I worked for a company delivering auto parts and we had HHRs and I really didn't like them. The small windows made it hard to see out of them which was not good for urban driving with lots of parking required. I always felt like I was sitting down in a hole peering out through little slits. BTW, the same guy designed both the PT and the HHR.
I would imagine replacing the battery or a burned out light bulb would be a total nightmare, in that regard my Dodge Caliber is a much better vehicle, it’s very easy to do the simple things myself.
This is Classic! Not only did I just inherit a 2006 PT Cruiser from my Mom (Grandma) who isn’t really able to drive often; I’m a KU Grad from the 90’s & appreciate the references to Lytle Hall & KUR 😂. The PT Cruiser has become my daily driver b/c my parents took such good care of it & it runs like a charm...despite the various ribbing I receive by friends & passerby’s. I just assume envy on their part due to not being able to revel in postmodernism or postmortem 🤦♂️
Simon Christian to be fair it is pretty odd when you analyze it, it's this weird blend of cars, music, psychology, and objective thinking. There's really nothing like it that I can think of
I just subbed & now going through your take on cars I've owned. So far you don't disappoint. I drove a pt from 2009 to 2016. It was rust protected & never broke down. Broke a door handle off in -30 C. Name was Blueberry cos it was blue & round. :)
***** I believe you, I had the same thing when I went to labour in France, its probably complete bullshit but I think my Italian genes were waiting for some European sun to set my pigment hahaha
Wow, what a great car review!! This was the best I ever heard!! It had post modernism, the telephone call, the fictional family. "He gave up drugs and she gave up the bottle and they are having a hard time and will be glad to get the PT Cruiser for 500 bucks." Of course threy won't be able to aford yo take care of it." And the PT validates the people who got old. I loved the revirw. Get back to me if you can. Thank you.
I've had a purple '04 for about a year now. It has only 82,560 miles on it as of this morning. I think I've dropped in about $400 for parts/maintenance. It's a solid lil nugget for what I paid ($2,200 w/taxes & tags).
Koshunae But the concept behind it was quite ok, considering it was the late 90s when they had the Idea and going out for a camp was for folks who like nature, not the poor.
I don't know if it's just the contrarian in me, but I always kind of liked the PT Cruiser. Quite a few cars just look so similar these days (even across multiple makes) that it was refreshing to see something different and out of the ordinary.
Mr regular, I've fugged with you for a while now but god i.wish i could sub all over again, you deliver the kind of connection that only my favorite high school teachers ever could. That good sugary bitter boiled down and purified truth that cant be ignored. It drowns out the noise of this life and i remember my own heartbeat in these rare moments. Thank you for what you do.
First car was a PT cruiser from 2006, got it single owner really good roach of a vehicle. I drove that thing until it hit 210k miles and I sold it to a needing family for 600 bucks, the only issues I ever had was shifter cable, tie rods, and lift gate. It wouldnt die...and it helped me save up for a modern toyota. I still miss it. It helped me haul back ikea for first apartment, it helped me move...I was happy.
