The rise and demise of the Chrysler PT Cruiser 

I still have my 2003 PT GT Turbo! I love it. Had no problems with it. Lucky me😅

I drive a 2003 Chrysler PT Cruiser GT and the turbo makes the car very powerful and fast. It is fun to drive.

The PT Cruiser was a good looking car, but the mechanical issues plagued it.

if chrysler kept making the pt, now we would have seen the PT Hellcat for sure

I think they would have done well to make a couple spinoffs, a PT Coupe (like the Ford model A hot rods, or the Prowler), and a PT Hauler (a truck version).

I hate seeing everyone hate on my childhood family car 😢

I have a 2005 turbo 5 speed PT convertible. Recent 40100 mi trip, 32mpg , ran beautifully! Love it!

in 2000 we were looking for a new family wagon when these came out, loved it, ordered mine when debuted, waited 8 months to get it, picked it up in november, was supposed to be the wife's car, but, she didn't like having to shift it, I bought it for her, but ordered it for me, 5 spd, heavy duty suspension, black, so, I took the keys and kept it for myself. Three weeks later it snowed and it didn't come out of the garage till spring when the roads were clean again, it's 22 now, never tasted salt, clean as a whistle underneath, 60000 mi, I love it. Now my wife and I have five cars, a Jeep, a pickup, a car from the 50's and a rat rod, and call me crazy, but I find the PT the most fun to drive. Vrooom vroooom

I loved mine despite its shortcomings. Namely I had to rebuild the front suspension several times and I only had it a couple years. I had a little five-speed and it was a gas to drive around but mostly what I like was how easy it was to take out the rear seats giving me space to carry my photo gear when I needed to. Fell in love with the styling ever since I saw the first one. It had a double curse though. It was a Chrysler product and it was built in Mexico.

Everyone hates this car but im the only one who loves this poor pt crusier ☹️❤️

i absolutely love PT cruisers. my parents have one, a 2002 limited edition, and people are absolutely correct on them generating a myriad of problems. from what i recall, the transmission gave up twice, the battery died just somewhat recently, and just the fact that my dad has been caring for it more often than not. perhaps i'm a little biased but i don't understand the hate on its appearance. what seems ugly to most people, seems unique to me. my mom told me that, back in 2002 when she and my dad got the car, there was a long waiting list and there was a high demand for PT cruisers. it truly was the hottest thing at the time. people were surrounding the car to check it out and how cool it was. it was unique! it's true that chrysler wanted to take a shot at being unique, and for the first half of its run, people loved it and how it was a new thing. of course, it went downhill and now it's a laughing stock. my mom even told me that fellow PT cruiser owners at the time would show each other the peace sign when driving past each other. i guess it was a way for PT owners to tell each other, "hey, i have a PT cruiser too!" i'm 19. this car has been with me my whole life. hell, it took me home from the hospital when i was born, so i have tons of memories with it. i don't even want a different car when i learn to drive; i want to inherit this one. sure, it's not the BEST car out there, but i'm one those rare folks who adores these cars to no end. it's like the saying: one man's trash is another man's treasure. should my PT cruiser ever finally croak, i'll buy another. at least, if there are any around at the time! they're like an endangered species now, lol.

I think the concept sketches looked great because of how wide they looked, the big wheels look great too and it looked a bit lower overall i think. If it had a little bit more hot rod styled lines it would be a cool car

My wife special ordered one in their first year of production and kept it 16 years. We never had any serious issues and it held up well. Though eventually it started having issues that would cost more to repair than the car was worth so we traded it. A year before we traded it I replaced the CV joints and front control arms, the parts of the dash that were cracked, and completely replaced the brakes, spending about $2000. About a year later the AC compressor went out and knowing how expensive they are to replace we had to let it go!

I still want one, the Tangerine pearl and electric Blue pearl were my favs in the GT versions, to me it was awesome, different, not to mention it had the SRT4 engine hidden in there, too bad the transmission was bad.

I have one in Europe with the Merceces-Benz 2.2 diesel, so it actually works. And since its Europe and there aren't many of them around, the car actually turns heads, believe it or not.

I just spotted a pt gt convertible yesterday and said to my kids look! they made the ugliest car convertible so you cant even hide driving it! lol

The cabriolet has a 60mm lower roofline which I think makes it look even more Gangsta. The 2nd generation interior styling improved massively with clear lights, a textured dashboard and the build quality from Mexico is top quality. The underpinnings such as suspension, engine and gearboxes are agricultural so had they used prowler tech, it would have still been around. I keep coming back to mine despite having leased a MX5, an SLK and an E class convertible. You need to remember that in 2008, the alternatives were Renault Meganne CC, VW Eos, Ford Focus CC all with hard tops.

Quite liked it. Styled needed focusing and grill could been more prominent. Classic looks were great for mods and personalizing . Beetle, porsche,fiat 500 all have aero rooflines going into classic lines.

As a German, I absolutely love this vintage design.

I drive a last year 2010 PT so I feel like I should give my experiences with the car. The car is alright, it gets me from A-B every time and its been a solid car for me. Its decently quick but it does have some issues with the drive train in my opinion. The transmission doesn't have enough gears, highway driving isn't bad but in the city the gas mileage is horrific for a car of its size. It really feels like a 6 speed with 1 gear where 1st and 2nd should be and 6th gear cut off, although some of that could be the very aggressive 3.91 differential that the automatics come with. Overall the only maintenance I have had to do since I got it (besides oil changes) is that the intake gaskets, air filters, spark plugs, and the PCV valve had to be replaced, all those cost me about 75$ though and I did the work in an hour in my driveway. Overall its been an amazing car and I'm glad my car hasn't ruined my love of them. Its been more reliable than the 3 newer Fords my family owns and has yet to let me down once

hey at 6:30 it seems like some of the video is missing? I'd happily watch a 20 minute version of this documentary

I love my 2000. Broke down right now but it shall rise again ;)

The P/T Cruiser is a wonderful car (in NON turbocharged form) but a nightmare to work on I am a professional mechanic, and I own three of them, two 4 doors and a 2 door convertible. The convertible and one of the 4 doors have manual transmissions. All three have been customized, but none have GHETTO REEHUUMS. They all have 15" wheels. One of the 4 doors has chrome smoothie wheels and wide whitewalls. The other 4 door has body colored wheels with chrome caps, blackwall tires and custom woodgrain vinyl, done by a sign shop that does body wraps. The convertible is all black, chrome smoothie wheels, blackwall tires, and yellow, white, and orange flames on the front. I have access to a hydraulic lift, which is required for a lot of different Jobs on the P/T. You have to drop the engine/transmission to get to a lot of stuff. Not something your average home mechanic can do in their driveway. The engine/transmission has to come out the bottom. I also have a lot of spare parts, including 2 low mileage engines and transmissions.

I recall hearing this was the last Chrsyler project before the Daimler merger and they wanted to prove they could build a nice vehicle specifically body panels/gaps. They did fit rather nice for an economy car.

I owned a 2003 GT, HD 5-speed until 2 years ago. My wife currently drives a 2004 Limited which is our go to car when traveling or hauling items around town. You can buy a low mileage PT Cruiser fairly cheap and they are very versitile for a 2WD early model "SUV".

Chrysler thought it would be popular with young people, but it wasn't...except for France and a few other Western European countries. In the US it was popular with the 65plus crowd, which is not such a bad thing. It was an inexpensive car, and would hold up pretty well IF YOU TOOK CARE OF IT.

I am currently driving my second PT Cruiser, love my car! It is an 08, just wish they hadn't quit making them. :(

Still love this car. I see so much potential with it. Chrysler literally gave use something that can be V8 swapped and made into a bad ass hot rod.

5:49 I would disagree with this theory that the Caliber was the successor to the PT Cruiser and substitute my own. 2005 was the same year the Magnum came out. Chrysler wanted to capitalize on that and also produce a economy version that has the station wagon vibe the "little brother" so to speak to the Magnum. There are to many design cues between them to support my own theory.

There is someone in Karlstad, Sweden, who owns a dark blue PT Cruiser.....so funny seeing it there as an American.

Anybody who grew up in the early 2000s remember pt cruiser bruiser. It's like slug bug but with pt cruisers.

My ptcruiser 2005....2.2 cdr It's a wonderfull diesel,,come turbo...amazing and still runs like new..12,175.oo klm

A buddy of mine got one in high school. His dad bought it for him. It was blue with blue flames and blue underglow along with blue footwell lights.

The PT convertible roll bar design was inspired by an Easter Basket handle.

the pt cruiser is such a beautifull car. master art work of engineering

I like these throwback videos. lol do Honda element next

Used to see a few of them around Dublin, Ireland haven't seen one in ages.

I Love my (knew to me) PT CRUISER! PLYMOUTH TRUCK! For now, I have ROADRUNNER BADGES ON IT!

I have a 2008 and I love it!!

When I 1st saw saw this vehicle I just knew I HAD to have it .... first brand NEW car ( only ) I have ever bought ... this was when there was still a long waiting list I went to my local dealer there was one there that a woman was supposed to pickup that evening.... she never came we negotiated ( they tried to pad the price ... I went home called another they quoted a better price called the first dealer back got that other price DONE DEAL THAT DAY BLACK LIMITED the one I would have wanted .. I felt like a star for some time after that purchase

I just had to replace the timing belt on my 2006 PT cruiser but thank goodness the valve stems or anything else that can go bad. But she's still going😊

Had a teacher with one of thease! Needless too say the thing left him stuck more times then once. Had a lot of mechanical issues for being 3 years old

I’m in the UK and I have a 2007 convertible which I only use in the summer , wherever I go in it people stop and stare , I love this little car and would never part with it .thanks for the video.

of all cars they bring back the cruiser should be high on that list. I miss mine, stuffed that thing and took it places where most wouldn't ;)

I am so extremely mad they did not go with the design at 3:05 instead......then it would be a cool car, not one now missing pieces driven by 400 pound soccer moms at Walmart.

I have an 06 PT GT 5 speed. It's super practical, fits in things like a minivan. All the seats except the driver's is easily removable (again like a minivan). It's as fast as a modern WRX (in fact I walked an old friend's 19 WRX through second - third gear when I was stock + CAI). Since then I've added a FMIC, suspension work, new aftermarket flywheel + clutch, BWS tubo, fuel, exhaust, Diablo Sport, etc.) Gas mileage is garbage, some of the interior plastic is trash (it's a cheap car, obviously). But, i plan on driving this thing until the wheels fall off.

Chrysler made a brilliant move! They took a lowly Neon and put a retro body on it! They were not good cars but the buying public went nuts! They paid thousands over MSRP and waited months for a lackluster car! They had dismal safety ratings and were really a nothing car! The design made them miserable to work on and were troublesome cars! The Turbos were an absolute nightmare to work on. The dealer mechanics hated them and the shops hate them still today. When the novality wore off and sales fell, the rental car companies bought them en en masse only to find they were near impossible to sell when they were done with them. Again, a brilliant move for Chrysler!

Locally in Serbia, iconic car with gay community, as a joke is that PT cruiser means "public toilet cruiser" - cruising being slang for anonymous one time hookups within gay jargon.

I had a 2004 Woody version It was Gorgeous Almond color with woodgrain

love my 02 limited

just let go of my pt cruiser after engine and wiring problems, became to expensive and kept putting money into a car that simpy wouldn't compromise, moving on to a Buick Lacrosse 👍

I love PT cruiser's design since i first saw one of them. Very well done. And Chrysler did Chrysler things on that poor thing. It lacked reliability...

My first car! I for one loved the design but the rest of the car was pretty low quality.

Hello, could you may make a comperison video about the BMW 6. Generation touring and the actual 7. Generation? Or a video about the development of the BMW touring till today. Pretty interesting story by the way. Best regards

They are still, Cool Little Cars. I applaud Chrysler for taking Chances. And the Prowler...

....just the fate of EVERY car model, it became outdated. It may have been unique in the US, but the layout and size is common in Europe. Bear in mind that the Neon engine was used in the first new BMW Minis ! ...in 15 years time they will be in demand for hot rodding, so if you have one, hang onto it - it’ll be worth gold !

Still waiting on a breakdown of the designs of the Lancia Pu+Ra Zero concept and the Huracán Sterrato

0:46 That concept looks awesome! Just like the Aztek concept did too Too bad GM couldn't make the concept's into reality and brought version's that were way too different to the production lines

I still like these, my friend has a gold one, the interior is gold as well. I'd be jealous if I didn't have a W8 Passat.

quiero un pt cruiser nuevo , del 2023 yaaaaa lo quiero

Hi bembli

I’ve heard many people say how ugly this car is but for me it’s not that bad; it’s not my style but i don’t find it ugly either. I think that the PT would be a perfect candidate to bring back as an EV so they can go all out with the design. Imagine how cool it would look as a “knockoff” budget Rolls Royce of sorts but way curvier and hot-rod-ier.

Y'all smoking that good sh*t 🤣

Cuz everyone kept it tame, docile and bland. So much potential that apparently no one could see.

I wasn't a mopar fan back then (or now) but I enjoyed seeing these on the road. So much potential of this vehicle and Chrysler crashed and burned yet again. I would have loved to see a mini pick up version, I believe it would've just emboldened the bottom line. Between the new Beatle, the then current mustang/Thunderbird, the hhr and ssr (?) , it seemed like manufacturers were really getting creative. Those were a few good days.

What is your opinion about the Ora Funky Cat design

I still love this car!

Had one, picked up used. Loved the styling, but... Fit and finish were crap, cheap plastics throughout. No room inside. I'm a larger gentleman so I expect to be cramped. While decent enough headroom, I would constantly get bruises on the outside of my knees if I let them rest. Always felt shoved towards the center of the car too, no shoulder room. It was used, so came with some problems. Front end replaced, AC unit replaced, main power cable runs behind radiator killing both so both were replaced, and more. You have to take the entire front clip off to do any work under the hood. Final killer, under the driver's side B pillar rotted. If you opened the read DS door, it had to be jacked up under the B Pillar before the door would close again. Would never buy another.

Based on the 1936 Desoto

Man, this car is peak early 00s.

Never understood the negatively against this car !

I wanted one, but felt it either needed more power, perhaps a V6 or even V8 version or it should have gotten better gas mileage... Personally I would prefer a V6, good balance of power and economy, with a small truck bed instead of the hatchback.

Chryslers should bring this car with 300hP sports wagon It can become a Volkswagen that will have its own following

The PT Cruiser GT was cool, but it's no SRT4. I had two Caliber SRT4's and drove a GT Cruiser. The SRT4's are genuinely quick.

Loved the outward design and considered buying. Saw that the engine was built in South America, that was a deal breaker. Glad I passed.

We had a 2002 limited edition. It was comfortable and quiet, but it was a mechanical and electrical nightmare, five starters, water pump, engine mounts, replaced most of the suspension, transmission solenoid failures four times, replaced the wheels as they would not seal up due to corrosion due to the chrome plating flaking off in the bead area, transmission cooler hoses failed, body gromets rotted and fell out, wheel studs had to be replaced at each tire rotation due to breakage, too soft steel, sun roof leaked ended up sealing it shut, paint delaminated and peeled off, cruise control was temperamental in its function, top of the dash split and had to be replaced. This car was almost as bad as the 1974 mustang 2 my wife had, it was a real POS.

It went back to Hell where it belongs! My dad had a turbo one, with the Getrag 5 speed. It was a horrible handling, torque-steering, front drive shitbox. Literally, the shittiest, cheap, plasticky interior, that constantly squeeked & rattled. The transaxle was replaced 3 times, under warranty, until my dad gave up on the lump of crap.

Windows rolled down by their selves locks would lock by their self it still running cause I leave hood open going down the hwy it's heavy

The concept version to me, would have been better. It looked better in my opinion.

there is a pt car club in florida

My '09 is running well! Had a fender bender in it (my fault ;.;) but the panel I got from pick and pull is the same color and the parts are relatively cheap! Didn't damage much, even though the other car, the Guy burst out laughing at me due to NO damage to him at all~ lol (never show your car the movie Christine) LOL! I want to do her up a little differently than stock but not over kill. I want clean lines anyone have websites I can look at for vertical grilles etc???? Thanks!! Yup, only the plastic fenderwell and the corner panel took damage. Everything else is just fine (I didn't hit that hard)

I have a 2004 PT cruiser and will not part with it, just put a new engine. Just will not get rid of it even though it is a pain to work on. Lol ..

I like the bright colors, that's about it😕

Had a first year cruiser could not keep brakes on it or front suspension it could not get out of its own way l dont miss mine at all

The gold 2 door is good looking. The PT Cruiser was an ok car until you had to work on it. They should have held the front clip on with dzus fasteners since just about everything you did to the engine required at least a partial disassembly of the front end.

My wife is driving a 2000 With a 126000 miles on it runs great

I'd like a GT one

😮

There was a "rise"?

Wait. How come we can't tip you? This sucks. FIX that feature so we can buy you a coffee. Now about the PT? LOVE the TAR. Cus it was a truck, that was a car. That was a mini wagon. All of your problems with this as ELECTRICAL and people and dealers who did not know how ot fix this thing! When things like the ECU and BCM go out? Its a nightmare. There reallly should be some way to fix these issues remotly with just the OBD II port. But NOPE! Its HELL to fix. The Scanner that can read all these codes still costs over 3k and you still need a subscription. Its crazy how all these small things can ruin a car. from design aspect, it's amazing! It seriously is. And the thing is is that I really like the car it's fun to drive it's easy to get in and out and it has plenty of room in space. And the best part is is that it just looks great even in 2023 coming up. The point is is that I really wish Chrysler actually spent a little bit of time and money doing the r n d on making this car more bulletproof and told their dealerships that if they did not play nice they would get kicked out. Too bad that happened way too late in the life cycle. if Chrysler up their game, they would be on par with Toyota Corporation or any of the Japanese automaker's. But instead, they decide to forget about customer loyalty and keep focusing on things that people don't come back for. It's a real shame. Their designs are amazing but everything else seems to fall apart even though they use some of the most entry level materials to do the job. and when people were asking about why these things are going wrong Chrysler Corporation was completely silent and it absolutely ruined it. I was one of the very first to buy a 2000 model believe it or not because it was damn near pre-production when I purchased it and I even had to import it from Canada. It was a dealer demonstration model and it already had close to 17,000 miles on it even though it was a brand new car. my point is, it was a real drag to realize that after driving it for less than two years that the car was already out of warranty and I had to fix every single problem that came up and there were multiple ones that just showed up in the very first 6 months. Including the fog lights melting and so much more. seriously instead of coming up with special models they should just be honest and add a hefty extra price for a bumper to bumper complete factory warranty that covers absolutely everything for the next seven years and that would have really helped their image. but when it came to their dealerships? That was the biggest problem I have to tell you. I remember pulling in to a dealership here in Portland Oregon and paying for a full tune up and they do not even change the spark plugs or the wires. I paid close to $700 to get that work done and they never did any of it. And a few months later the car was stuttering and I was wondering why and I had to do my own damn tune up! sure the original spark plugs with your platinum were supposed to last night a thousand miles but I have the copper ones in there so yeah, they didn't change them and the car really was not working well. then it was driving late at night and then the fog lights just decided to not work anymore and was missed the fog light it was all the lights. and then it was the fun problem of the car constantly dying because the batteries were dead again because of the fog lights. and then there was that Nifty problem with the dealer installed sunroof where the center console light decide just fall off. and then there was a security alarm system of the entry system which always malfunction and then the doors would open up in the middle of night for no reason. and then and I'm not joking here when I took it to the shop they decided to replace my clutch at about 38,000 miles but then forgot to go ahead and do anything about the throwout bearing and I kept grinding the entire time. It's now in immediate need of a change but I'm telling you guys almost everyone that worked on these cars had absolutely no idea or took every single shortcut they could when working on them. I recently had my PT Cruiser paint that again and the paint is already starting to fade and start to actually chip and then they told me it was because I used tire chains well that's really weird because we're all the marks on the tire chains little small chip starting frothing off my car and they said it was tire chains it's crazy! sorry I'm a little bit intoxicated but as you can tell I just came back from the bar but the thing is man it's like one thing or another with Chrysler and they can just never finally get it through their head that if they really put the money in the customer service they would be one of the number one automaker is just because of their design but they just never want to. and the truth is people in America would definitely pay more for an American car that was actually engineer properly and was simple and easy to work on but they just don't want to do that. They'd rather going to take the quick money over and over again and then a guy like me sooner or later realizes yeah screw American cars I'm just going to buy a Toyota just like everybody else. that's the saddest thing about Chrysler. I have absolutely loved the design of their cars but if someone else put the engineering in them and they will be great. It's like they make a great powertrain but then they just screw up on everything else on purpose or I don't know what the reason is for. I would have already bought at least three new Chrysler cars if they just ended up showing me that they were a company that they were worth investing in but they're not.

6:53 🤨

Loved mine, but good grief was it a constant piece of junk.🤦🏻‍♂️

In my auto repair shop, we call them PT loser

why are the most stylish cars unreliable !! life is unfair i know

I honestly don’t understand the appeal of this car. It’s honestly one of the most hideous car designs I’ve ever seen

I like that car. Just wished they made it a better quality car with some balls

Typical Chrysler . PT Cruiser came along at the right time and Chrysler let quality go !!!!! I have 3 good friends that went right out and bought them .. they were pleased at first … than a year of so later quality issues started ! All 3 dumped them after 2 years !

8:05

I drive my PT Cruiser

Volume too low. Too much on rise, not enough onb demise.