Cincinnati.com's view

SAN DIEGO ­ When I saw the first prototypes of DaimlerChrysler’s PT Cruiser, I predicted it would be BIG. Having put in a few hundred miles of seat time, I’ll amend that statement. It will be HUGE, possibly eclipsing the VW New Beetle as THE car. A modest supply is already snaking down the pipeline from the plant in Toluca, Mexico, to dealers in the U.S. and Canada. Official launch date is May 1, when a blizzard of TV and print ads will formally introduce it.

I accepted DaimlerChrysler’s offer to sample some of the first production vehicles last week in San Diego at the world press launch. (The Enquirer paid for the trip.) California offers not only good weather for this sort of thing, but also an enthusiastic motoring public who are happy to share their impressions. A few stuck in my mind: A 70-something woman in a Cadillac almost lost control of her chariot as she stopped in mid-turn and pronounced the PT “darling.” Ditto a young blond woman in a Civic, who risked her neck at 60 mph to give a double thumbs-up. And then there was the guy in the mint-condition white and green Studebaker Commander, who maneuvered all around my Limited Edition silver PT Cruiser on Interstate 5, checking it out from every angle at 80 mph. He then pulled alongside on the right, indicating he had a message. I rolled down the passenger’s window and he shouted above the singing of tires on concrete, “That’s my next car!” And none of these folks had ever been IN one.

As Bryan Nesbitt, the youthful exterior designer, said over lunch one day, “The shell draws them in – and then we knock them out with the platform and interior story.” Mr. Nesbitt did his job well, producing a look that, while different from everything else on the road, strikes a chord of nostalgic recognition. It looks like a platform for a couple of Tommy-gun wielders delivering a message from Mr. Capone. It is a car with personality and attitude – people will either love it or hate it. But the real story is indeed within.

For openers, the PT Cruiser is not a car. It’s either a light truck (according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) or a special purpose vehicle (per the Environmental Protection Agency). Mr. Nesbitt said it was conceived as a light truck, a classification which hinges on its cargo-hauling ability.

Sue Cischke, DaimlerChrysler’s senior vice president for regulatory affairs and passenger car operations, said the PT – issued as a 2001 model – meets or exceeds all passenger-car safety requirements. But qualifying it as a truck – which entails more rigorous durability testing – lets the corporation use its thriftiness to offset the thirst of some other members of the light-truck family and thereby satisfy corporate average fuel economy regulations.

The PT (personal transportation) Cruiser is offered in two series, standard and Limited Edition. The standard version starts at an astounding $15,450. Even with that one you get dual air bags, air conditioning, rear window defroster, dual remote-control mirrors, full instrument cluster, and the same powertrain as is available on the Limited. The Limited has a raft of power assists, some upgraded materials (including leather seating), power moonroof, larger wheels, a firmer suspension and almost all the options that can be added one at a time or as a package to the base model. If you run riot through the options list, you can get the PT up to about $21,000, including freight.

You can see from the photo how short the front and rear overhangs are, but the picture may not communicate the remarkable story that is PT. Configured only as a four-door hatchback, it is 168.8 inches long, about half a foot less than a comparable Honda Civic or Ford Focus, but has a 103-inch wheelbase, same as those two, and 120 cubic feet of interior space, which, were it other than a truck, would qualify it as a large car. The Honda and the Ford affor c.f. and 94 c.f., respectively, but they are set up as 4-door sedans with trunks. The PT has 19 cubic feet of cargo area behind the 65/35, three-person second seats. But what makes it a truck is that the co-pilot’s and passengers’ seats can fold down individually, and the passenger perches can be removed. The passenger seats are quickly released with the flick of a lever. The smaller one (35 pounds) can be lifted out the side of the vehicle, while the other one, at 65 pounds, is best tumbled out the back with the help of a confederate. Do that, and you have 64 cubic feet to work with – the equivalent of about five compact-car trunks.

The PT rides and drives much more like a car than the traditional notion of a truck. The platform is not, as had been rumored, based on the Neon. Only a couple of fasteners are common. It’s an all-new, very rigid design, surprisingly quiet, too.

A deliberate decision to use a twist beam rear axle with Watts linkage and a stabilizer bar makes the handling at the limit less capable than it would have been with independent underpinnings, but it significantly increases the space between the wheelwells, and that was deemed the more important consideration. In practical terms, this new, patented approach works extremely well on all but very nasty surfaces, and this IS a cruiser, not a sports car. The ride is very good on pavement.

Base wheels are steel 15-inchers with 195/65 Goodyear Eagle LS wrappers – more than enough for the purpose. But more is more, and the 16-inch alloys with the same tires in 205/55 – standard on the Limited, optional on the base – are well worth having. Grip on the dry roads in the mountains and desert near the Mexican border was exceptional, and there was nary a whimper even when pulling serious G force.

Along with the robustness of the trucky orientation comes a bit of weight. With an automatic transmission, the PT is a couple of gallons of gas shy of 3,200 pounds, a lot for a little guy with a big interior. Scott Wilkins, senior program manager for small car platform engineering, winced and conceded the point, but said it was thought that the extra durability was worth the weight cost. Neither he nor anyone else I buttonholed would admit there’s a turbocharger in PT’s future, but they did aver that it would fit nicely.

The PT could use the boost. The 2.4-liter engine makes 150 hp (5,500 rpm) and 162 foot-pounds of torque (@4,000). That’s not enough to break the 10-second 0-60 mark, and if you’re going to look like a street rod, you should be able to do a couple of seconds better than that. (I can testify that the PT will top 100 mph with ease.) The engine feels somewhat apathetic below 3,500 rpm, but from there up to the 6,240 redline seems fully engaged. I ran into the rev limiter numerous times, trying to find more power, and it’s one of the gentlest I’ve ever experienced.

The five-speed shifter is not the world’s be st, but it is very good, changing gears easily and predictably, even when pushed hard. The clutch is light and easy to modulate. The four-speed automatic shifts well and seemed fairly intelligent, although my predominant impression was that it needs another gear, given the somewhat peaky engine. Too often a forced downshift from overdrive fourth resulted in a dramatic change to second gear, and moving from third to fourth under light throttle felt like rather a letdown. I’d definitely stick with the manual trans if you’re interested in driving as much as cruising.

Brakes were excellent, especially the 4-disc setup. Pedal feel was crisp and easily controlled. I grabbed a window sticker from a base edition that had been made into a Limited the hard way. The base price was $15,450. To that the company had added a $225 radio upgrade which added an equalizer and CD player to the standard AM-FM-cassette setup; a $20 smoker’s group (ashtray and lighter); antilock plus rear ds rk s instead of the base drums, $790. It also had “customer preferred package 27G.” For a breathtaking $4,580, this added: “Limited” badging; leather and suede seating; fold-flat co-pilot seat; power height adjuster for the driver’s seat; touring suspension; 16-inch chromed alloy wheels and upsized tires; shiny exhaust tip; power moonroof; side air bags (otherwise a $350 option); theft deterrent system; security alarm; keyless entry; power door locks; cruise control; leather-wrapped steering wheel; overhead console with compass and outside temperature gauge; luxury floor mats; power heated outside mirrors; deep tinted glass; fog lamps and some minor bits.

Various package discounts were then applied, bringing down the price by about $1,600, so that, with freight, the drive-away cost was $20,010. I judge that an extraordinary value, reflecting not only low Mexican labor costs, but DaimlerChrysler’s desire to redefine the Chrysler division, now that Plymouth is no more, as hip and youth-oriented. If PT doesn’t do that, nothing will.

For the record, the company is strongly discouraging dealers from marking up what is sure to be a hot commodity; but, like VW dealers of a year ago, they are independent business people, yada yada.

“The Gannett News Service”