Cue the shot, drop the top. Chrysler, makers of America's best-selling convertible, the Sebring, adds a new open machine to its lineup: the long-awaited PT Cruiser convertible. Revealed as a design study at the New York auto show in 2001, it took a little longer than expected to materialize, but it's ready to hit the stage at last. It's late, but with PT Cruiser looks, a standard power top, a spacious back seat, and prices beginning at $19,995, you can be sure that there's an audience waiting.
Say what you like about the PT Cruiser, but as the last legacy of the pre-English-as-a-second-language Chrysler, it speaks of a company that did not have any apologizing to do in the creative thinking department. With more than 640,000 built since its spring 2000 introduction, this Neon-based retrovan was a fresh breeze that not only earned its keep in the budgetary scheme of things but also has inspired a fanatical following. Among those following is General Motors, with the upcoming 2006 Chevrolet HHR (for heritage high roof), designed by the PT Cruiser's designer himself, Bryan Nesbitt, who was hired away from Chrysler by GM.
Every car manufacturer struggles to keep sales interest piqued in a new model as the years following its introduction accumulate.... Read full article