Used 2005 ChryslerPT Cruiser Limited 2.4

When Chrysler’s PT Cruiser burst on the scene for 2000, Daimler-Chrysler discovered its hot potential painfully cooled by the fact that it could not build Cruisers quickly enough to meet demand.

They sold 92,000 of the vehicle no one could define in that first year and watched sales climb to 145,000 the next year, aching in the knowledge they could have sold more except the production lines were not set up for the blazing appeal of this car.

By 2002, the glow faded a bit, and a fizzle was apparent last year when sales dropped to 108,000. Not even a turbo could revive sales completely.

Part of the problem was that, being a “retro” car — some thought Al Capone should be driving it — the Cruiser appealed to many buyers who are old enough to recognize retro. They’ll buy it just once.

And that’s Buick’s problem right now, and why the brand, with the average buyer approaching age 70, is trying to appeal to younger drivers. (To be fair, the Cruiser did appeal across a broad enough spectrum that the average buyer is just over 50 years old).

Yet Chrysler knows it has to lower that number and that’s precisely what the company is doing with today’s test car, the 2005 PT Cruiser Convertible — complete with requisite 200-plus, turbo-charged engine.

The goal is to stanch the blood-loss of sales even as other companies kill off retro cars — see Ford Thunderbird. Chrysler is looking to keep the PT alive with a planned redesign of a sleeker, more aggressive hardtop of which many will still ask again, “Is it a truck, a van, a station wagon?”

And ‘yes’ will remain the answer about this roomy, utilitarian, affordable niche car.

In the meantime, the convertible comes in three grades, with a base model, with cloth seats and spartan interior, starting at $19,995. If you want the Cruiser essence with a drop-top, and don’t care about performance and don’t mind a 150-horsepower, inline four-cylinder engine wheezing at times on long climbs and quick passing situations, go for it. You get a five-speed manual transmission to go with it.

Step up a notch to the Touring model and you can have a 180-horsepower, light-pressure version of the 2.4-liter four-cylinder and 180 horsepower — mated to a four-speed automatic. You’ll start bargaining at $22,900 here.

But jump to $28,000-plus — and you get what we drove, a tempest in a tub with 220 turbo-charged horsepower, driven as you sit in leather seats, surrounded by a nicely appointed interior (nice faux-chrome around gauges), leather wheel, side air bags, traction control, 17-inch wheels, and a power-adjustment for driver seat height.

From the outside, the convertible looks more aggressive. It becomes retro in the mode of a Chevrolet SSR (that’s the hot rod pickup truck), with front fenders bulging like steroid-enhanced brows, rear fenders flexed, the trademark high belt line, and long doors for easy rear access.

And speaking of SSR comparisons, Car and Driver magazine ran one and found that the Cruiser GT ran 0-60 (7.0 seconds) just as quickly as the hot rod truck — for about $15,000 less.

On the road, I found the GT convertible remarkably stiff — in good ways and bad. Bumps and crevices were transmitted in slight shudders. There was some noticeable cowl shake (common in convertibles, to be fair). Yet that stiffness also meant for great cruising and smooth lane changes on highways. Cornering elicited some body roll, but this is not, after all, a sports car.

Under steer was apparent in hard cornering, common for a front-wheel-drive car. Torque steer was stronger than I would like in lower gears, prompting me to seek third as quickly as possible. Of course, there is always that fine line between horsepower and torque steer in many front wheel drive vehicles.

Top up, the ride was remarkably quiet owing, no doubt, to three layers of insulated material above. A small rear window and bulk of cloth where the C-pillar ?would be meant having confidence in all rear view mirrors.

With the top down, wind noise was better than most, not as good as others (notably two-seaters with tonneaue-covered rear decks). Dropping the top was simple. Twist a D-ring, hit a button, wait 10 seconds. Putting it up meant that procedure in reverse.

Interior space was ample — it is, after all, a convertible derived from, choose one: van, truck, station wagon. The fold-down rear seats would allow for easy storage of skis and snowboards. The trunk, ample, is a bit awkward to reach since the lid, given body style, is a hatch that lifts straight up, meaning bending and reaching for goods.

The PT Cruiser is, I hope, a vehicle that will endure in some form.

It does not, probably should not, remain a retro curiousity. Anything retro has a limited life span.

But there are ways around that.

Even amidst a noticeable anti-retro backlash , Chrysler has produced another hot seller that no one is calling retro, yet all acknowledge harkens back to the glory days of big American steel and muscle.

I’m talking about, of course, the Chrysler 300C Hemi, hottest car on the market today. What Chrysler needs to do with the PT Cruiser is remind people of its retro roots, dubious as they are.

Yet subtle hints of Al Capone, a touch of bling-bling ala 300C Hemi, a hip here, a hop there, and the intonation of hot rod possibilities, and they’ll be onto something.

All while continuing to produce a truck/van/station wagon of superior utility.