Chrysler puts a bullet in the PT Cruiser

[dazzleman]

Oh, and just to prove how old I am....Mazda did a demographic study of the RX-7 back in the late seventies and found that 60% of buyers were gay or female.

That's interesting.  I'd never have guessed that.

[GoCougs]

Great thread.  What was the topic again?  PT Cruisers, Gay cars, chick cars or just claiming one is such?

It should be noted that the Mustang was originally advertised as the "secretary's car" when marketed.   The "boss" (not Springsteen) got the T-Bird.

Oh, and just to prove how old I am....Mazda did a demographic study of the RX-7 back in the late seventies and found that 60% of buyers were gay or female.

LOL - to this day my dad calls the Mustang exactly that, and says exactly that that was how it was marketed.

He opted for his first new car a '66 Galaxy GT390 as a result!

[JWC]

That's interesting.  I'd never have guessed that.

I actually liked the RX7 back then...and when I read that bit of information...suffered quite an identity crisis. 

[NomisR]

I actually liked the RX7 back then...and when I read that bit of information...suffered quite an identity crisis. 

Well, only the FDs turned really hardcore, the previous gens were a bit softer and more suited for general consumption.

[Cobra93]

I have a PT cruiser.

I must be a chick. 

But I like women.


Oh hell, I'm a lesbian.

[dazzleman]

LOL - to this day my dad calls the Mustang exactly that, and says exactly that that was how it was marketed.

He opted for his first new car a '66 Galaxy GT390 as a result!

Another thing I never knew about the Mustang.

My grandfather had a 1965 Galaxy, and my family inherited it when he died in 1972.  He kept it really well, but my parents were terrible at maintaining cars, so it went downhill pretty quickly after we got it.

[Onslaught]

Oh, and just to prove how old I am....Mazda did a demographic study of the RX-7 back in the late seventies and found that 60% of buyers were gay or female.

Great, I love that car and drive what I drive. Why do I like girls? I'm so confused

[NomisR]

Great, I love that car and drive what I drive. Why do I like girls? I'm so confused

You're a lesbian trapped in a man's body..

[the Teuton]

This thread is priceless.

On another note, there's a yellow Beetle two blocks away with a matching daisy in the vase.

[dazzleman]

This thread is priceless.

On another note, there's a yellow Beetle two blocks away with a matching daisy in the vase.

What chick cars those Beetles are......

[Onslaught]

What chick cars those Beetles are......

Well the new one just flat out is.

[the Teuton]

What chick cars those Beetles are......

Well, for srs, they are...

...I blame J. Mays.  I liked the T-Bird, but he has no idea how to do anything that isn't cute, cuddly, and completely derivative.

[JWC]

Going back to my teens and twenties, here are other cars that we considered "chick" cars:

MG Midget
Triumph Spitfire
Fiat X-19
Maverick
Celica ST
Fiero

[Onslaught]

Going back to my teens and twenties, here are other cars that we considered "chick" cars:


Fiero

No, that's a gay person car. Every gay guy in town had one when I was a kid.

[JWC]

No, that's a gay person car. Every gay guy in town had one when I was a kid.

God-dammit Onslaught...I had one of those.

[L. ed foote]

Nobody on this forum can possibly say that I have ever freaked out and started swearing at them for their uninformed opinions.

Well, let them start talking about kids 

This thread developed into something amusing, I tell ya...  Keep it up, boys 

[SVT666]

No, that's a gay person car. Every gay guy in town had one when I was a kid.

Gay guys and chicks.

[JWC]

Well, I've had my share of "gay" or "chick" cars.

Fiero
Celica St
VW Cabrio
VW Rabbit  (forgot about those)

[Tave]

I yearn for the VW cabrio tragically.

[JWC]

I yearn for the VW cabrio tragically.

It was actually a fun car. 

One thing I did find out about driving "chick" cars....is that they tend to draw "chicks".   I never had a girl walk over to my 1969 Mustang at a gas station, but when I replaced it with a 1973 Celica, girls were always coming over to see the "cute" car....and giving me their phone numbers.

[Eye of the Tiger]

This whole thread is for chicks. Peace out, gals.

[Vinsanity]

Oh, and just to prove how old I am....Mazda did a demographic study of the RX-7 back in the late seventies and found that 60% of buyers were gay or female.

lol, my mom wanted one of those first-gen RX-7's, but my birth precluded that possibility

she really likes the design and styling of the RX-8, but not enough to put up with the road noise and stiff ride

Well, I've had my share of "gay" or "chick" cars.

Fiero
Celica St
VW Cabrio
VW Rabbit  (forgot about those)

7 years prior to owning my NA Miata, I almost bought one of those old 80's Rabbit Cabrios. Hey, like I said earlier, for $2,000, you take what you can get.

[Onslaught]

God-dammit Onslaught...I had one of those.

Homo
Perhaps my Miata and your old Fiero could get together one night?

And don't feel bad. I had a purple car one time.

[Tave]

Purple's not gay. Purple's for muthafuckin KINGS!

[JWC]

Homo
Perhaps my Miata and your old Fiero could get together one night?

And don't feel bad. I had a purple car one time.

Sorry, I'm extremely conservative...I believe that it is immoral for different species to "breed".

[JWC]

Purple's not gay. Purple's for muthafuckin KINGS!

GAY KINGS!

[L. ed foote]

Purple's not gay. Purple's for muthafuckin KINGS!

And pimps

[Onslaught]

And pimps

Cool. I like Pimp the most. I did do some stuff in the back of that car with hoes

[Madman]

Forgive me for interrupting this lovefest, but I'd like to speak up in defence of the PT Cruiser.

Let's not forget that back around 2001-02 the PT Cruiser was, in many circles, considered cooler than a polar bear's balls! For the first time in decades flame paint jobs, woody appliqu?s, Continental kits, whitewalls and chrome accents suddenly became fashionable again.  The PT Cruiser was the only "modern" car that could pull off any of these looks without looking like a complete dog's dinner.  Sure, it was a pastiche of retro design cues, but that was the whole point.  The fact that the PT Cruiser didn't take itself too seriously was part of the charm.

Look past the unique styling and you'll see the PT Cruiser still had a lot going for it.  Here was a practical five-passenger compact that combined a roomy cabin with hatchback versatility.  The removable shelf in the cargo area was a clever way of increasing usable carrying capacity.  Flip the rear seats down and you had a cavernous van-like space that made conventional sedans seem almost useless.  By all accounts, the PT Cruiser was a decent handler for this type of car.  Likewise, I've never heard anyone complain about the performance, either.  Reliability seems just as good as anything else out there, too.  Yes, there are areas where Chrysler could have done a better job in terms of refinement, but it was at least as good in most areas (and in some areas, even better) as most of it's competitors.  Also consider the PT Cruiser was one of Chrysler's few export success stories.  If the car was really as bad as some people make it out to be, it would never have enjoyed the success it did.

It's a pity Chrysler is letting this car die without a replacement.  There are so many different directions Chrysler could have taken this car into.  How about a 1934 Airflow inspired shape with a sliding roof panel similar to the one designed by Brooks Stevens for the 1963 Studebaker Wagonaire?  Or an extended-length seven-passenger variant similar in concept to the Dodge Journey?  Or a chopped and channeled resto-rod in the same vein as the 1949 Mercury Coup??

The thing I liked most about the PT Cruiser was that it was a car that didn't try to be like everything else.  In an age when all carmakers are trying to out-bland each other by offering nothing but look-alike grey porridge, the PT Cruiser stood out as an individual car for those with individual tastes.  Love it or loathe it, you couldn't ignore it.

R.I.P. Chrysler PT Cruiser, 2001-2009.


Cheers,
Madman of the People

[JWC]

You can label anything as gay or chick.  Take dogs for example...those liittle rat Terriers, chick/gay.  Poodles...need I really say more? 

Labs, Shepards...real men dogs.  Bloodhounds, rebel with a dog....in the James Dean sense...not the red neck sense.  Man owns a bloodhound, doesn't give a crap what anyone thinks.  Having a bloodhound is like owning a classic car.

Now the spaniels...they are a little more difficult to label.

The Springer Spaniel is strictly a chick dog.  High strung, temperamental, and bounces off walls for no apparent reason.

    A Cocker Spaniel..thats definetly a gay man's dog.  The name assures this.  The importance of the Cocker Spaniel to a gay man is apparent when a gay man's friend calls and asks..."Bwuce, what 'cha doin'"...the dog owner can answer with a giggle, saying  "playing with my cocker." 
    Or. say the dog owner is watching TV with the dog next to him on the sofa, he can say..."petting my cocker". 
     Or if giving a bath..."soaping my cocker."

Say those lines in your best "gay" impression voice and you'll understand. 

There is a Spaniel for the real man though...that is the Boykin Spaniel.  Like the Cocker Spaniel, it is in the name.  Boykin is really close in sound to "boinkin", which as many of you know means having sex.  So, boinkin means fucking.   So, we have Boykin> boinkin> fucking.   So when someone asks a Boykin owner what kind of dog it is, he can say...boinkin....which translates to fucking.  The correct answer then is what a real man would say...It's a fuckin' spaniel.    Hey Bob, were ya goin'...."out to throw the frisbee with my fuckin' spaniel.....asshole.