PT Cruiser Info...long

[Mopar_Maniac]

Hello all,
I have not posted on this board before but I have some information that might interest some of you. I work in the parts department of a Chrysler/Plymouth dealership. Today I went to the "Chrysler Spring Fling" event. Basically it is a class for Chrysler employees to learn about new cars we offer. Plus we get to drive them around for awhile. All the PT's they had were automatic's, so those are the only one's I can give you first hand information on. The first thing we found out is that the PT is NOT based on the Neon chassis as some people have been saying. It was originally "mocked up" on a Neon chassis, but the one that they are building is not. It has a dedicated chassis. Most of the front suspension is from the Neon. The rear suspension is what they call a watts suspension, it is designed to limit lateral twist of the chassis. (basically to keep both rear tires in solid contact with the road) The engine is a 2.4 4cyl rated at 150hp at 5500rpm and 162lb-ft of torque at 4000rpm. The automatic is rated at 20/25mpg, the 5spd is rated at 20/26mpg.
The 5spd is the way to go if your looking for spirited driving. The automatic transmission works great, and gives good performance for everyday type driving. The instructor's all said the same thing, to get the most of the engine, you need the 5spd. Which by the way is the same with any car, except maybe those equipped with V8's, IMO.
All PT's we had access to had the same equipment, basically loaded out with a sticker price of just a hair over $20,000.
The speaker said "we can't tell you legally what to price your car's for, BUT we hope that you keep in mind the fact we have priced the PT where we did for a reason". The dealership that I work at is selling them at sticker price...with NO markup. To give you an idea about avaliblity, the MPLS district has over 1200 "sold" orders at this time, and only have 24 PT's allocated so far!
It will take the factory awhile to get production up. Once the factory is at full capacity they are expecting 9000 unit's per month. They also told the salesmen, and sales managers to let customer's know they can't "price protect" unit's. They are not expecting any increases for the rest of the year, but they don't want customers unhappy if the price goes up some.
Hopefully people interested in buying a PT will not let themselves get price gouged by greedy dealerships. You can buy for stick price, but you may have to do some shopping.
I bought a 2000 Harley Davidson last fall, I know all about dealers trying to gouge people. My advice to anyone interested in it is this, take your time, price shop, find the "right" dealer, and enjoy your new PT. Don't let some rip off spoil the experiance for you.

Jeff

[BobC]

Thanks for the heads up. I doubt many of us have driven a PT, that have them on order. I'm glad to hear they are letting the Chrysler people take them out. there nothing like knowing the products your co. makes first hand, and actually taking it for a spin.

Pretty soon (well, its July at least, now) I hope to be allowed by my wife to drive hers

We're real excited about getting it after seeing one around here at a dealer, but we have the patience to wait for one, exactly as we want it to arrive.

BobC
2001 Inferno Red Ltd Ed, 5 spd, Every Option, ordered 2/17, sight unseen, still BG status

[Mopar_Maniac]

Here is a couple more things to wet your whistle. They have a few PT's running around Michigan that are Turbocharged. They are using them for testing, and for possible use in the future. Read...GT Cruiser? How about close to 200hp?
This last winter they had a fleet of PT's running around upper Minnesota with all-wheel drive systems, they were doing winter testing most of the season. No word yet on what type of system it would be. I'm betting on sometype of all-wheel drive, or possibly like the Honda CRV, where it only engauges when it detects front tire slip.
They already have "low speed traction control".
I can't say for sure that they will build either version, but if I were a betting man that's where I'd put my cash.

Later,
Jeff

Wow! Where the heck are they going to put a turbo? That engine box is packed pretty tight. Next thing you know, those Polaris guys in Rosseau will fit a Cruiser with tracks.

[Mopar_Maniac]

Gary...When you get a chance, take a look between the engine and firewall. There is quite abit of room back there. Chrysler mounted the 2.4 at a 45 degree angle. Basically what they did was pivot the top of the engine forward. They only have to move a couple of accesories around to make clearance. The coolant overflow bottle being one of them. You can't really tell by looking from the front. Try standing on the passenger side, then look down in behind engine...plenty of room down there. Well...at least enough for a turbocharger.
Gotta go to work.

Later,
Jeff