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Uncategorized Elizabeth Norris Leave a comment
PT Cruiser Convertible
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.
— Cruising along palm-fringed boulevards in Scottsdale, posh Phoenix suburb in the Arizona desert, we were expecting to pop the top on a new PT Cruiser Convertible and let the warm winter’s sun shine light into a cozy 2+2 cockpit.
However, our seat-time tests of the daring drop-lid design for Cruiser come on a chilly day in sputtering rain.
Such conditions favor top-up driving, and PT’s three-ply soft lid quickly demonstrates it’s a water-tight seal that can lock out the wet weather.
Whether with the top up or down, this fresh treatment for Chrysler’s popular retro-styled car looks distinctive and even, as California’s surfer set might say, “way-cool.”
Of course, since its inception the PT Cruiser has been a bold idea of contrasting shapes and conflicting images.
Stylists developed the initial two-door concept as a design exercise, then presented it at the Geneva Auto Show in 1998 under the name of Pronto Cruizer.
The form-follows-function shape for that forerunner revolved around a tall package for maximum interior space and multiple purposes, with the body worked as a contemporary tribute to classic car form of earlier eras.
Aspects of the Pronto Cruizer resembled either a woody wagon lifted from ’60s beach-blanket movies, a 1937 panel van fitted with side windows and modern bumpers, or perhaps a souped-up Fifties street ‘rod but with a liftgate at the rear so it worked covertly as a modern minivan.
First production version emerged in 2001 as a multi-purpose vehicle under the title of ‘Personal Transportation Cruiser’ — abbreviated to PT Cruiser.
Uncategorized Elizabeth Norris Leave a comment
Saturn Curve Concept at the Detroit Auto Show
Based on GM’s new Kappa rear-wheel drive architecture, The overall design of the Curve is instantly interesting and eye-catching due to the contemporary design details that enhance its sports car roots. The roof pillars are concealed by a wraparound canopy of glass which creates the feeling and look of a “floating” roof panel.
Based on GM’s new rear-wheel-drive Kappa architecture shared with the Pontiac Solstice and Chevy Nomad, the Saturn Curve concept signifies Saturn’s design and product line evolution and lends a peek the capabilities of this car brand. Built from fiberglass panels over a steel tube structure, and featuring roof pillars concealed by a wraparound canopy of glass to create the look of a ‘floating’ roof panel, its design abounds with interesting details that emphasize its contemporary design aesthetic, as well as its sports car roots. The Curve features a front-hinged clamshell hood and rear-hinged trunk lid.
Sports car performance is delivered by a supercharged 2.2-liter/200-hp Ecotec four-cylinder engine paired with a Ge