Pt Cruiser: Never Mind The Convertible, Try And Catch The Coupe - Brief Article - Product Announcement

Automotive Manufacturing & Production, May, 2001 by Christopher A. Sowyer

DaimlerChrysler's unveiling of a 2-door PT Cruiser convertible at the New York Auto Show has caused considerable speculation that a production version will soon follow. If it does-and DCX insiders say it will-the convertible will be based on the PT Cruiser 2-door like the one I spotted testing in Novi, Michigan, last summer.

At first glance, the 2-door does not look vastly different than its 4-door brother. However, the doors are noticeably longer, which makes the beltline look as though it has a more pronounced rise. Overall length, width, and height appear to be the same as the original, as does the interior.

The 2-door should join the CT Cruiser in the PT lineup. Insiders say it will be powered by a turbocharged version of DCX's 2.4-liter inline four producing in excess of 200 hp. As expected, upgraded brakes will be part of the CT package. Judging from the way the 2-door prototype ran away and hid when followed-it ran harder and faster than any PT Cruiser I'd ever seen before-the GT Cruiser will be offered as a 2-door as well as a 4-door. A panel van variant of the 2-door body style-also available with turbo power-is under consideration.

The major challenge facing DCX is where to build these vehicles, especially since demand for the PT Cruiser 4-door still exceeds capacity. The Toluca, Mexico, plant can build about 200,000 PT Cruisers a year, while the much smaller Graz, Austria, facility only supplies Europe. With sales of the Neon slowing, there is the possibility of adding the Cruiser production to the Belvidere, IL, plant. This would soak up most, if not all, of the capacity needs. However, because of dissimilarities in the two vehicles, the plant would need some modifications (e.g. the paint shop currently can't handle the taller PT Cruiser).