Pros and cons: Visual appeal ⋅ Fun and easy to drive ⋅ Performance in non-turbo model with automatic
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.

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.

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