We’re quite likely the very last car blog to report on the final demise of the Chrysler PT Cruiser but view this more as an editorial that reporting.

I only have one question: How is it in 2010 that the Chrysler PT Cruiser is still being produced? It actually began life as a 1999 Plymouth and since that time has seen virtually no revisions at all, aside from a boring front end alteration and an equally unimpressive engine swap. That’s right, instead of engineering upgrades, the only real change during its lifetime was the 2005 convertible version – quite possibly the most absurd American car since the Dodge Shelby? And just exactly what market was the PT Cruiser Turbo supposed to compete in? Gimme a break. By 2008 the PT Cruiser had suffered years of major oversight by Chrysler, resulting in the superfluous designation by the Insurance Institute For Highway Safety as the “Most Dangerous New Small Car In America.” Who bought these abominations, other than hot-rodding grandmas and car rental agencies?

The design scheme I hated the worst was the Woody version with the faux wood panels which was almost always driven by a senior citizen. My only question is What vehicle of the past was it supposed to resemble? A Panel Van? I think not! Ben from Jalopnik gives it a fantastic description in his post today: “The PT was a shrunken minivan, a bloated Neon, a car for families who needed something basic and leaned a little too hard on nostalgia.”

I remember my brother and I being forced to either walk or accept a Neon Minivan, err, I mean PT Cruiser when on vacation in 2006. The humiliation was unbearable. I’d rather have been seen in a VW Beetle, Sebring convertible, or a Subaru Forester with an Apple bumper sticker and golden retriever in the back. At least we were on another coast at the time. When leaving a red light, we gave it gas and then checked the stock ticker for updates as we awaited acceleration and the accompanying earsplitting drone of the hamsters’ treadmill cycling up. The engine noise was so bad we exited the freeway to check for gravel in the oil and in the process relied way too much on the drum brake system.

I hate(d) that damn car and am delighted to see it go.

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