Chrysler PT Cruiser Owner's Manual

About The PT Cruiser

When it comes to a unique and frankly unforgettable design, it’s hard not to include the Chrysler PT Cruiser. This compact car offered either as a 2-door convertible or as a 5-door hatchback wagon. The PT Cruiser was produced in a single generation between 2001 and 2010, receiving a single major facelift in 2006.

The overall design of the PT Cruiser may have been somewhat divisive, but what fans of the car have always loved is the evocation of 1930s styling. It’s like a classic carriage greatly modernized and upgraded. These popular features included the high roof, as well as the flexible cargo-passenger configuration possibilities, and the high and commanding view one would get from the seats.

It was actually a wider market trend of nostalgia that helped to create the PT Cruiser, as a way of competing with other nostalgic revival models like the Volkswagen New Beetle, and the Mini Cooper, the latter of which had been taken over and revamped by German giant, BMW.

The letters “PT” stand for Personal Transportation,” and GM originally had planned to release the PT Cruiser as part of the Plymouth line, but in the end the company decided to market it as a Chrysler since Plymouth as a marque was being discontinued. The car was powered by either gasoline engines of 1.6-liter to 2.4-liter displacement, with 4 cylinders, and the largest 2.4-liter models also contained a variant with a turbo. There was also a diesel option with 2.2-liter displacement and turbo.

In 2003, Chrysler even introduced a high-specification turbocharged hot hatch version of the car, known as the PT Cruiser GT. It initially offered up to 215hp in its powertrain, which went up to 230hp for the 2006-2007 model years. The GT had a top speed of 125mph, and many special high-performance components like disc-brake rotors and turbo calipers, for example.

Comfortable, varied, spacious, and versatile, the PT Cruiser remains one of GM’s most unique creations.