Tomorrow, insh'Allah, we will acquire a Chrysler PT Cruiser. It's a better class of motor than my 16-year-old £250 Escort Estate, with leather/suede seats, a/c, cruise control and all those sort of things as well as garishly shiny wheels. It's a 2 litre petrol manual, about 2002 I think, with sensible bumpers. A couple of small parking dinges but clean, fully serviced, under 60k miles, just had its suspension bushes replaced (London speed bumps, bad-o).
It's quite a pleasant car with nice switches, doorhandles, badges and so on. Drives OK and is comfortable of course. My wife will be able to drive it (the Ford has always had niggling running problems I didn't want her to have to cope with).
But I am already feeling ambivalent about it. It's worth ten or fifteen times what the Ford is worth, on paper anyway, and is going to cost twice as much to insure. My mechanic sucked his teeth Aussie-style when I mentioned it, and muttered something about expensive parts and tiresome repair procedures. It will drink a bit more than the Ford too. I'm afraid it won't go about its work in that sturdy, no-nonsense, slightly thuggish Ford style, and it will of course be rather less invisible (although there are lots of them about so no one will think it interesting).
I will like it of course, as I like virtually all contraptions with wheels and an internal combustion engine. But I'm worrying. And I don't want to chuck the poor old Escort away like a worn-out glove. It's done me incredibly well considering.
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Hahaha! you do make me larf sunshine ... I roadtested a street bruiser last year, although being a mimser it was an auto!!
I quite liked the car - looks & to drive, but I went for the Almera 1.8 in the end.
One thing that put me orf was *it stands out* i.e its highly nickable/scratchable etc., etc., etc.
It looks all retro like but drives like a modern car,. which of course it is!
I'll wager ya'll be slowing down for the humphs now though :)
p.s. what is it finished in, as del boy would say (what colour?)
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Possible? Do you mean it's not a done deal yet? Or has the moving finger signed on the dotted line, and having signed, moved on.
I like this car's looks very much. It makes me think of a Ford Popular on steroids. I have heard tell that they can be a bit heavy to maintain but I guess that's a trade-off if you like the looks and the drive.
If you've done the deal I'm sure you'll get to like the car. If you haven't and you're doubtful, maybe you need another thought.
Best of luck.
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Yeah, I like the looks too. It may not be everybody's cup of tea, esp the wheels (!) but it's different - and practical as well.
Pal of mine had an automatic one for a while a few years ago and when I drove it I thought it was all ok except for the please-itself transmission. He told me all modern autoboxes are like that though.
Your call...;-)
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The auto is a renowned slug, but the manual goes all right.
I don't mind the looks at all, indeed I like them because they remind me, as they are meant to do, of American cars in the 40s when I first came across them. That isn't really the point though. The thing is so obviously a 'styling exercise' that it's a tiny bit embarrassing even though successful. Not that I care if people think I am a fashion victim. I didn't mind the stupid comments when I used to have Skodas, so this will be as nothing.
It isn't a 'deal' exactly. More like the sort of offer you would be a bit dumb to refuse.
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Well you know where it sits in the image gallery, Lud - "tiny bit embarrassing", but if anybody can carry it off... Mmm. Y'know, it would be better if it was a Skoda, hence measurably clunkier in aspect, nicely neutralising it.
Anyway, can I just mention how much I relish ALL your posts, and restlessly await your published memoirs (Slightly Foxed: 50 years on 4 Wheels - ??)!
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Lud - I'm reliably informed that to drive such a vehicle in your manor it will need lowering by about 4" and you will need to fit "bling rims" which are what we would call drug-dealer wheels - tyres need to be about 4mm thick (inc air), about 9" wide, and the alloy surfaces will be highly polished.
Lookin forward to the pictures, bro..
Edited by oldnotbold on 24/06/2009 at 16:02
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Go for it Lud. You will of course need to cultivate a ZZ Top style beard in the fullness of time. Can you store the faithful Escort somewhere in deference to its faithful retainer status?
( oh and you don't particularly need to slow down for "humphs" anymore than you do now unless you feel it's just polite or something...)
Please don't raunch at its handbrake though. Unseemly in a cruiser.
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you don't particularly need to slow down for "humphs" anymore than you do now
That's good, because I certainly don't intend to. However different cars have different ways of coping with speed bumps, and one has to learn the rhythms of an unfamiliar one. Applying the handbrake in the normal manner is something else I intend to continue doing HB - I hope it will not cause a rift between us - but scraping the nose on the ground, or banging the sump on it, is to be avoided at all costs.
Haven't bottomed a car since my Dyane although the odd chin spoiler has graunched the odd kerb.
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Well I'm sure we all hope you enjoy it anyway.
As for the handbrake thing, I liken raunching it on, without the use of the button provided at point of manufacture, to inadvertantly passing wind in public. Most of us have mistakenly done it at some time but wouldn't normally want to make a habit of it.
Each to their own standards of course.
Edited by Humph Backbridge on 24/06/2009 at 18:04
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have a friend that has one lud he loves it chaved up to the eyeballs it is too
as some have said the bits are really expensive for these
power steering pumps are notorious for going but can be reconned for £100 ish
they arent good on jungle stuff
turning circle makes my primera look like a triumph harold so be aware
ps i like them,wouldnt own one but i do like oddballs
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ps i like them wouldnt own one but i do like oddballs
Walk this way!!!
MD
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Somewhat to my surprise I have just found out the PT Cruiser is still in production, and has been given a stay of execution for at least the next 18 months (presumably until Fiat can conjure up a replacement from the parts bin).
At least parts should be readily available, even if dear compared to the Escort.
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We have had one for the last 12 months, a 2.2 CRD limited on an 05 plate, and its proved itself as a reliable, practical and individual vehicle. Needed a tyre and windscreeen wipers for the MOT. Very pleased with our purchase and have no plans to change.
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Well, did you get it in the end? Have you begun growing the beard? Does the handbrake work?
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It feels very strange after the Ford. Like driving a fairly refined Transit van. The engine sounds a little thrashy and droning compared to the Ford's, but is obviously fine and provides plenty of go. I hope it will be quiet at a road cruise. It feels more wallowy and less zippy than the Ford. It isn't as rugged over speed bumps and will want to scrape its chin on the road.
The thing is ludicrously gleaming and flash by my recent standards. I imagine it will soon be vandalised although it has survived seven years in Islington more or less unscathed. It will look better, and run better and less thirstily on the road, when its roof box has been taken off, which it will be this weekend. Today and tomorrow will see a certain amount of juggling as council and Congestion documentation is switched. The Ford is going to live in the country for weekend use.
I am still worrying.
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The Escort was a part of you mon ami - like a comfortable old pair of shoes, you'll soon get used to the poseur-mobile though but, as I said - it won't like them humphs!
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It's London-legal now and has had a little bit of normal use. I am enjoying the a/c in this hot weather but Ms Lud doesn't like it. It makes her feel cold. And of course it increases the car's fuel consumption which is a bit heavier than the Ford's.
It's so smart though, apart from the roof bars which need tools I haven't got to be removed. But when should its cambelt be changed? How long will the clutch last? Why does half the inlet tract have to be taken off to change the plugs? Will I be able to change a light bulb?
Damn! The thing is turning me into a sort of doddering old London Rattle...
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Are you getting the Haynes on it Lud?
Just the right time for aircon... somewhere to chill out ;-)
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Getting used to the Cruiser. Not as nippy as my old Escort but really a much pleasanter place to be. It's been well cared for and is in good condition. Worth a lot more than you could get for it. Roomy especially in the back, fair sized boot. Looking better now all the add-ons have been taken off the roof.
My mechanic sucked his teeth when I mentioned that it is due a cambelt change on age (not mileage which is under 55,000). He said Chrysler estimates of time to do work on these cars 'isn't right'. He said he'd do it, but was dreading it. However I know he will do it properly and won't overcharge. I don't have the money at the moment though.
I don't know whether the ABS and traction control work, but I imagine they do. When I find some wet cobbles with a bit of space around them I will check. It's cool enough today to turn the a/c off. Nice to have a CD slot, although two of my granddaughters complained about having to listen to Bach cello suites yesterday. They said the low notes sounded like someone passing wind backwards. I started to tell them about the famous French or Belgian music hall artiste Le Petomane, but the older one (just 13) said rather severely: 'I don't think we want to hear about that, Grandfather.'
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hey said the low notes sounded like someone passing wind backwards
Cheap catgut or resonance in your woofers ?
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Cheap catgut or resonance in your woofers ?
Heh heh... actually PU I can remember the extreme crunchiness of some of those cello suites from 50 years ago (on vinyl then though, through valve Hi-fi). Probably - in fact certainly - a different cellist too. The one on the CD is a tiny bit disappointing compared to my memory of that one.
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Was Leonard Rossiter Belgian?
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