Platinum Member Overlander21 Posted January 24 Platinum Member Share Posted January 24 Look what I came across on eBay today https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/266621339987 If I win the lottery tonight, guess what I'm buying 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Platinum Member Caroline12 Posted January 24 Platinum Member Share Posted January 24 Love it 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Platinum Member Overlander21 Posted January 24 Author Platinum Member Share Posted January 24 Hard to believe it's 23 years old eh? It still looks soooooo very sleek and modern, I absolutely love it. Not sure about the flames though, I might need to cover them in a vinyl wrap or something. I'll let you know what I decide to do with the flames if I win the lottery this week 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Platinum Member Caroline12 Posted January 26 Platinum Member Share Posted January 26 I love the flames on it 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Platinum Member TimC Posted January 26 Platinum Member Share Posted January 26 Yeah, you’ve gotta have the flames 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Platinum Member V Posted January 26 Platinum Member Share Posted January 26 The Prowler, although having a low volume production run, was one example from a creative 'mass production' car design era that will never be seen again. Law makers around the world have created a prison for creative car design and there is no chance of probation. By 2050 there will be two, maybe three car manufacturers left and a handful of models all looking the same. I will be too old to care by then but still glad I had the chance to experience owning and driving some of those vehicles from that era. 2 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Platinum Member Raakhee Posted January 27 Platinum Member Share Posted January 27 10 hours ago, V said: The Prowler, although having a low volume production run, was one example from a creative 'mass production' car design era that will never be seen again. Law makers around the world have created a prison for creative car design and there is no chance of probation. By 2050 there will be two, maybe three car manufacturers left and a handful of models all looking the same. I will be too old to care by then but still glad I had the chance to experience owning and driving some of those vehicles from that era. You right @V, most new cars are looking the same now. Stupid big bubble shape. Guaranteed not to be able to go fast. Not like there will be anywhere to drive above 20mph soon Glad I was able to get my dream Jeep. I'm enjoying every minute of it 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Platinum Member Caroline12 Posted January 27 Platinum Member Share Posted January 27 1 issue is they all use the same or similar aerodynamic packages for design and efficiency, so they all end up looking the same. To me 60% of car shapes generally look the same anyway now. I think that’s why I like the look of the Renegade (the toaster shape, apparently ) the Wrangler and other Jeep shapes because they are not the same as everything else. Individual spirit and choice is going, which is sad, the big V8s are going too, which is very sad “long live strange, weird and wonderful shapes of vehicles” 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UKTJ Posted January 27 Share Posted January 27 (edited) I like the Prowler, have since it came out. But playing devil's advocate here for a minute. What else came out at a similar time from the same design stable? Well that would be this, which in my view was not exactly a high pojnt of car design... The past was not a land of universal desugn winners, take the car that almost broke Ford... And before we get all excited about praising the weird and wonderful, what about the weird and dreadful? ...or... As for the Wrangler, is the shape fundamentally that different to other big 4x4s? As I say, just playing devil's advocate, so hopefully not offending any owners of the PT Cruiser Edited January 27 by UKTJ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Platinum Member V Posted January 27 Platinum Member Share Posted January 27 I never owned a PT Cruiser, but I had a few as courtesy cars and they were good. For some reason, the PT Cruiser wasn't well liked in the UK. I think a lot of people were embarrassed to like them, they had a weird social stigma that was unfair. I also had Chrysler Neons as courtesy cars and I liked them enough to actually buy a Gen2. I got 40mpg in that car. My favourite was a 2L 5-spd manual Gen1 with frameless front door windows. I was not surprised that the Neons had a race series in the USA. The Fiat Multipla was another very good vehicle that had the same stigma as the PT Cruiser. They were really well designed but just too freaky for the bland masses that created the stigma. So here we are in the 21st century where cars are designed to fake their appearance. Plastic skid plates and rock rails on 4x4s that disintegrate when they come in contact with terrain, 80mm diameter exhaust tips concealing the actual 40mm exhaust pipe, a dummy second exhaust tip pretending to look like a twin exhaust system, speakers in the exhaust muffler to make the engine sound sportier, fake brake cooling ducts that are blocked, fake bonnet vents (Jeep did those too), 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UKTJ Posted January 27 Share Posted January 27 I'm confused, some points in this thread appear to be about aesthetics some about practicality / functionality. We have have very dull or unattractive looking cars that are extremely innovative from a practical point of view or very attractive looking cars that may be impractical. What I guess we should be looking for something that gets a high score on both. That seems to me to be why there is a switch to 'soft roaders' and why traditionally well selling cars are being dumped, such as the Fiesta. Manufacturers perceive that consummers favour SUV style looks and that taller style also gives better packaging options. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Platinum Member digger Posted January 27 Platinum Member Share Posted January 27 When I bought my first XJ in '93 I wanted practicality, comfort and reliability at a reasonable price! Still do, but its impossible to get now! I think they are all generally boring these days (except Wrangler!) and the tech 'safety' (now speaking from experience) is downright dangerous! The YJ is black, erm, flames? I wonder! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Platinum Member TimC Posted January 27 Platinum Member Share Posted January 27 Yes Phil, flame job on the YJ, awesome 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gerald F Posted January 27 Share Posted January 27 One of the nicest cars we had was an early Renault Espace. The body was made of GRP panels glued to a galvanised frame, so no rust; the front seats rotated and the rear five could be located in different position; the floor was flat from front to back, and it would cruise at 80 mph in quiet comfort. Brilliant, but the current model is just another boring SUV. And then, there were the Citröen DS series, like something out of sci-fi. As for the PT Cruiser, we nearly bought a drop head version, but we couldn't get a tow hitch to fit it at the time. It did look glorious, and the left hand drive would have suited our continental journeys. The ZJ Grand Cherokee was the nicest looking and also had the best driving visibility. I've never understood why it was changed so much. As Caroline says, there is an optimal algorithm for aerodynamic design, and this forces any car likely to be used at more than 50mph to follow the shape dictated. If you stick to 20 mph, you could have any shape you fancied that would fit in the parking space! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Platinum Member Overlander21 Posted January 28 Author Platinum Member Share Posted January 28 As mentioned above, I'm fully aware how Marmite they are, but I loved mine 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Platinum Member frosty Posted January 28 Platinum Member Share Posted January 28 i leased my wife a soft top PT when we lived in france, it was when Chrisler jeep dodge were giving crazy lease deals on cars they couldn't sell, in 2004 it still only cost £78 per month with no deposit, with the 2.4 engine, not fast, very uneconomical, but my wife loved it, after that i got her a Dodge caliber, again only £95 per month then just give them the keys back after a year, never had cars so cheap. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Platinum Member MGomes Posted January 30 Platinum Member Share Posted January 30 I have always loved "weird cars" - my first car in the UK back in 2002 was a £400 1988 Honda Accord Aerodeck 2L auto - EVERYONE hated my car... I loved its square look, straight lines, big buttons inside and POP-UP LIGHTS!!! Really loved my pop-up lights lol I did drive PT Cruiser convertible back in the day (a friend had one) - it is a "love it or hate it car" - but it reminded me of my Matchbox cars when I was a kid - in end of the day you have to enjoy your car dont you? (lets face it we are all here because of our love of driving bricks up hills and muddy fields lol) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.