Yes, the new Chevy "It's NOT a PT Cruiser" Heritage High Roof, aka Cobalt MiniWagon/Dessert Topping AND Floor Wax.
I've written about this one before, back when I was taunting Bob Lutz for getting so defensive about the inevitable comparison to the competitor's product. Anyway, I saw a brand new one for the first time this morning on the way in to work.
Black, with shiny wheels. Not bad, although a lot smaller in person than it looks in pictures. And the roof seems to be chopped a bit--sorta squatty-like. But the real test? Miss Reba, who cannot STAND PT Cruisers. Says they remind her of rolling turds. I kinda like them myself, although more for the inside than the outside, which is a bit mannered, but at least had the benefit of being original(ish. I mean, it does hark back to the '30s.)
Anyway, I pointed the HHR out and explained a bit about it and asked her opinion.
"Well, I hate to say it, but I like the way the PT Cruiser looks better than that thing."
Mr. Lutz, if there's any consolation, you can at least be happy that it's not as bad as the late Pontiac Aztek.
Posted by Terry Oglesby at September 15, 2005 03:22 PMSomeone who works in my office building drives an ORANGE pontiac aztek. Huh?!?!?! Why, God, why?????
Posted by: sugarmama at September 15, 2005 04:01 PMThe Aztek is so bad I’m surprised the libs haven’t blamed it on Bush.
Posted by: jim at September 15, 2005 04:08 PMNothing looks as bad as a Pontiac Aztek except maybe my younger brother's 48 Chevy four door that has been sitting in the weeds for thirty years and that is only a maybe.
Posted by: Larry Anderson at September 15, 2005 04:09 PMWell, there is the Renault Modus.
Posted by: Terry Oglesby at September 15, 2005 04:15 PMMy older brother bought an Aztek. Blech.
Posted by: Jordana at September 15, 2005 04:25 PMOkay, the Renault is even uglier than my brother's Chevy.
Posted by: Larry Anderson at September 15, 2005 04:27 PM"...a lot smaller in person than it looks in pictures." That's the same feeling I had when I saw my first PT Cruiser.
Posted by: BillW at September 15, 2005 04:27 PMSo what does Miss Reba think about the Magnum HEMI (sorry bout the drool there Terry)?
Posted by: Tony von Krag at September 15, 2005 05:49 PMThat one I don't know about, but I imagine she would probably like them if she knew what they were. She's not really up on cars.
Posted by: Terry Oglesby at September 16, 2005 08:04 AMWith all the challeges American auto makers face these days and this is the best response we can get from GM? At Wm. Ford is coming out with a hybrid Escape.
Reckon it's too to go short on GM stock?
Posted by: Enfield at September 16, 2005 09:49 AMLOL at Jim's comment. Too perfect!
I don't care about new cars. I couldn't afford one, so why form any opinions? Except regarding the T-birds and Mustangs, which rock! (Not only can I not afford them, they really won't accommodate our growing family, which lifts them above sheer fantasy to, I dunno, fantastic folly(?!), which is always good, right?)
Posted by: Lenise at September 16, 2005 10:35 AMI think GM has a lot of talent and a lot riding on their ability to use it. So far, they seem to be doing okay, but okay just isn't as good as it used to be. They still suffer from developing incohesive designs, with the exception of the Corvette and I think the new Pontiac Solstice. In general, the parts and pieces are okay in and of themselves, but they never really seem part of an integrated, high-quality whole. On paper, everything seems to compete with the Toyotas and Hondas of the world, but in real life the few pennies GM seems to want to save to make whatever part it is seem to find their way to the surface as flaws.
They're no longer killing themselves at quite the pace they were in the late '80s and early '90s, but they are still trying to recover and aren't quite there yet. And I say this as someone who has had many many GM cars. They lost their way a while back.
And Lenise, I'll agree with you on the Mustang, but I think the last iteration of the T-Bird wasn't worth doing.
Posted by: Terry Oglesby at September 16, 2005 10:49 AMTerry,
Do you recall whether or not Ford has stopped making that current version of the T-Bird? I seem to remember a lot of people agreed with you.
Posted by: Stan at September 16, 2005 11:22 AMYep,it's dead enough to be the next Football Pickin' Chicken.
Posted by: Terry Oglesby at September 16, 2005 12:10 PMCan't help it. I'm a T-Bird girl from waaay back ;)
Posted by: Lenise at September 17, 2005 09:01 PM