see also the new Durango. To be honest, that Chevy HHR looks a little too similar to the Durango to be a final design. I know that certain manufacturers like to copy each other closely, but I think that’s too much.
I can’t wait for the 2008 PT model.
What were the Chrysler folks thinking?
Probably something along the lines of: “Gee, it’s been a while since anything as stupid-looking as the Pacer has been seen on the roads. Reckon it’s about time for another shot of design levity…”
Except the Durango is definately a truck. According to Motor Trend, the HHR will be part of GM’s new small car lineup. They’re obviously aiming for the PT Cruiser market.
Ah. Based on that one picture, I really couldn’t judge its size. I now think it’ll be even sillier, being both proportioned like that and so small.
It gets worse. If you look up the last car mentioned in that Motor Trend article, you’d find this! They’re going after the Civic!
pt = plugugly transport? 
Looks like another rebadged Suzuki, in this case the Aerio. Not the first time GM pulled that trick - the Geo Metro is a Suzuki Swift. Also, that Avea/Aerio thing is a tad smaller than a Civic. But I understand that you have very few cars in the supermini segment, so you’re excused. 
Errr. I’m ashamed to admit it, but the rear of that 2008 PT looks hella cool. :o
That car looks almost exactly like the one Peter buys in “And the Wiener is…”
Count me one of the PT-haters. I think of it as a “Mom-mobile”; it looks like a mini-van in disguise to me.
I had to laugh at our local sheriff’s dept. a few years ago when they bought several PT Cruisers for their deputies, with the rationale that they’d help the deputies relate to teens better. I’d bet not one teen in a thousand thinks they’re “cool”. Our local newspaper, when they carried the story, couldn’t resist commenting that the most frequent purchaser of a PT Cruiser is a woman in her late 40’s. Yeah, “cool”. :rolleyes:
I really like my Cruiser. I think the styling is fun, it has room for all the laundry that I take back forth to the laundromat as part of my job at a day spa, but still has room for passengers. I know the engine is underpowered, Which is a shame, but not the end of the world since I am not a NASCAR driver and since I’ve driven a lot of vans and mini-vans in my life the handling doesn’t seem so weird to me. Now if it had a real engine, I could run bootleg shine in it, which is what the styling makes me want to do! I was looking at a lot hatchbacks, but I couldn’t find one that I really liked. This car makes me smile. And kids love it. Makes them smile too! And my sister loves her Beetle convertible. Which makes everyone smile. We are fighting road rage one smile at a time. So there!
The ones that are here are probably all in California.
They should have gone with the Dodge Magnum instead. Now that would be a cool police car!
A New Beetle Convertible? I’m sorry, there’s just NO excuse for that.
Coldfire, that GM car, the Aveo, is a rebadged Suzuki Swift. They’re all over the place here in Canada. The Aveo (along with its sisters the Optra and Epica) are GM/Daewoo vehicles, and have nothing to do with the Suzuki Aerio at all.
The really ironic thing about small cars in Canada is the story of Honda. The Honda Civic was the classic small car from the late seventies on. As vehicle generations came and went, the Civic and the Accord got larger and larger. The Civic sedan is now larger than the orignal Accord sedan, and the Accord sedan is practically a midsize. Apparently Honda is now looking at bring in the Jazz to get back in on the action in this small-car segment.
Yeah. The Volkswagen syndrome. Models get bigger, and smaller models replace the “old” ones. The current VW Polo is a lot roomier than the original Golf I, and the Lupo is only a little smaller.
Thanks for the correction on the Aerio - I can never keep these Asian minis apart.
Motor Trend profiles roller skates?
Behold the “Boo Boo Cruiser” - this is the real deal.
Keen observers will note the baby seat in the back. My daughter might only be 20 months but she knows enough to go absolutely nuts with excitement every time we take her for a drive.
Boo Boo Foo, THAT is one beautiful ride. Nice!
I’d remove the “practically” from that sentence. I’ve got one, and I actually have to pay attention when I’m parking it, and I don’t mean parallel parking - I mean just regular, shopping mall parking!
(For our Euro cousins: the American Accord is larger than the European one - the European one is sold here, with a few tweaks, as an Acura TSX.)
The PT Cruiser is sold in Greece with a 1.6 liter engine. If the 2.0 is gutless, I can’t imagine what the 1.6 is going to be. :eek: