What Does PT Stand For On The Chrysler PT Cruiser?

Referring to the Chrysler PT Cruiser as a flop would be sacrilege. More of a victim of complacency than mediocre engineering, Chrysler launched the PT Cruiser in 2000 as a Dodge Neon with a retro-inspired body style. The PT Cruiser's 1930s throwback styling debuted as the Pronto Cruizer at the 1998 Geneva Auto Show and was supposed to enter production wearing a Plymouth badge. However, Chrysler had already decided to retire the Plymouth brand by the time the PT Cruiser was ready for production. So, the car arrived at dealerships wearing Chrysler branding despite sourcing most of its parts from Plymouth.

If only Plymouth survived long enough to debut the PT Cruiser under its wings, the PT would have stood for "Plymouth Transporter," but fate had other plans. Instead, the "PT" in PT Cruiser stands for "Personal Transport" or "Personal Transportation." Indeed, the name lacks a sense of drama or excitement, but Chrysler named it as such to remain faithful to the vehicle's compact origins.

The PT Cruiser was Chrysler's answer to the vintage-inspired onslaught led by the Ford Thunderbird and the new VW Beetle. When production ended in 2010, more than 1.5 million units of the PT Cruiser left the production lots in Mexico and Austria. Peak sales were in 2001, with more than 144,000 units sold. The decline started in 2006, about a year after introducing the two-door PT Cruiser Convertible model.

However, the appeal of open-top motoring in a PT Cruiser failed to ignite the passion of buyers looking to get behind the wheel of a Chevy HHR instead. Whether the Chevy HHR is a better ride than the PT Cruiser is debatable, but many seem to agree that the HHR is one of the worst-looking Chevrolets to enter production. The PT Cruiser has its share of fans and critics, but it won't be wrong to accuse the HHR of riding the "1930s getaway car" bandwagon, a trend Chrysler started with the PT Cruiser.

Despite briefly flirting with a turbocharged powertrain and releasing a slew of commemorative edition models, the sales numbers remained south, with Chrysler selling less than 18,000 PT Cruisers by 2009. The writing was on the wall, so the automaker discontinued production in 2010 with no replacement on the horizon. The PT Cruiser's styling remains love-it or hate-it, but you can't fault it for lacking character.