WE spent a night with the hottest model in town.The curves on this sexy little number make young men drool, women stare in envy and old folks remember when they were young.
The object of our lust: the sizzling new Chrysler PT Cruiser, a 1940s-inspired hot rod that looks like a gangster ride favored by Al Capone.
Destined to become every bit the pop icon the new Volkswagen Beetle was two summers ago, the Cruiser, which started rolling off Chrysler’s Toluca, Mexico, assembly line just weeks ago, is the automaker’s attempt to break from the very forgettable crowd of small-car designs.
And judging from the adoring, swarming crowds during our test drive across the city, this baby’s going to make it big.
“Is this your car?” asked a striking vixen named Noelle shortly after we pulled up to the Elbow Room, a Bleecker Street club hosting a celebrity karaoke night.
Asked if she wanted to go for a spin, Noelle jumped in without hesitation, leaving her boyfriend standing slack-jawed on the street.
“I’ve been wanting to buy one of these for my dad,” she squealed. “This is so cool.”
During a tour of Times Square, Chelsea, the West Village, SoHo and Sheepshead Bay, we couldn’t keep the fans away.
There wasn’t a red light we stopped at or a club we parked in front of where people didn’t risk whiplash – or more severe injuries – to gaze upon the Cruiser.
It felt like we were in a commercial for Chrysler.
“Those are pretty sweet wheels,” offered one downtown hipster outside the new club Spa on 13th Street, where we stopped for the premiere party for the film “Love and Basketball. “It’s bringing back yesterday – only with a bit of fun.”
Another guy claimed he’d already bought one, plunking down a $500 deposit after seeing the car on an Internet ad.
“This is that car I read about,” said another admirer, bending to peer inside and then, looking back almost for permission, gliding his hand over its nose.
Like the others, he was most seduced by the Cruiser’s sticker price. Though many guessed around $30,000, the base price is $16,000 and our fully stocked, limited-edition model, complete with moon roof, CD stereo and four-spoke steering wheel, came in at $20,500.
“You’re kidding, right?” said one disbeliever. “That’s a nice-looking ride for the money.”
Yeah, yeah. I bet he says that to all the toys.
Bryan Nesbitt, a 30-year-old graduate of Pasadena’s Art Center College of Design, gets the credit for the design.
The forward-sloping roof, bulging fenders, flared door sills, pronounced grille and upright windshield are reminiscent of a between-the-wars Ford and a London taxi.
The techies and car mags will tell you it’s a practical car expected to hit markets in 40 countries. The many Web sites that pay homage to the Cruiser attest to its popularity – something that hasn’t been seen in the car world since the new Beetle hit the road.
But it was hard to tell if all those fans cared a lick about the Cruiser’s faults – its many blind spots, for example, or underpowered engine.
They just knew it was cool.
At 2 a.m., outside Staten Island’s New Dorp High School, a group of teens was taking advantage of the Easter recess. One adventurous lad broke from the pack and raced across four lanes of traffic just to ask what kind of “freakin'” car we were driving.
He blurted out something about the leg room before returning to his pals.
He might have been less enthusiastic had he been with us on the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, which we took out to Sheepshead Bay for an old-style cruise along the waterfront.
On the highway, the PT Cruiser’s 150-horsepower engine proved to be no thoroughbred.
But complaining seems like kicking Pamela Lee out of bed for snoring.
None of the Cruiser’s admirers seemed to care about the engine.
They were smitten, and so were we. Too bad it was just a one-night stand.