My PT Cruiser disappointed me big time on the Florida trip. While it was nice to have the top down in the beach areas, the gas mileage this car got on the highway was shameful. I had heard many stories of poor fuel mileage from these cars but my Moms has always done pretty well so I figured the people complaining were just driving the cars too hard.
Back and forth to work it has been getting 20-21 with me boosting it sometimes. This is about the same mileage the GP gets under the same conditions but that mileage improves dramatically on a highway run with cruise control. So I had hoped for similar results with the PT.
The best mileage was on the Overseas Highway to Key West where the speed limits are 45-55mph and strictly enforced. This tank brought 23-24mpg. However on the interstate with cruise control at a steady 65-70mph (just like I do the GP) the mileage plunged to 20mpg. I could almost see that figure if I were running 85-90mph with my hair on fire but for civilized travel its positively insulting. Shoot, our Montana does better than that and at least it has the excuse of weight and wind resistance.
The seats also proved to be a sore spot (pun intended) they are fine for the short run but after about 3-4hours in the saddle I felt like I was sitting on a stone and my back made its complaint known.
To me, highway cruising has almost always been the most enjoyable driving I do. If I cant enjoy me car under those conditions then it doesnt do me much good. Slower speed backroad cruising has always been the element of the convertible and that part it has done well, but if it cant handle the travel portions of a trip then its a non-starter.
So as soon as I get the Aztek squared away I believe I will be de-modding the PT and preparing to trade it away. I'm about ready to investigate installing a ragtop sunroof in the GP and retiring the whole convertible affair altogether.
Maybe something more practical to serve as a true daily driver so I can move the T-Bat even farther into "playtoy only" status.

(a Bonneville would be sweet)

uh oh....

Do i see G8 in the future? LOL .

lol got me good. I was thinking uh-oh thunderbat is getting divorce. *click* car relationship problem.

i would say de-mod the Neon(pt cruiser) then buy a Chrysler Sebring one of my friends recently bought one and loves it. im not sure what she gets gas mileage wise but the car is much more enjoyable then the Neon.

He actually used have Chrysler Sebring. He trade or sell (not remember) for PT Cruiser. Good luck for whatever plan you do. Next time don't buy car and install exhaust few days later quickly like you did to PT Cruiser already.

You only get 20-22 mpg/highway in the GP T-bat. When I go from Indiana to Pittsburgh, I normally get right at 30/31 mpg highway.

From my house to work, I get about 25/27mpg.

Let's see:
Azteck- family car
GP- "playtoy car"
*Honda Civic/Accord/Toyota Camry*- daily driver (I know I went import)

Hahahahaha, Tbat this is funny here.

wow, that gas mileage is horrible!

sell the cruzer, put it twards the gp, top swap? or to the aztek

Yeah that pic 20gtp02 posted was my first Sebring which was an 04...that was actually a pretty nice car but I had too many nagging little issues with the 2.7 engine. The Sebring message board I was on was little help since most all of them just took the cars to their local dealers. Virtually no aftermarket support as well.
I can easily change the exhaust back to stock on the Cruiser since I still have the original muffler and tailpipe.

My commute back and forth to work involves quite a bit of stop and go plus a little highway where I tend to get the happy foot for on ramps...so 20-22mpg is actually pretty good. The T-Bat gets excellent mileage on the long highway stretch so no complaints there.

The newer 08-up Sebring convertibles are pretty nice. The one we rented in San Diego was pretty sweet (Touring model) but having two 2dr cars just doesnt seem to make much sense. I try not to fold her car into any of my plans so the Aztek will just be maintained by me.

I'm thinking more along the lines of a sporty sedan to serve as DD so I can move forward with top swap, paint and other mods on the T-Bat. I need to check around locally and see if one of those ragtop sunroofs could be installed and how much it cost. The kits seem to be pretty reasonable but the install could be whole other animal.

My first choice for a sedan would hands down be a Bonneville with a newer Charger as a close second. I suppose a lot will depend on how much I can get for the PT.

or a 4 door GTP haha. if you do go bonneville, SSEI!

Screw the SSEI GXP

i 2nd that motion


tbat if your gp dont have a sunroof please dont cut one in lol, idk i just HATE sunroofs but thats just me

the one I was thinking of is a folding ragtop that goes almost the whole length of the roof. If I got a set of roof rails I think it would almost hide it from view from the sides. I've seen them on few cars, if the install is done right I think it looks pretty good...not like those glass jobs where you can see the sealant gooped on all around it.

As far as a Bonneville goes, I would pop for an SLE. I love the dependability of the 3800 and there are more of them available. Whatever I get it will most likely be a V6 model. Part of this whole idea is to get me down to just ONE playtoy instead of two cars that I'm always thinking of modding (one is expensive enough) and I still have so many things I want to mod on the T-Bat.

What is up with that gas mileage .. That is absolutely atrocious.

If you're really set on a Bonneville, you should look into any incentives the dealers may be giving to get all the Pontiac inventory off their lots.

One of the board members over at PTCrew was saying part of the reason is the Chrysler engineers purposely made the fuel ratio on the turbo cars pig rich in an effort to get them to run on lower octane fuel without melting themselves down. The fuel curve could be changed with a custom tune but the long haul comfort of the car is as much an issue to me as the mileage. The car is still in great shape with low miles so it seems like trading would be the best option rather than just "living with it" for two or three years.

Theyre arent any incentives on Bonnevilles since they went out of production in 2005 but I have seen some hefty discounts on G6s and G8s. Both of those could be possible options but I would much rather have the Bonne and less overall debt with lower payments. I have found a couple of Bonnes, one 05 and another 04 which are red and white respectively, both SLE models with leather, sunroof and chrome sawblade wheels...I may know something by the end of the week.

Well if you do get a bonnie be sure to get the SSEI facias. Those make the car look good.

Tbat if you want big comfort why not look a little farther back and go for a Buick Roadmaster?

Trading down is always a tough sell so the less year difference the better. The Buick has no sporty flavor at all which is a quality the Bonne has in spades. The SLE basically has all the top level options save the bigger engine, but exterior wise it looks just like the GXP or SSEi depending on if your talking 04 or 05.
If that doesnt pan out I also have my eye on a couple of leftover 2008 Dodge Magnums which the dealers are offering some pretty heavy incentives on. The 3.5 SXT model with leather and sunroof is pretty nice.

Magnums remind me of hearses.

A sporty, performance hearse maybe, but a hearse nonetheless.

Sounds like you're leaning pretty heavily towards the Bonne. All you'll have to do is avoid modding it, but I know how it will go!

"I like this car but if I can fix just this one little thing .."

I'll be forever bitten with the mod bug so there is no denying that fact...the benefit of the Bonne would be that as I upgrade the T-Bat to a blower setup, all my L36 mods will fit the Bonne engine.

I know I'll do exhaust but I learned my valuable lessons with the GP about muff selection.
Even my wife says "You cant own a car without decorating it"...I never really thought of it as "decoration"

I am sad to admit the last couple of days of car shopping has not gone well. First big disappointment was that the 05 Bonne I had my eye on up in Maryland got yanked away by a very over zealous buyer who drove all night all the way from Arkansas to purchase this car (cant say as I blame him)

Bummer no.2 was to find out that the 08 Magnum I had called about was actually not a new car even though it only had 48 miles on the clock (yes, 48...not 48k) It seems the car was purchased from another dealer that went under so it was considered used, thus no factory incentives were offered for its sale.

Today I made the rounds to several local dealers in the area only to find no one offering the kind of incentive money that was previously offered on the Pacifica that my wife gave the thumbs down to.

As a result I was given lowball after lowball trade-in offers for the PT which ranged from ridiculous to insulting. I actually told a used car manager at a Chrysler dealer today when I got the ineviatble question of "What do I have to do to earn your business?"
I replied by saying "Stop screwing everyone...I'm not at all surprised that the car business is tanking. When people buy cars and in ayears time they become devalued by 50% it creates a downward spiral that wards people off from buying new cars. Why should you waste your money on something you know will be instantly worthless? It no big surprise that Honda and Toyota are kicking your butts since the prices of used cars on their lots is much closer to the cost of new ones, hence people opt for the new one for little more money."
Somehow I dont think he liked my response. At any rate I'm basically in the pickle of needing more cash before I can bust my way out of this car.
My wife said she couldnt understand how may attitude could have changed so drastically about the car in such a short time. I then asked her if I cheated on her for about two weeks if her attitude towards me would drastically change. She burst out laughing saying it was impossible for car to cheat on me.

All depends on your point of view now doesnt it? The car has been cleaned up and de-modded back to its stock form with its only telltale sign being its aftermarket wheels and tires...so now its pretty much like driving a glorified rental car...and I have just about that much emotional response to it as well.

A few convertibles to consider:
solara
mustang
350z
vette
f-body
Bug
mini cooper
03+ viper srt10

No offense, but you seem to be a bit fickle with your cars and their appearances. Have you considered leasing?

Tbat has a problem with fitting in cars as well. He's a bit on the lanky side. He's not comfortable in an Fbody otherwise that woulda been purchased long before the sebring. I think the Z would be the same. Not sure on his mindset of the stang. Cooper could be an option.

There ya go, T-bat. That is what you want.

Comfort and room are issues with me. So is a level of practicality and the majority of convertibles on the market have little to no trunk space so that rules them out altogether. We never could have made our vacation to Florida with the likes of a Solstice(maybe I could just UPS my luggage to my next hotel)

Several of the other cars on the aforementioned list will never be in my driveway on the basis of price alone. I'm sorry folks but I have no intention of giving up vacations or weekend things I do with my wife because all my spare change is going to make some gigantic car payment on a $30k plus automobile.

I do like the restyle of the new 2010 Stang, especially upgrades they made to the interior, but I may wind up giving up the convertible thing altogether. Its been nice for the past couple of years but it doesnt feel as "needed" as it used to. I think I'm more ready to focus on really getting the T-Bat where I want it to be instead of playing the game of modding two different cars. I just need to find a DD that I like pretty much "as is" or with very little changes.

You really seamed to enjoy your Intrepid. I know they're on the older side now but for a DD that will allow you to concentrate on the GP...

2010 camaro would be good as-is.

23k base price, not 30k+. :rolleyes:

why pay 23k for a base Camaro when I can get a loaded 04-05 Bonne with around 50k mi for half that figure.

My wife is saying I shouldnt have to worry so much about the practicality side of things since we got the Aztek. But if I were to get another convertible it would most likely be an 08-up Sebring. They have the best room as well as trunk space and many are available as program cars for around $17-18k. I do kind of like the Stang but I can see myself getting WAY out of control modding one of those.

I have actually looked for a used Intrepid but most out there now are 1998-up models with the 2.7 engine that gave so much trouble with oiling problems due to the longitudinal mounting of an otherwise transverse mount engine. Mostly excess flash from castings that was supposed to have been addressed by 2000...but low miles models are rare to come by. I had also considered one of the 300M Special cars but those are even more rare.

dealer incentives + tax breaks for stepping away from your "gas guzzler" PT cruiser. Though they may not be incentivising the camaro. *shrug* just a suggestion. I'm seriously considering letting the government subsidize a purchase of one for me.

and if you can find a 2010 Camaro for 23k let me know since that would be the dumbest dealer in the world with all the hype on the car i can guarantee they are going to sell for at least 5k over MSRP.

Tbat, I would have a look at the Nissan dealers.

I really like the styling of the 2007 and up Altima's and you just may find something you like there.

I wouldn't spend 18k on another Sebring. Much nicer cars could be had for that.

Ever though about a G35 like Slick has?

You may be right, cheapest I found was about 2.5k over MSRP for an LT, but not sure what options (if any) that price included.

I get the feeling that if Tbat wasn't comfy in the F-bodys he won't like the new Camaro. Esp. with the "chop top".

At the dealer here a base camaro can be had for $20k before tax/title and all that hype. End figure is like $22k out the door or something.

If your looking for a car, search in PA, it may be a slight haul for you but it could pay off.

I got to sit in a new Camaro at the auto show this year and it was surprisingly comfy with plenty of legroom but the "chop top" does feel slightly confined. I think you would adjust to that in a little time though.
Mostly though I dont think I'd lean towards another two door coupe simply because I have one already. If I decide on another convertible then thats the nature of the beast but right now I think a nice used Bonne is still the frontrunner. Either an 04 or 05 SLE.
I have been using autotrader to search and expanding my radius to 300-500 miles. I'll do a weekend trip to get a car if I feel like its "the one". I have been surprised at how many seem to show up in Ohio and western PA. Around Baltimore and New Jersey seem to be hot spots as well. It just seems like VA is an auto "dead zone"