'strewth, that. Alternator kakked on Franken-Cruiser a few days before my dad came down to visit over Thanksgiving; I started the project and then had to put it on hold until after he went home because it turned into a complete charlie-foxtrot. (SNIP)
Just finished THAT up yesterday interspersed with brief periods of putting up the X-Mas tree... so now taking a well-earned "Fuck-All/Fuck-Off Day". If it weren't for getting the kids this afternoon, I wouldn't even bother to put pants on. ![Laughing :-DD](https://www.eevblog.com/forum/Smileys/default/smiley_laughing.gif)
mnem
FA/FO FTW.
Just so we all what a Franken-Cruiser is, I think it is this one correct? If so I didn't like them when they were launched over this side of the pond and the whole structure of the car works against easy maintenance those front wings just eat into the engine bay. The designer should be made to carry out repair work on their creations before selling to the public. It would be designed completely differently then I can tell you ![Evil >:D](https://www.eevblog.com/forum/Smileys/default/evil.gif)
FU....!
Not only did you find A PT Cruiser, you found MINE. Right down to the year, color and trim package.
![Shocked :o](https://www.eevblog.com/forum/Smileys/default/shocked.gif)
*Cue Twilight Zone Music* Even has the same wheels. See mine above next to your pic.
![Scared :scared:](https://www.eevblog.com/forum/Smileys/default/scared.gif)
No modern vehicle is EASY to work on... I grew up with F-150s where you could crawl in under the vehicle and up through the engine compartment out the hood. Shoehorn a Caddy 500 in place of a 302? In and bolted down in a matter of hours.
I've long said that automotive engineers must be the worst kind of sadistic fucks ever released upon an unwitting world; I've often imagined them showing pictures of their work to each other around the water cooler...
"There, you see that bolt in the door hinge? There's no earthly reason in the world it couldn't be right here, 3/4 of an inch closer to the opening; hell, it doesn't really even need to exist at ALL. But now, the mechanic has to take the fender half off to get the door off the car or align it against the body because we welded the other side of the hinge, and the hinge pin is swaged in place." ![ThumbsUp :-+](https://www.eevblog.com/forum/Smileys/default/icon_smile_thumbsup.gif)
"Awesome work! KA-CHING for the dealership!!!"
"Here, let me show you how I fucked them with this bell-housing bolt you can't get to without pulling the radiator out of the vehicle..."@mnem: was that car made by Tektronix? ![Laughing :-DD](https://www.eevblog.com/forum/Smileys/default/smiley_laughing.gif)
I'd rather work on an Tektronix than that car for sure.
Almost as bad... The car was originally designed as a retro-rod look, by the same award-winning designer as did the Prowler and later was stolen away to do the Chevy HHR. The guy who designed the CAR did an amazing job; I loved the PT Cruiser for its looks since it was new, and as a vehicle it was literally the next best thing to a pickup truck; cavernous cargo area make it amazingly useful, and an extremely low lift-over and high roofline make as easy to get in and out of as a full-size pickup truck. Visibility is great; much better than any modern shoebox or pregnant shoebox SUV that pretty much NEED a camera in the back to keep you from killing yourself.
It was SUPPOSED to get the all-new aluminum "Japan-buster" 4-cylinder and 6-speed AT that Chrysler had in development. Then Daimler-Benz got involved and deliberately tried to kill the thing by forcing them to redesign around the Neon platform, which 4-cylinder, iron-block shit-for-counterbalancing design drivetrain was already one of the most hated on the planet. EVEN SO... the car caught on, and if it had received anything but the outright aggressive neglect it got under Daimler-Chrysler, I have no doubt some evolution of it would still exist, just like the Beetle.
But... it is NOT what it could have been. My Cruiser and I have a love/hate relationship; I've loved the car as a car since day one. It hates to see me with more than $20 in my pocket. The Neon drivetrain is prehistoric, unreliable and known for poor economy due to simply being underpowered for a car that was meant to have a much more efficient engine.
As a vehicle... to use and drive... it is great, as long as you don't expect it to be anything more exciting than grandma's grocery getter, or in my case, a station wagon for the responsible father of two small kids.
![ThumbsUp :-+](https://www.eevblog.com/forum/Smileys/default/icon_smile_thumbsup.gif)
It's the reliability... and the PITA factor of repairing it... that's what kills me. I bought it cheap because it had a banged-up rear corner, and it only had 60K miles. Now it has 125K, and I've had it die catastrophically 3 times.
And you know what I wind up driving when it dies? My wife's old Saturn, which has 250K on it and still runs like a watch. Aside from normal consumables like batteries, brakes and tires, the only actual wear-out failure repair I've done on it was a radiator and a catalytic converter.
![Face Palm :palm:](https://www.eevblog.com/forum/Smileys/default/facepalm.gif)
mnem
*Off to pick up the kidz*