Chrysler PT Cruiser

Book excerpt: I was born and raised in Rockland County, which until the mid-fifties, was a region of New York State characterized by small villages and farms just 18 miles or so from New York City. After high school and college and having seen enough of "progress" destroying this wonderful way of life, my wife and I moved to a small community a few miles from Cooperstown, New York, home of the Baseball Hall of Fame. After raising three daughters and a career in education I decided to change the tempo of life and began a new occupation as a full-time writer of automotive history. This was simply an extension of what I had been doing since my preadolescent years when my brother and I would collect sales brochures from any auto dealer who wouldn't show us the exit/door, since we obviously had no cash, no credit and no intention of buying a new car. Ever since I was in elementary school I was fascinated by the hopped-up Fords and Chevys (and even an occasional Plymouth) of the late '30's and '40's that the older "cool" boys drove to school. Recollections of those cars from long ago instantly came to mind when I first saw the PT Cruiser in 2000. Having previously written numerous articles and several books on Chrysler vehicles, my interest in the PT as the subject of a forthcoming volume was instantaneous.