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W ednesday, M ay 10, 2000 THE OA KVILLE BEAVER InternationalAuto Sales me Serving the Oakville Area D8 | W e find vehicles to suit yo u r needs. An Oakville Beaver Advertising Feature To advertise in this section call 845-3824 Fax:337-5567 By Malcolm Gunn SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER Call Paul at 4 1 6 - 8 7 9 -8 2 8 1 second- and third-row seats from a regularwheelbase Dodge Caravan minivan would still yield a cargo area more than double that It seems everyone has an opinion about of the PT's. Speaking of space, the PT Cruiser's Chrysler's new PT Cruiser. minivan-like height and full-length cabin "It's way cool," says Jason, 13. "Well, isn't that something," says Marg, creates the illusion that this is a mid-size car. Wrong. In fact, the PT is about 12 cen who is 56. Bill, her husband, is a little cooler to the timetres shorter than a Neon. unusual shape. Anyone hoping that the PT Cruiser would be some sort of escape-velocity "Uhhh, well, that is different, isn't it" Regardless of the reaction, there's no machine will be a bit disappointed. Stuffed question that the PT Cruiser is on the cut inside the car's front prow is a 2.4-litre ting edge of automotive design. And if there DOHC four-cylinder engine that produces 140 horsepower. Connected to this motor is were any doubts about how a unique, hightech retro-mobile' such as this would fare your choice of a five-speed manual, or once it rolled off the auto-show catwalk and optional four-speed automatic transmission. No doubt, the aftermarket tuner crowd into dealer showrooms, you just have to look at the stacks of orders being taken. The will juice up the PT Cruiser with a variety of PT Cruiser is already a headline-grabbing warranty-voiding turbocharger/supercharghit -- dealer orders are backed up for weeks er applications, or other horsepowerswelling tricks of the trade. But out of the and, in some cases, months. The PT Cruiser knocked the socks off a box, Chrysler is determined to make the PT few thousand automotive journalists when as family-friendly as possible, without any the sheets were hoisted at the North hot-rod, tire-frying antics that might other American International Auto Show in wise detract from this mission. Detroit back in January of 1999. Most of the This friendly approach extends to the assembled were left drooling into their lap exceptional level of PT Cruiser standard top computers trying to describe exactly equipment. The base version offers air conditioning, what sort of car the PT (Personal Transportation) Cruiser is. As the unimagin power windows, six-speaker AM/FM/casable has turned into mass-production reali sette stereo, tilt steering, floor console and ty, those descriptive adjectives remain a rare other handy stuff. commodity. The Limited Edition adds cruise control, Attempting our own brand of logic, the overhead console with compass and outside PT Cruiser is part sedan, part minivan temperature display, power locks, 16-inch wrapped in a unique skin that is both con chrome-alloy wheels, leather seats with suede trim and side airbags to name a few of temporary and nostalgic. The mini van description is the easy part. the features. The PT Cruiser features, an enormous rear Additional options include four-wheel liftgate -- similar to a minivan -- that rises disc brakes with traction control, power to expose a potentially moonroof and roof rack. large cargo area. How Except for perhaps much cargo depends on the odd nay-sayer, the PT what you do with the Cruiser is the perfect 65/35 split rear seat. You antidote for those who can leave it in place for have had it `up to here' * Four-door sedan available in base, and grocery bags and other with conservative-look Limited Edition versions. similarly-sized items, fold * 2.4-litre DOHC four-cylinder engine ing anycars that are makes 140 horsepower it flat or tumble either side devoid of style, soul or forward to create even * Five-speed manual, or optional fourpassion. speed automatic transmission. more room, or remove * A car that's unlike any other on the road Love it, or hate it (and both sides and roll them the odds seem heavily today. away on little wheels for * Extremely roomy for five passengers and stacked in favour of door their belongings. maximum space. The last number one) the hard-to* Economical four-cylinder powerplant option gives you the max describe PT Cruiser, first delivers reasonable power. imum amount of space aft * Amazing cargo potential for such a small and foremost, makes a car. of the front seats. By strong statement as a comparison, removing the * Base price: $23,200 practical vehicle. SPEC SHEET 2001 PT Cruiser DURING OUR RED T AG SALE, IS IT T H E 2 OR T H E 8 THAT GETS YOUR ATTENTION IN T H E 2 . 8 % FINANCING? A 2000 COROLLA VE · Canada's best se llin g 4 d o o r sedan" · 1.8 litre DOHC 125 hp engine · A u to m a tic tra n sm issio n · Air c o n d itio n in g · A M /F M stereo w ith CD · Dual airbags · Full w h e e l covers · Body side m o u ld in g s $ 18,085 MSRP <gg) TOYOTA RED TAG SALES EVENT ON NOW Where can you find your favourite Toyota Dealer? Simply visit us at www.toyota.ca or call 1-888-TOYOTA-8 and ask for details. Or le a se for $2 25 per month for 4 8 m o n th s w it h only $ 2 ,4 2 5 d o w n gt*D ---- ONTARIO ® T O Y O T A R E A L P E O P L E S E L L I N G DEALERS G R E A T C A R S c r e d i t [-e a f.'n9 ! fin a n cin g plans from Toyota C redit Canada Inc. O A C .. O ffers valid on n ew 2000 m odels leased and delivered by M a y 31, 2000. Licence, registra tio n , insurance and taxes extra. Lease includes a m axim um of $775 fo r fre iq h t and ' RD E fre '9 ht and P.D.E. not included in M.S.R.P.. Based on 48 mos. w a lka w a y lease at a rate of 5.8% Corolla VE (BR12EPB). D ow n paym ent o f $2,425 or trade e qu iva le n t required. First paym ent and security d e p o sit o f $275 due on delivery Total lease o b lig a tio n o f $13,225 and purchase optio n price of $8,499.95 based on a m axim um of 96,000 KM S A d d itio n al KM charge o f $.07 if applicable. M.S.R.P. fo r (m odel BR12EPB) $18,085. Finance exam ple' $20 000 fin an ce d at 2 8% per annum equa s $440.92 per m onth fo r 48 m onths. C.O.B. is $1,164.16 fo r an oblig atio n to ta l o f $21,164.16. 2.8% purchase fin an cin g a vailable on 2000 Corolla and 2000 Tundra m odels. For m ore in fo rm a tio n see p a rticip a tin g Toyota D ealer fo r d e ta ils D ealer m ay lease / se ll fo r less. O ffers m ay change w ith o u t notice. ` Based on A IA M C report Sept. '99. ,> f T *