The oddity from 'Murica

The Americans have a certain skill when it comes to manufacturing cars. They can be absolutely dreadful to drive while at the same time be charismatic and very likable. But i stumbled on an american car that i'm not so sure about.

It's the Plymouth Prowler (later known as the Chrysler Prowler) that I'm talking about. The product of Chrysler engineers that were basically given free hands to go play with bits of metal lying about the factory. And to create a car that would describe the words hot rod and sportster. The result then was a two-seater roadster with open front wheels and the V6 from a Chrysler 300M, not even a V8. With the open front wheels it did resemble a hot rod, but nothing else really. The engine too had at first 217 hp but later it was pumped up to a reasonable 252 hp. But the gearbox stayed the same, a 4-speed automatic. That's not very sportster is it? And despite all of this it is found in the civilized world as well, in Europe.

I think because of it's weirdness it did sell well enough for Chrysler to keep making it for five years (1997-2002) before they had to call quits. The Prowler has a character that appeals to a specific sort of person who doesn't care about the stupid gearbox or the awful interior. I don't and probably never will understand what goes on inside this persons head.

At least the plastic bumpers blend nicely in with the black paint.  

Those blinged up wheels cannot make this car more American. 

Hello again!

After some three weeks of no new content, TheSeatHeater is back. As it turns out it's not all about the cars, even though cars are a pretty big deal.

This post will not be like the others where I talk/rant about a car or a type of car and put up some pictures, no. This will be a hype up post for the upcoming motor show that I will visit this Saturday with my brand new camera. So clear and crispy pictures for all of you to see and behold. It will be a live motor show with both newer and older cars. For example many Lamborghini's, Ferrari's and some American cars will be attending. I still don't know what kind of event it will be, but hopefully I'll get real close to the cars.

In other news (if someone cares) I saw my first ever Fisker Karma. Which is odd since they make the car here in my home country. But still it was an impressive thing to witness. If you're not familiar with the Fisker Karma let me explain it a bit. It's an electric car for the really rich people. But what makes it unique is that it has an on-board power station in the shape of a 2.0 litre petrol engine. It doesn't drive the car at all but it makes electricity for the pile of batteries that then drive the car. So it's a long-ranged electric car. It's actually a GT (Grand Tourer) car.

So there I managed to squeeze in a small thing of the now two year old must have Hollywood accessory. But hey, this is a car blog after all with a slogan of 'It's all about the cars'.

Oh, and I almost forgot, it looks superb.

If you look closely you can see the solar panels on the roof.

No flora or fauna was damaged to create this interior.

Oh yeah! The Americans

Many things have been written on this blog so far, from the super cars in the Geneva Motor Show to the improved Mazda 6. But in the last `lazy´ post i noticed that one crucial part of the motoring industry has not been mentioned on this blog, until now.

It was the Dodge Challenger photo that made me think of the topic that's been silent on this blog. The topic of American muscle cars.
I know very little about muscle cars so I'm not going to tell you about the history of muscle cars that much, you can educate yourself on that. I have never been interested in the American muscle cars because I didn't think they were the best way to go, unless you wanted an American muscle car. But now I have started to warm up to those big beasts. Especially to a Ford Mustang Shelby GT350 from 1965. And yes, it might be shallow but it is the stripes and the noise. But I guess there isn't really anything else to that car.

As you all probably know the 60's and the 70's were the golden times for the American muscle cars, with all the Mustangs, Chargers, Challengers and Pontiac GTO's.  But in the 80's and 90's America started dragging it's tail around and it went all bad. The muscle cars weren't as exciting, they were built from plastic and just plain sucked. Not all of them sucked but the majority did. But a part of that may have also been down to the rise of the hot hatches.

After those horrible days of the muscle car they are starting to make a comeback with some new generations of the classic American muscle cars. Such as the Chevrolet Impala SS, Dodge Challenger and Ford Mustang GT350. They are still behind in the technology department of the Europeans and the Japanese but they still ought to be real good at the light to light racing.
Do feel free to comment, if I've forgot to mention a muscle car, since muscle cars are not my strong point.

A magnificent Impala SS. I hope the owner didn't mind me taking this photo.

Dodge Charger R/T. It is an impressive thing to behold.

I can just hear the popular tune by Steppenwolf in the background.

Pontiac GTO in all its redness. 

I most certainly don't think this is pretty. Ford Mustang GT from 1990

The new Dodge Challenger and Chevrolet Camaro SS

Stick to European

There is a car i'd like to briefly talk about. It's the Dodge Caliber SRT-4. I saw two of them today, which is unusual in this part of the world. But that's not the point. The point is that it is two too many. As a concept the 'sporty' Caliber sounds intriguing. It has a 2.4 litre turbocharged four cylinder engine developing 295 hp, something that is too much for some American V8's. So it sounds all European and/or Japanese, or to put it in a single word, civilized.

It is essentially a hot hatch set to compete with the Golf GTI and so on. But I don't count it as a hot hatch because a hot hatch is supposed to be practical, fun, and sophisticated. It should be good at everything. And i bet you any money that the SRT-4 isn't. It is fast in a straight line though as an American car should, 0-100 kph in around 6 seconds. But that's not fast enough. It should be so fast that it would become blurry to spectators. Because the looks are so childish and vulgar at the same time that it's impossible to comprehend what kind of person thinks that the SRT-4 looks good enough to be seen in, unless you're twelve. And get this, it's front-wheel drive. It even has VVT (Variable Valve Timing) which Dodge say is a 'newer' technology (remember this is in the year 2008). Toyota used VVT in it's cars for the first time in 1992. I'm sorry. If this is the'newer' technology Dodge is proud about we should be worried.

So an American car with certainly an American body, with a Japanese engine (sort of), with front-wheel drive and with out-dated technology. Thankfully this hasn't caught on. 

I know this is a car that was new in 2008 and production stopped in 2009 and that this review/rant is late. But this blog wasn't up then and I had to come up with something to write.

The scoops and vents don't make the car faster or cooler.

It sure looks clumpy for a hot hatch. I do like the single exhaust pipe though.