Joe

This Hot Wheels PT Cabrio is similar to most large scale toys in the basic construction. All metal body, plastic chassis, steerable front wheels, and enough detailing to make the car look very realistic. One of the more interesting details, to me anyway, is the windshield wipers. It would have been easy to mold them into the glass, but the designers at Mattel chose to use separate pieces of black plastic. Nice touch.

The back of this car is assembled from a number of pieces. Even the rear bumper is a separate piece. Multi-colored jeweled taillights, two-tone reverse light/fog light combos, the trunk grab handle and the Chrysler logo are all clean and neat. I did notice a little "lifting" of the logo, and I pressed it down with a damp sponge and it has stayed in place ever since.

		This Cabrio uses a lot of parts from the earlier Hot Wheels PT Cruiser Panel Cruiser, but they've also added a couple of features to this model. Most notable is the opening hood and motor. The Panel Cruiser didn't offer that detail. This is a definite plus!! The hood opens and closes smoothly. And it stays open on it's own. I've looked at a lot of cars, and that always seems to be a drawback. I like to vary displays, and it's nice to show some opened without a prop. The engine itself in this car is OK, basic black with a single molded piece of gray plastic detailing the components. Not very original, but it does display nicely.

The interior on a lot of large scale cars doesn't always get a lot of attention, usually because there isn't a very good way to see inside the car. Well, since Mattel chose a topless car, they had to put a little extra time on the look of the interior. And the time was well spent. Multicolor seats, "mirror" flaps on the sun visors, even a parking brake lever and cup holder are molded in. And if you look very closely, you can see the shift lever "steps" for each gear.



Anyone who as looked at the PT line of cars, either at car shows or at a dealership, notices that Chrysler installs dashboard panels that match the cars exterior paint. And the deep blue, almost black paint on this model has been correctly added to the panels. Another neat realism feature is the mirrors. The rearview, and both side view mirrors has highly polished chrome inserts which really look like glass.

		A look at the drivers cockpit shows detailed gauges, that straight stick gearshift, four spoke steering wheel, and a molded plastic stereo/climate control pod. I would have liked to see a little more detail on the stereo pod, like a few black or silver highlights to bring out the details. Especially since this is an open top car, and the inside is the focal point of the whole vehicle. Maybe on next years repaint......

Like I mentioned above, this car is as good as any mainstream 1/18th car on the market. And I think it'll be a hit with the PT fans, convertible fans, and collectors who like something a little different in their collections. And after looking closely at this model, I get the feeling that the real PT Cabrio will be another winner for Chrysler.