Custom Chrysler PT Cruiser Embodies Hot Rod Era in Modern Version of Classic Panel Truck
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Vavoom! Setzer Cruiser

Photo: DaimlerChrysler

Las Vegas - What do Chrysler designers get when they blend big band sound with hot rod attitude, an electric guitar, red hot flames and a grammy®-winning artist? The answer is the Vavoom! Setzer Cruizer, unveiled last night on the eve of the Specialty Equipment Market Show (SEMA). 

Multi-platinum, grammy-winning artist and custom car aficionado Brian Setzer collaborated with DaimlerChrysler's Pacifica Advanced Product Design Center in Carlsbad, Calif. to produce a one-of-a-kind custom Chrysler PT Cruiser.  

"Brian's musical style and the PT Cruiser can be described with the same words," said Tom Gale, Executive Vice President - Product Development and Design. "Both have classic, nostalgic appeal. But that style is combined with contemporary cues and an uniquely-American attitude that people of all ages really respond to. 

"The standard production Chrysler PT Cruiser certainly stands out in a parking lot," Gale said. "Even so, we're already seeing a wide array of aftermarket products emerging to help people customize this vehicle into their individual definitions of PT -- which appropriately stands for 'personal transportation.'"  

Setzer was drawn to the classic appeal of the Chrysler PT Cruiser and proposed customizing one that he could take on tour to promote the Brian Setzer Orchestra's new album, "Vavoom," an eclectic collection of classic swing, boogie, rock-a-billy and jump blues. Setzer twice met with DaimlerChrysler's Michael Castiglione, design manager at Pacifica, to share ideas for the custom car.  

"The entire design of the vehicle reflects his latest album, Vavoom!, and the street rod cruiser mystique," Castiglione said. "The brilliant Oriental Blue color, highly stylized flames, and 18-inch wheel design that recalls the muscle cars of the 50s and 60s were all 'must haves' according to Brian." 

The starting canvas for the Vavoom! Setzer Cruizer is a PT Cruiser custom version of a classic 1930's panel truck executed by The Gaffoglio Family Metalcrafters, Inc. -- the Fountain Valley, Calif., automotive prototyping specialty house that builds concept vehicles for DaimlerChrysler. 

Other exterior features designed by Castiglione include a rear spoiler flowing from the roof over the rear door, a new front fascia with air dam, chromed horizontal grille bars, taillights that recall the cat's eye lenses of 50s-era cruisers, a Borla Dual Exhaust system and 18-inch five-spoke chromed aluminum Pentium Wheels from Intro Wheels which are reminiscent of classic Torque Thrust muscle car wheels. The Setzer Cruizer also has been lowered 1-1/2 inches and is equipped with Eibach Springs. 

One of the most striking design features is the flame pattern – traditional but with a modern twist. The front of the vehicle is painted silver with a unique technique that simulates the circular wheeled pattern of burnished aluminum. This flows into the orange and red flames on the hood, front fenders and along the sides. 

The interior reflects these themes with red leather flame inserts in the seats. The red seat inserts are designed to look like the sounding board of a classic Gretsch guitar – which Setzer plays. The seat beading – actually a flexible neon cable -- lights when the doors are opened, a unique innovation from Metalcrafters.  

The cargo area behind the front seats has been redesigned with a classic high-gloss birds-eye maple wood truck bed flooring with chrome rub strips. "We call it the Setzer Swing Dance Floor," said Castiglione. 

A holster for Setzer's guitar also has been designed for the rear panel behind the passenger seat and a combination Fender amplifier and speaker system is mounted against the other panel behind the driver. " Setzer can plug his guitar into the amplifier and play it through the system when he's parked at the beach or any other time the spirit moves him," Castiglione said. 

(October 31, 2000)