[AZ_IceMan]

Not to step on anyones toes or beliefs. I myself believe that a lot of the pt cruiser has common components that is shares
with the 2000 neon program. The following is an excerpt from a press release "Toluca Assembly, Quality and Technology Combine to Make PT Cruiser True Pioneer" June 11th, 2001-- by Dan Knott, Director, Vehicle Development, Small Car Platform Engineering.

Also, sorry about the length, just thought I'd put things to rest.

quote:Originally posted by Daimler Chrysler Press Release


....There's no question that PT Cruiser's design brought challenges to the engineering and programming staff," said Dan Knott, Director, Vehicle Development, Small Car Platform Engineering. "We all loved the mold-breaking design, but had to come up with equally unique ways to package material on the engineering side, while holding true to the product and process efficiencies from a program management perspective."

Virtual Reality (VR) allowed all members of the development team to evaluate three-dimensional product designs in a computer environment. The ability to simulate the interaction of people within the models -- prior to an actual model ever being built - was efficient and cost effective. Engineers and designers learned that VR provides a fast and useful tool for evaluating product designs and functions. Evaluations occurred on the following elements of PT Cruiser:


Overall interior and exterior appearance

Liftgate function, fit and design

Effect of changes to painted surface visibility in door and liftgate openings

Outward visibility for occupants in a variety of settings and seating positions

Rear window wiper patterns

Instrument cluster and switch ergonomics

Child safety seat tether hook visibility and placement

"Neon and PT Cruiser are two distinctly different vehicles and you can't combine or compare the two," Knott said. "They are of two distinctly different platforms. The reality is the two vehicles share more in process than parts or design.Much of the early VR technology we used on PT Cruiser came from knowledge we gained on the 2000 Neon program.We were able to solve unique issues because of what we learned and that early information sharing is what saved so much time."