earringboy, I followed your lead, and prepared this petition to post at the link you listed. It is open for comments, additions, deletions.
I have not posted it yet. My draft is pasted in below:
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Support for filing Class Action Suit against Chrysler to restore deletions in current year model production that are potential safety concerns
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To: All agencies concerned with Automobile Safety
Petition to determine the interest in filing a Class Action Suit against Chrysler over deletions to the 2003 PT Cruiser build level that create safety issues for the driver and occupants. This is specifically the PT Cruiser GT, but may apply to all PT Cruiser models as well as other vehicles in the current year (2003) line-up. This will address 2 items that are safety oriented.
1..... The first item is the Rear Sway Bar. This is a Safety Issue.
It was made standard on the 2002 Touring Edition (TE) of the PT Cruiser.
The Press Releases, from Chrysler, announced that the 2003 GT would begin life with the suspension of the current (then 2002) TE.
The Code Sheets that the dealer's used for taking preliminary orders of the 2003 model specifically listed the Rear Sway Bar as standard equipment.
On a Front Wheel Drive (FWD) vehicle, the front suspension provides a safety parachute. It is the fact that the front wheels will go in whatever direction they are turned, when power is applied. This is especially useful to understand when a front wheel slide or breakaway occurs. However, when the rear wheels break into a slide, there is no easy way to correct the situation with more power. Furthermore, the ABS braking system will maintain a straight-line stop; as long as they are applied before the breakaway / slide starts. The need for rear suspension performance is accented by this dynamic. This is pure physics.
Yet Chrysler decided to eliminate the cost of providing the rear sway bar, even after it was printed as standard on all of the early production window stickers. Their solution to this problem was to print new window stickers and only pay for installation of the missing member on units that were sold with the original sticker and who's owners insisted upon it's installation.
Chrysler then came out with press releases touting the Watts Linkage as a replacement for the Sway Bar. However, the Watts Linkage had been used in conjunction with the Rear Sway Bar in previous year(s) production. Also, the automobile manufacturing industry had apparently not been as enlightened as Chrysler, as they continued to use both in conjunction on their models, instead of following Chrysler's earth-shattering conclusion that the Watts Linkage could do the job of both.
Hopefully, we will get enough signatures to justify the filing of a Class Action Suit to restore this cost-cutting deletion and get a response before a single life is lost due to Chrysler's decision to leave the Rear Sway Bar off in 2003 production.
2..... The second (High Note) horn is missing. This is a Safety Issue.
The second (High Note) horn was deleted from production. The wire harness still carries the leads and connector to plug into it, and a mounting hole is still present for it to be mounted. The horn carries a part number in the parts catalog for the current year model and can be ordered, bolted in and connected to provide a stock installation that matched the original intent and design.
The horn that now comes on the 2003 model is barely loud enough by itself to acknowedge that the Security System has been armed, if you should happen to be a few feet away from the vehicle when it is armed.
If there is any ambient noise present, it is doubtful that it could be heard the full distance of the Key Fob's rage of activating the Security System.
It is certainly not loud enough to be used to prevent a possible
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