I see this car regularly at Northwest Park when I am out walking.  Isn't she a beauty?  I love the whitewalls and the fact that she wears both a current license plate and an original license plate.

Before seeing this car I had never heard of an “Austin” before but apparently there was an automaker named Sir Herbert Austin who first built cars in Britain and then came to America in the late 1920's to manufacture cars here.  “Austin Motorcar Company” continued to make cars here under that name until the 50's. For some period in the 50's they made an auto based on the Austin called the “Metropolitan” but it didn't do well, and the last metros were sold in 1962.

But there are Austin enthusiasts around nowadays, and clearly, this car's owner is one.

“The PT Cruiser is made for modification,” an enthusiast once said to me, and I believe it.

Here's one I spotted on route 2 east that is really dressed nicely.  Standard chrome rims, treated tires, chrome reverse light flanges, chrome tail light covers, chrome trim line, chrome window pillars (those I don't like), and a faux-spare carrier on the hatch (there's no spare in that carrier, it is just for looks).

And all that was just what is visible from the back!  The front grill also had some chrome work.  No chrome door spears though… surprisingly… I think those are so nice.

Whatta hottie!

I spotted this handsome PT in Northwest Park while out walking.  Check out the moon wheels!  I really like this style.

Note also the chrome door handle inserts.  I was thinking of doing that for Vanessa, but after seeing this PT I've decided against it. The inserts are apparently somewhat cheap.  On this PT the chrome was bubbling up and flaking off.

Another sad fact was that the owner perhaps chose a less reputable manufacturer for the chrome rims and caps, because, as you can see, they're rusting. 

But he still looks sharp, doesn't he?

While I was getting ready to take this photo, the owner came out of the building it was parked at to ask me what I was doing.  I explained to her that I owned a PT myself, and had done a little customizing myself and really loved what she had done with her PT.

We had a nice chat.  Her PT was a 2001 (older than mine) and had sustained a lot of chipping on the hood because of where she drives, so the bra has become a permanent feature on her car.  I let her know that the bra will damage the paint if it becomes wet, but she shrugged and said, “It doesn't matter, the paint is already damaged.”

But she clearly loved the car, and I can't blame her.

I've seen this in the Heywood Hospital parking lot on both my trips there.  I figure there must be an employee there that drives this gorgeous car.

I love the PT Convertible, and I really love the electric blue color.  Pretty slick!

The new bug comes with a small vase containing flowers mounted on the dash as a standard feature, a tribute to the flower power people of the 60's who have become so intextricably connected with the image of the original bug and the VW Bus, beloved by hippies everywhere.

This however, is the first bug I've seen on the road with any external flower decorations.  This might be a decal… obviously I didn't get close enough to find out.  But the rims look like chrome and the tires look treated… so I'm going to assume the owner is an enthusiast.