By Craig Kojima, Star-Bulletin
Cutter Chrysler-Plymouth got plenty of attention with
its unveiling of the Plymouth Prowler last week. Demand
for the $40,000 hot rod is expected to exceed supply for some
time, so don't expect any rebate deals.

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Plymouth's show-car-
turned-street-machine
comes to Oahu

By Burl Burlingame
Star-Bulletin

YOU'D think the automobile had just been reinvented, the way grown people "oohed" and "aahed" and clustered around the new Plymouth Prowler at Cutter Dodge on Dillingham Boulevard.

And maybe it had. This retro-looking concept car is a production automobile that was designed from the ground up only a few years ago.

From sketch to street, turn-around was only three years, and represents Detroit's aggressive wooing of a luxury car market that leaked to Japan in the '80s.

"The old Mustang -- how long did it take Ford to modernize it? Twelve, 13 years?" snorted Cutter General Manager Hank Baack. "Now this baby, it looks like a '37 Cord that been modernized. There hasn't been a design like this out of Detroit in 60 years!"

The Prowler's design is a homage to the classic hot rod, a combination of swoopy art deco speed lines, Jetsons future-kitsch and thundering heavy metal. The engine bay is packed with a V6 engine that cranks more than 200 horsepower. It'll get you there.

On the other hand, the luggage boot is just big enough for your wallet, which will be considerably lightened after paying at least $40,000. Plymouth only makes a couple of thousand Prowlers a year.

"You need a big deposit and the patience to wait a couple of years," said Baack at the car's unveiling last week.

The car turns heads. Assistant sales manager Wayne Hurst drove it from the ship to the shop, and people honked and waved all the way, he said.

"It's so beautiful," said Dustin Burke, an intern at I-94 radio. "That body shape is so . . . curvy."

Plymouth Prowler

Engine: 3.5L 24-valve SOHC V6; 214 HP @ 5,850 RPM; 221 lb-ft torque @ 3,100 RPM
Transaxle: Rear-wheel four-speed, electronically controlled automatic with AutoStick
Curb Weight: 2,856 lbs.
Wheelbase: 113.3 inches
Length: 165.3 inches
Width: 76.5 inches
Height (top up): 50.9 inches
Tires: P225/45HR17 (front) and P295/40HR20 (rear) with run-flat capability and low tire pressure sensor

Source: Chrysler Corp.