posted 09-07-2001 09:07 AM                  

Pros: Turning every head on the street
Cons: No space for anything but you and a passenger
The Bottom Line: If you've got the cash, and want to roll in style, this is the car.
Recommended: Yes

RawPower's ratings: 5 Stars

Sadly, I don't own one of these babies, thanks to the great NASDAQ crash. But when I still thought I could afford one I took a couple of extended test drives during various trips to Vegas, thanks to the local exotic car rental shops. On the first trip I drove a 1999 yellow. On the second, it was 2000 silver. Personally I prefer the silver, but the yellow gets more attention.

All I can say about this car is that it's built for cruising. And that's why Vegas is the perfect town to try one out. I was praying for red lights as I cruised the strips, just to watch everyone stare. And trust me, to have people staring at you on the Vegas strip is quite an accomplishment. The 3.5 liter V6 can really move this baby because it's so light. But I prefer to just roll down the strip. It's an "auto shift, which means you can put it into and standard automatic transmission gear, or slide it to the "autoshift" position, which allows you to manually up-shift or down-shift by pushing the stick to the left or right. No clutch, however.

As for size, the outside of this car may be bigger than a lot of roadsters, but inside it's smaller than a BMW Z3. With the top up there is very limited visibility. There's no room in the car for even a suitcase, and the only trunk space, if you are crazy enough to call it that, is the area the top retracts into.

So what. This car is the epitome of cool. I have no doubt that Porsches, 'Vettes, and Vipers perform better, but there are so many of them out there. This costs less (if you can get it at or near sticker price) and is much more unique.

As for price, I did some shopping around. in the big cities they tack an extra $10,000 to $20,000 onto the sticker price. But if you look around on the 'net you can find them within $1,000 to $3,000 of the sticker. For that, I strongly suggest you fly to wherever it is and enjoy a long ride home.

Those of you who, like me these days, can't spare 45K to 50K, they rent for about $300/day in Vegas, and close to that in New York. Treat yourself.

posted 09-07-2001 09:20 AM                  

Check the FREE CLASSIFIED section out - I'm sure you can get into a used Prowler for alittle less than what you thought, and some of these cats have very low mileage. We need to have you as a owner!