Kathy Van Mullekom, Newport News (Va.) Daily Press
11/28/2003
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — John Tisdale’s PT Cruiser is hip.
His "HIP PT" license plate tells you so.
Modifications — $35,000 worth on the $22,000 car — show you just how trendy a PT can be.
Tisdale, who lives in Gloucester, Va., has modified every square inch of his 2001 Patriot Blue Cruiser. He’s put chrome on any spot he can find under the hood, across the bumpers and down the sides. Some of the chrome is smooth and shiny. Other pieces, like the flamed exhaust tip, have intricate designs etched into the metal.
Now, he’s taking it to the next level.
"I’m chroming the inside," he said.
With such a hip car, is it natural to assume Tisdale was a hippie who drove and slept in a customized van in his younger days?
After all, the word "hippie" is printed on the back of his ball cap and on the gearshift knob of his PT.
"You bet I was," said Tisdale, now 50. "I had the ’72 Ford van and customized it inside and out with the paint job, hood scoop, side exhaust pipes, fridge, TV, bed and strobe lights."
His fondness for those good old days are now reflected in the PT he’s been modifying since he bought it three years ago in West Point, Va.
Chrome is one way he makes the PT stand out from all the rest. Scenic murals add their own special looks.
Tisdale hired artist Kathy Peace in the Williamsburg, Va., area to create several hand-painted scenes on the car’s bright blue exterior. The latest one depicts his Cruiser and several other vintage cars — a ’53 Woodie Ford, ’60 Corvette and ’40 Packard coupe — trailing each other along a portion of Route 66.
Walk around to the other side of the car and you see the same cars parked outside the fictitious Nite Owl diner.
In addition to chrome and murals, Tisdale likes to illuminate the PT. He’s installed low-glow blue lights under the car, windshield and hood. He can even flip a switch to make his foot pedals light up blue.
"I’m a PT-oholic," he said. "My wife can vouch for that. I sleep and dream it."
Lois Graham of Yorktown, Va., knows that feeling.
By comparison, she’s sunk a modest $5,000 to $6,000 into extras for her 2001 Inferno Red Cruiser. She’s added side pipes, painted bumpers with chrome inserts and installed a continental tire kit on the rear end. The ’59-Cadillac style "rocket" taillights are her latest addition.
Eventually, she hopes to replace the painted bumpers with solid chrome versions.
"My greatest desire now is to complete my retro hot-rod look with ghost flames that are just a shade or two different from the car," she said.
Graham also likes to decorate her car for the different holidays. For fall, she adorns it with wreaths fashioned with color leaves and miniature corn. For Christmas, she plans to create Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus seat covers.
It’s all about having fun with a retro-style car, she said. In this case, her very first new car.
"I have never had a new car of my own," said Graham, 39. "Actually, when my husband Ron first showed me a picture of the PT, I thought it was quite ugly.
"However, when I saw one in person, I knew that I wanted to have one and that it had to be red — inferno red to be exact.
"When I picked it up from the dealer, to surprise me, my friends were outside hanging red dice on the rear-view mirror and putting dice on the valve stems while I was inside signing my life away for the next four years.
"The dice were just the beginning of the customization process."
