'PT Studios' Showcases the New Chrysler PT Turbo To 25-35 Year Olds

AUBURN HILLS, Mich., Sept. 4 The Chrysler brand is supporting the launch of the turbocharged version of its segment-busting Chrysler PT Cruiser with PT Studios, an entertainment-based program that will introduce 25-35 year-olds in six major cities to the new 2003 Chrysler PT Turbo.

PT Studios is a series of nightlife events that will showcase 84 emerging fashion designers, independent short filmmakers, musical performers, DJ's and visual artists from around the country. The events will be produced by Gen Art, a national arts organization dedicated to supporting young, up-and-coming talent.

PT Studios kicks off with a high-profile launch event in each of the six cities, beginning with the Los Angeles Launch at Ivar Project on September 12, and the Miami Launch at Ice Palace Studios September 13. The other cities and their launch dates are San Francisco, Oct. 2; Chicago, Oct. 3; New York, Oct. 8 and Austin, Texas, Oct. 9. PT Studios will host 60 events in the six cities through March 2003, and reach over 25,000 people.

"The original PT Cruiser became a hit largely because of the Baby Boomer generation," said Bonita K. Coleman, Director, Chrysler Marketing. "The new Chrysler PT Turbo, with its more powerful engine, has the kind of performance that appeals to a younger audience. PT Studios is an innovative way to tell that audience about the Chrysler PT Turbo on their terms and in their environment."

PT Studios will create a "lounge environment" where guests will experience the best, new, cutting-edge talent in film, fashion, music and art. The launch and closing events, ranging from 500-800 people, will be news media and celebrity driven and will display a sample collection of all the talent featured during the course of the program.

Eight smaller events, each drawing around 250 guests, will be hosted over the next seven months in each city and will exclusively feature three categories of talent: music (DJ or live) and a selection from the areas of art, fashion design or film. For the entire program, each market will feature three fashion designers, three visual artists, three filmmakers, three DJ's and two live musical acts from their local region. No event will feature the same talent slate twice.

PT Studios has a mini-site, accessible to Internet users via www.chrysler.com which has been designed by Organic, Inc. in support of an offline marketing campaign to expose the PT Turbo to a new, younger audience. (Organic, Inc. is a technology-enabled marketing partner to Global 1000 companies.) The PT Studios mini-site features online registration for events, an event calendar and an interactive video mixer which allows users to design their own PT Turbo video.

The Chrysler PT Turbo arrives in dealerships this fall. The vehicle's high output, turbocharged 2.4-liter engine delivers 215 horsepower at 5000 rpm and 245 lb.-ft. of torque at 3600 rpm, with more than 90 percent of peak torque from 2300 to 5000 rpm.

While the Chrysler PT Turbo offers added power, it still retains PT Cruiser's unprecedented versatility, with 64.2 cu. ft. of rear cargo space and the ability to configure the seats into more than 30 different positions.

Gen Art has proven a successful launching pad for designers including Chaiken, Rebecca Taylor, Shoshanna, Rebecca Danenberg, Michelle Mason and Rafe, filmmakers including Brad Anderson ("Next Stop Wonderland," "Session 9," "Happy Accidents") and Tim Blake Nelson ("O" and the upcoming "Grey Zone") and such artists as Ryan McGuiness, Greg Johnston and William Cotton.