Local Pride: Detroit Tigers Cruiser Born From DCX for World Series

Date posted: 10-19-2006 | EDMUNDS | AUBURN HILLS, Mich. — Somebody at Chrysler headquarters must have had a premonition that the Detroit Tigers were bound for the World Series.

Instead of coming up with a New York Yankees PT Cruiser or a Cleveland Indians PT Cruiser, the automaker rolled out a Tigers-themed Cruiser convertible back in August during the Woodward Dream Cruise.

The one-off vehicle, created in conjunction with local Detroit TV station WDIV, has been rolled out again to hype fans up for the upcoming World Series. The Power of 4 Tigers Cruiser is largely an appearance package, done up to look like a baseball with red "top stitching" on the fenders and the signature old-English D that is taken from the ballplayers' uniforms.

The PT Cruiser is powered by a base 2.4-liter inline-4 that makes 150 horsepower and 165 pound-feet of torque. The engine is mated to a five-speed manual transmission.

The 2006 Tigers were American League champions for the first time in 22 years.

What this means to you: It's party time in Motown. The national media has already picked up on the World Series being a major boost for a struggling city, state and region.