AUBURN HILLS, Michigan — Chrysler has confirmed what Inside Line reported back in June: the Chrysler PT Cruiser will soldier on for at least a year and a half beyond its planned demise this summer. A cryptic Chrysler press release on July 31 said the company's Toluca plant in Mexico will continue to build the iconic retro wagon indefinitely and that Chrysler is "re-energizing" the vehicle, with no further details.
In fact, Chrysler has torn up and rewritten several scenarios for the PT Cruiser, which was initially intended to be a Plymouth and was launched in February 2000 as the production follow-up to Bryan Nesbitt's sensational 1998 Pronto Cruizer concept.
Since then, Chrysler has canceled at least one ground-up redesign of the vehicle, although the PT Cruiser received a fairly substantial face-lift for model year 2006. A number of variations have come and gone over the years, including a convertible, a turbocharged GT and such special editions as the Dream Cruiser and the Street Cruiser.
Earlier this year, despite production of more than 1.3 million units in less than 10 years, Chrysler executives announced plans to phase out the PT Cruiser this summer at the end of the 2009 model year, after sales tailed off dramatically in 2008. But Chrysler's bankruptcy sale to Fiat led to a reprieve for the PT Cruiser.
Chrysler currently plans to extend the PT Cruiser's production run in Toluca through December 2010, after which the plant likely will be converted to production of Fiat products.
Inside Line says: An unlikely, not-quite-fairy-tale ending for a unique design. — Paul Lienert, Correspondent
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metalcutter says:
05:20 PM, 12/11/2009
I had a 2002, and have a 2006 PT now.
I love them!
Fun to drive.
Handy to park.
I chose the stick shift both times. Love that too. I didn't need the turbo either.
I'm a 69 year old guy. I recently took a 68 year old fun lady out for a ride in the PT. When I down shifted to third she went into exticy. "Wow!," She said. Down shifting, that sure brings back memories.
If I were running any of the Big Three I would have some kind of "Hammer" on the dealerships.
They build a nice auto like the PT and then the dealerships try any way they can to screw the customer. Go figure. It sure leaves a bitter pill in MY mouth.
I also think the engineering in the PT is well over the top. They did a really intuitive job for the customer. No gimmicks, just good and needed outfitting, simple, clean and useful.
The rest of the retro-cars can't even spell style. *smile
Best regards,
Stan- San Diego CA