Death of the PT Cruiser

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It was a huge hit when it came out in 2000.
I remember seeing many $23 000 loaded versions on dealer lots for around $30 000.
They couldn’t make enough. So many people wanted one. Many who never considered a chrysler before, or even an American car.

Then… Nothing. Or almost.
It took them 3 years to offer a more powerful turbo engine.
5 years to come out with a convertible version that almost nobody was asking for.
By then, the fever was over.

Chrysler should be ashamed.
They let the PT Cruiser die of slow death. Never redesigning it.

Conversation 8 comments

  1. Chrysler is the expert in neglecting GOOD product and pushing crap.

    They need to realize that Chrysler doesn’t just consist of the Grand Caravan, Charger, and 300. They sure act like it though. Even GM learned from THAT mistake.

  2. Vince, who CARES!?

    It was a piece of junk hyped up car when it came out. It was based off of the Neon which was a terrible car and all the negative traits carried over to the PT Cruiser. Nothing was nice about it other than the styling.

    The only people buying them later on were fleet companies.

    Just let Chrysler die, and have the people who work for that company all transfer to another manufacturer.

    Chrysler is awful.

  3. I think the big-3 all does it. they came out with a great product and never update it. I don’t think they give much thought to nameplate or that the car is sooo crappy after 3 or 4 years that they decided to let it retired to crap heaven. the european and japanese here know the value of a good nameplate. accord, civic, camry, corolla, e-class, 3-series ect.

    moreover, don’t they don’t know keeping the nameplate alive lessen the devalue of that car.

    who’s here remembered the chevy corsica or still owned one??

  4. In 2000, it was actually really pretty cool. But the problem with many Chryslers are that they rot on the vine. And when they do finally get around to making changes, you don’t see much progression in quality or design.

  5. Chrysler Div of Cerebus now spends NOTHING on R&D. Their big idea of flipping Chrysler like they have so many smaller companies is about to come back and bite them on the a$$. The fruits of DaimlerChrysler are wilting on the vine and STILL Cerebus refuses to water the roots of R&D & product planning. Sure glad I don't have money tied up in Cerebus!

  6. I think it’s not really valid to compare the PT to the Neon. I had a PT rental car and while it wasn’t my cup of tea, it drove fine and seemed well-built, much better than the Chevy HHR (a much newer design) I had as a rental once also. Not to mention you can see out of the PT while the HHR is like piloting a bunker with gun slits for windows.

  7. The PT Cruiser was the only successful car in Germany for Chrysler in the 2000s I think…the 300 C was also successful for its size. The big vans don’t sell here anymore. Wonder what will happen then…

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