"Oh, I Thought They Stopped Building THAT Car Years Ago."

The Garage reports:

The car in my garage last week, a 2010 Chrysler PT Cruiser Classic, technically shouldn’t have been there at all. You see, last year, with Chrysler bleeding bad, racing towards bankruptcy and on their knees in front of the US Congress looking for bailout money, promised the slow selling PT Cruiser would be killed. Not so fast. Enter savior Fiat, and the PT Cruiser gets a stay of execution, and lives on for another year.

Before we talk about the initial success of the PT Cruiser, it’s worth noting this car had a rough start from the get-go. In the late 1990’s Chrysler realized they had allowed their Plymouth brand to languish and get stale. The retro hot-rod Plymouth Prowler was the first salvo to revitalize the tired brand, and the follow-up was to be another retro-inspired car, the PT Cruiser. Then came the merger with Daimler. The Germans took one look at the state of Plymouth, and killed it. The PT Cruiser was spared, and debuted as a Chrysler.

When the PT Cruiser arrived as a 2001 model, the response was overwhelming. It made Car and Driver’s 10 Best. It was named the North American Car of the Year. There were waiting lists, and dealer mark-ups. It simply looked like nothing else out there at the time and offered incredible utility and desirability in a simple, affordable package. It was one of Chrysler’s most successful new model introductions in their history....

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Agent001 - 4/11/2010 7:12:36 PM

+3 Boost

Dude, if you don't know the fix is in with the major mags and a lot of the websites you read, we have some wonderful diamond mines for sale in Africa.

Sickens my stomach and was one of the main reasons I started AutoSpies.com.

One example, is the fact that we were the ONLY major website to publicly diss the new Infiniti QX56 even though EVERY journalist in the New York press room voiced their negative opinion of it.

But GOD forbid, they actually tell YOU, the consumer! ;)

Keep it REAL be keeping it at AutoSpies.com.

001

delan - 4/11/2010 7:24:15 PM

0 Boost

We heart the Agents for their candor.

uaw_lax - 4/11/2010 8:40:09 PM

0 Boost

Long live Autospies!

bmwdrvr - 4/12/2010 9:39:54 AM

+3 Boost

do we have to hear more of this self righteous crap who cares no mag or site is the end all be all on anything they arent consistant enough to be including this one, the bottom line is when the PT Cruiser first came along there was nothing on the road like it at all. It was a car that proved that stand out styling wasnt just reserved for high end cars or sports cars but for cars anyone could own. In 2010 clearly the car has lost alot of its appeal as its extrememely old.

91z4me - 4/11/2010 9:14:32 PM

+2 Boost

9-5. That car is ancient! It should have been totally redone about 5 years ago.

WorldofLuxury - 4/11/2010 10:45:19 PM

+2 Boost

I can't believe I'm the only one who finds the PT Cruiser a very attractive car.

Despite the lack of engineering, I love how the American automakers took advantage of digital technology and developed some awesome looking cars, such as the Plymouth Prowler, the last Ford Thunderbird, and the Chevy SSR.

bfghemicuda - 4/12/2010 1:22:09 PM

+2 Boost

The one reason its still alive is there are still buyers, [as limited as they are] and the tooling is paid for. Its all profitt. Never though It would last this long.

thstone - 4/12/2010 8:52:57 PM

+2 Boost

Instead of appealing to the younger buyer that Chrysler was trying to atract with the PT Cruiser, the car was adopted by the ex-hippie 60's generation who were all in their 50's and 60's. Once younger people saw their grandparents driving one, the promise that the PT Cruiser once held for Chrysler was over and gone.