Novelty is gone, dump it, total “I’m getting grey hair” car in States.

Might be a joke, but people are buying them over here.

yep

the same people that voted for BUSH

If the novelty is gone, explain the HHR (also a strong seller so far, even though it is technically a cobalt)

The platform it is based on is getting long in the tooth, but power, price, reliability, interior dimensions, ride/handeling are still at/near the top of its class.

How can anyone come on here and denounce the PT yet praise xB and Element? oh, yeah, the inherrent bias of a number of posters here on LLN.

Autoblog is too green, LLN is too anti american.

Why is it impossible to find a board for enthusiasts with open minds? rip apart ****ty products, praise good ones, regardless of what country the vehicle is from. it isn’t rocket surgery

I hate the PT Cruiser but have to give DC credit for building a sales winner. They have literally sold every one they made so they should, just like with their original minivan, just keep improving the basic formula. I believe this is one of those rare cases in the automotive world where “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”. #6 is right, the HHR is a blatant copy of the PT and that one is selling like crazy too.

Funny Mike, I just posted the this in another article, but you certainly are proof of my point.

Person A: I have criticism of GM products (dosen’t mention any other maunfactuer).
Anti-import zealot/domecstic fanyboy: Are you stupid? Toyota does the same thing! I hope you crticize them.

Nobody in the comments above you has praised the Element and xB. The only bias on display here is your own.

Back to the article. Yes, PTs have sold amazingly well and pretty much defined a whole new Genre (just like the minivan 20+ years ago). Good for Chrysler. However it certainly is becoming stale and will be a tough success to follow, good luck to them.

Mike, since you mentioned the Element and xB, I don’t think they exactly have the same issue as Chrysler. Unlike the PT, they aren’t so unique in design that they can’t be easily updated into something more modern looking. Chrysler isn’t the only one that will have this problem. For example, it’s been discussed here that the Mustang will have the same problems when its time for an update.

The bigger question should be why, at this late point in the product’s life cycle, are they onlyl NOW wondering what to do next? 2009? That makes 8 years for basically the same vehicle. It will be irrelevant by 2009 because interest in it will have waned to a point beyond repair [probably].

TTS, because there was NO competition till ‘07.

The next PT is well on its way to produuction. There have just been so many leaks that they are trying to loak misinformation to keep the public guessing about b vs c, 4 vs 6, and all variants.

Thing still sells around 10K units a month – 120K units a year – not bad for “a ****ty car.”

Rather than copy the Ford S-Max, maybe they could come up with another winner

And Ford could try to save itself by bringing it’s decent European Focus lineup to the States instead of feeding us the ****ty Focus, and quit worrying about it stealing sales from Volvo and Mazda – it’s all the same money in the bank, isn’t it?

If they do a nice car out of the PT Cruiser, I’ll congratulate them. The PT Cruiser is: or u love it or u hate it…

Hey Bob Knob, no one cares about Europe.

It is really a “you love it or hate it” vehicle. Some of my friends hate it and some of them love it. However, its an amazing car from Chrysler, just look at the sales. Chrysler is doing a good job keeping it alive

“You can never go wrong underestimating American taste.” …an often used saw in boardrooms across the country.

Just look at the high school drop-out rate, average exercise vs. calories ratios, gulibility to things like WMD … then build product to suit.

…….and who can fault Chrysler from tapping the formula?!

j i m

While it’s not my cup of tea, the tremendous number of them you see on the road is testament to their popularity. Personally I think they’re a great value for such a roomy vehicle; I also think the convertible is very reasonably priced (especially now with rebates….).

I give them kudos for building it in the first place; the problem with retro is where to go next. Perhaps sharpening the corners ala Xb.

NOT ala xB, think Kahuna….

Two words – HOT ROD. This needs to be a rwd Hot Rod throw back (like it should have been in the first place)

Freshen up the curves, look to the Airflow C17 for inspiration, build a roadster and a panal wagon, plus even a retro styled sedan with an overhead sunshade and lots of chrome. It’ll sell.

Heck, for real retro, put four wheel drum brakes and get rid of that power steering…

Ok, well maybe not that, but I would seriously turn to the Airflow for design study on the PT. Heck, even make a small two door pickup-amino out of it.

A RWD hot rod throw back? Like the Prowler? Yea, that will be successful….

A two seater shortened prowler, with a small trunk and a flat oval rear window ala- 32′ Ford styling would sell as an economy runabout.

Better would be a rumble style opening truck bed…

Retro-functional. Now getting one in canary yellow and having Harrison Ford steal your girlfriend is optional

Whoops, I meant PT

Make it into the small mini-panel van it always wanted to be – add in AWD and then market it as the anti-SUV surfer vehicle.

http://www.hotrods.ca/Features/Photos/CdnRodsPanel.jpg

Mike,

re:
TTS, because there was NO competition till ‘07.

That is exactly my point. Why wait until it’s too late to start reacting to competition? Suddenly they find themselves with an 8 year old car against brand new competition and a new model is more than a year away. They lose market share, and neglect the equity in the badge. I have seen it happen over and over for the last 20 years since I’ve been following the American vs Imports story. When they finally do get around to replacing the vehicle, not only do they need a new car, but they usually feel like they need a new name to help jettison the baggage that went along with the old, neglected car. (Esort>Focus; Cavalier>Cobalt; Shadow>Neon>Caliber, and best of all Taurus>Fusion)

Bob Down: and that’s why you should stay in Europe. Nobody needs an idiot like you here.

Mike, I wholeheartedly agree with you. I like to think that I can keep neutral and not have a bias, and I’d like to think that everybody is capable of that.

People are blindly ripping into anything in these comments, it seems. Fair go.

“Make it into the small mini-panel van it always wanted to be…”
Comment by joeb

“Nice idea though that is its such a narrow market, almost as large as the market for the Chevrolet SSR.”
Comment by Plenty O’Toole,

Plenty,
The big difference is that the Chevy SSR is just a pretty face with almost zero functionality. Your correct, the market for expensive eye candy vehicles like the SSR is very small.

OTOH an AWD, PT Cruiser mini-panel van would have loads of functionality as well as endless customization potential (just like the Scion Xb). Just as SUVs have relentlessly proven, marketing a vehicle that can cart around your family+stuff while also appealing to the outdoor/X game/youthful, lifestyle/image sells cars better than sex. It may surprise you to know that many “real” outdoor adventurers (mt. bikers, wwkayakers, climbers, etc…) unconcerned with “image” typically reject SUVs for minivans cause they’re way more functional and cheaper to own.