“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.

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

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)

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

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

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.

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.

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

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?

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.

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 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

the same people that voted for BUSH