2009 PT Cruiser may be the last

[jake75]

In this morning's paper - unless sales rebound the PT Cruiser is probably history after 2009. Yet sales are way ahead of the Vibe. Article said 138,650 PT's were sold in 2006, but sales down 25% in the first 7 months of 2007. That would still be above 100,000 units. Their prelaunch projection in 2000 when they first launched the PT as a 2001 model was 70,000 a year so I don't know what the real problem is. Mention was made that the PT is made in an efficient low cost Mexican plant.Article also said Chysler is expected to introduce a small crossover vehicle that performs many of the same functions as the PT Cruiser.I would suggest to Chrysler that they need to work on better gas mileage. That was my main disappointment with my 2001 PT. With gas at $3 instead of $1 it is more of an issue today. Otherwise I found the PT to be a very versitile, well appointed, well made and comfortable car.

[GrayFox]

Quote, originally posted by jake75 »Article also said Chysler is expected to introduce a small crossover vehicle that performs many of the same functions as the PT Cruiser.meaning they'll do a Caliber in Chrysler clothing

[GoLowDrew]

Quote, originally posted by jake75 »Mention was made that the PT is made in an efficient low cost Mexican plant.Article also said Chysler is expected to introduce a small crossover vehicle that performs many of the same functions as the PT Cruiser.When you use cheap labor, you are being "efficient." That's management talk. I've seen ads for the PT that are dirt cheap. Yes, they are selling them, and people are still buying. With cars pushing $30K, it's nice to get a good new car for around $13K. Sometimes one should not replace a legend. The PT has that potential. Rather than a new car that will loose the PT charm, how about updating the engine and transmission to start. Isn't retro dated style in?

[jake75]

Quote, originally posted by GoLowDrew »When you use cheap labor, you are being "efficient." That's management talk. I've seen ads for the PT that are dirt cheap. Yes, they are selling them, and people are still buying. With cars pushing $30K, it's nice to get a good new car for around $13K. Sometimes one should not replace a legend. The PT has that potential. Rather than a new car that will loose the PT charm, how about updating the engine and transmission to start. Isn't retro dated style in?I am not sure it is just cheap labor - I read that this plant was highly automated. Quality has been above average.I fully agree that it makes a lot of sense to keep on using the same dies etc. and sell a virtually unchanged really low cost and reasonably good quality functional vehicle for years. This could be the 2000's equivalent of the VW Beetle. The same might be said for the Vibe. What is really improved since 2001? What is really imporved for 2009?Was invited to the Chrysler open house tonite - celebrating their divorce from Mercedes as well as the introduction of the redesigned 2008 Town & Country. Two comments. 1. They have done a very good job on the 2008 minivan redesign. 2. Consumers are going to be somewhat shocked at the new EPA mileage ratings.

[GoLowDrew]

Quote, originally posted by jake75 »2. Consumers are going to be somewhat shocked at the new EPA mileage ratings. Is that a good shock or a bad shock? The 4.0L V6 is a hungry engine. But maybe the 6spd will help. However, I believe the 6spd is a joint development project between GM-Ford-Chrysler. If they don't do magic for GM or Ford, I would not expect any different.

[Whelan]

I wonder how many PT's are sold shortly after purchasing and owning for a bit. They are slow, ugly, and uncomfortable, not to mention you cannot see a **** thing out any of the windows. And they were goin to phase it out anyways, they got rid of the turbo version this past year.

[Sublimewind]

Don't want to sound like a jerk, but who cares?

[drunkenmaxx]

kind of strange how the PT pretty much started the whole retro styling revolution

[Whelan]

Would you rather have the HHR or the PT, personally I would take the HHR SS if it was out yet. But that's me and only if I had a choice. Here comes the Chrysler Caliber or something like that.

[drunkenmaxx]

a lot of people hate the HHR, but i like it a lot. it's different.unfortunately, i also think the convertible PT's look pretty cool too. reminds me of Biff's car in Back to the Future II

[WaveAction]

is it still gonna look the same? or are they gonna change it up abit?

[jake75]

Quote, originally posted by Whelan »I wonder how many PT's are sold shortly after purchasing and owning for a bit. They are slow, ugly, and uncomfortable, not to mention you cannot see a **** thing out any of the windows. And they were goin to phase it out anyways, they got rid of the turbo version this past year.Here are some comments from someone (me) who actually owned a PT: The initial year there were long waits for the PT Cruiser and people were paying dealers thousands over MSRP to get one. (I bought a Vibe in the initial year and they almost paid me to take it off their hands.) DC could not fill all the initial year PT orders and just cancelled the left over 2001 orders when 2002 production started. The right thing to do would have been to deliver a 2002 to those people at the 2001 price. About 2 months after the 2002 model year started there was no wait and generous discounts.As for me, I ordered a PT in mid-April 2000 from a somewhat rare dealer who was just asking full MSRP (about 18,880). That's the first time in my life I ever paid full MSRP. It came in 4 months later in mid-August 2000. I kept it 38-1/2 months (about 27,000 miles) and got an actual $9,400 trade-in. I always deal on the price of the car, and then later do the trade-in if the offer is acceptable. 50% of original MSRP after 38 months is not bad. So it cost me $246 a month plus tax. IMO the PT was/is different, but not ugly like an Aztek. The PT does seems to be a design you either love or hate. When I first saw a picture of the PT a year before it was introduced I knew I wanted to get one. Also, for me it was very comfortable. It was a little slow off the line but had as much power as I needed. True it was hard to see out of the back window, but I got used to using the rear view mirrors. I have no stats, but I don't think there were any unusual number of owners who sold soon after buying. My observation is that the PT enthusiasts were real fanatics compared to Vibe owners, which is obvious by the number of PT owners who spent way too much for mods that IMO did not improve the looks of the car.